State Theatre

124 S. Main Street,
Holstein, IA 51025

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SethG
SethG on November 19, 2023 at 3:38 pm

Since we know that the website history is complete nonsense, I wonder if the ‘dome shaped theater’ referenced isn’t actually someone being confused about what an airdome was?

SethG
SethG on November 16, 2023 at 10:02 pm

The history on that website is wrong, or at least confusing. The 1933 map shows a vacant lot where the State is today. The Scenic/State is not dome shaped, and is still there. It was one block north. 1933 oddly seems to be the first year that a map was made, so I can’t say where the 1914 Scenic was.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on November 30, 2016 at 3:53 am

Here is the State Theatre’s official web site. The grand reopening took place on November 4. So far they are running quite a mixture of older movies and recent releases (Fantastic Beasts is upcoming in December.)

GaryParks
GaryParks on September 24, 2016 at 11:10 pm

So wonderful to see a Quonset theatre being restored! There were legions of these built after World War II. Trade magazines heralded them as a wave of the future for people wanting to establish new theatres without spending a lot of money. And indeed, for a time the Quonset theatres were a big success, nationwide. Today, there are a scant few remaining, and ever fewer in operation. In California, I only know of the Rio, in Monte Rio, that is operating as a movie theatre.

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on September 22, 2016 at 2:20 pm

Theatre is being renovated to open in the fall of 2016. Leather recliner seating has been installed, reducing the seating capacity to 150.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 2, 2015 at 4:23 am

Granola’s link is the official web site of the State Theatre. This page of the web site says the house was rebuilt as a quonset hut in 1948, which I would take to mean that the new State Theatre that was opened that year was on the same site as the old house that opened in 1927 as the Scenic.

Granola
Granola on December 2, 2015 at 12:47 am

THEATRE BEING RENOVATED

OPENED 1927 AS SCENIC THEATRE

RENAMED STATE THEATRE IN 1929

http://www.holsteinstatetheatre.com/

KathyVollmar
KathyVollmar on May 29, 2015 at 11:17 pm

Holstein Development Authority is in the process of refurbishing Holstein’s State Theatre.

mcassady
mcassady on July 10, 2014 at 1:35 am

The Kugels also owned the Orpheum/Maple theatres in Mapleton, Iowa. Mr. Kugel sold the new Maple to Doc Naulteus in 1952. See the Mapleton entries on Cinema Treasures.

JoeWebb
JoeWebb on June 27, 2013 at 1:50 am

Ed Kugel,my grandfather and my grandather’s wife were co-owners of the theatre. My grandfather was Vern Bruning. His wife was Jo Bruning. All lived in Holstein. I saw The Creature From the Black Lagoon as a first run there. My grandfather ran the projectors and I got to watch it from the booth. His, wife, Jo, sold tickets and ran the concession stand. Holstein was such a great place… Lots of nice folks! I remember Ed Kugel because he walked with a bad limp due to a childhood broken leg.

rivest266
rivest266 on December 21, 2012 at 11:35 pm

No showtimes or any official website or facebook page. Is this closed or the owners does zero marketing for this cinema.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 7, 2009 at 8:52 am

Boxoffice didn’t give any addresses, and wasn’t clear on whether or not the orignial State was demolished to make way for the new one. The original State’s building might or might not still exist.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 7, 2009 at 2:11 am

Google Maps satellite view is no help. It doesn’t get close enough to pick out individual buildings. Can’t find any pictures with Google image search, either.

But wait! Flickr to the rescue! It’s a quonset hut! (Thanks, Leah.)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 7, 2009 at 1:15 am

The August 28, 1948, issue of Boxoffice said that E.W. Kugel, owner of the State, was replacing the theater with a new quonset hut building that would seat 450 patrons. It was expected to open in September.

Later, when Kugel opened the Maple Theatre in Mapleton, Iowa, Boxoffice ran an item about him in their issue of January 21, 1951. It said that Kugel had bought the original State in 1934, and had opened the new State in 1948.

The State is not specifically named in an ad which appeared in Boxoffice’s clearing house section on September 29, 1969, but the location of the theater for sale was Hosltein, Iowa. The 375-seat house, offered for $35,000, was described as a long-established business, on the market for the first time.