State Theatre
805 Hennepin Avenue,
Minneapolis,
MN
55402
805 Hennepin Avenue,
Minneapolis,
MN
55402
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 32 comments
February 5th, 1921 grand opening ad in the photo section.
1942 & 1970 photos added.
Added several photos via the Old Minneapolis Facebook page. Credited individually where possible.
Here is a program/magazine from May, 1925 for the State Theater.
The State Theatre’s marquee appears very briefly during a montage sequence in the 1996 Christmas-themed Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Jingle All The Way”.
Here’s a 1997 shot of the State.
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I see you have listed the architectural firm of Liebenberg & Kaplen. While it is correct that Pridmore was the architect, I don’t believe he was working with the Liebenberg & Kaplan firm.
Kudos, ken mc. Your sharp 1953 photo embodies most of the details – and the exact State marquee – as the 1954 view I’d described back on 7/3. Eventually, I hope to have the technical means to link the one from my book, plus a whole lot more from NY to CA. Thx for providing this pic for us in the meantime!
This photo is from 1953:
http://tinyurl.com/g4jgs
Here is a 1930 photo. A Marx Brothers movie is playing:
http://tinyurl.com/hety6
If there’s anyone out there in CT Land who can access the archival photo files of the Minneapolis Public Library Historical Collection, there’s an excellent daytime photo of the State Theater, c. 1954. The photo had appeared on page 95 of Alan R. Lind’s book, “Twin City Rapid Transit Pictorial” (Transport History Press, 1984), but the first edition was limited to only 3,000 copies and is long out-of-print.
In this panoramic shot, a trolley is heading toward the photographer on Hennepin at 9th St., and a city bus is going in the opposite direction. The State, shown on the right with a different marquee design than previously displayed in earlier years by others, was running “Arrow in the Dust” at the time, starring Sterling Hayden and Coleen Gray. Lots of other local buildings are also shown in the photo.
I lack the technical capability to scan the book’s photo and link it to this page. Hopefully, one of you folks can locate that pic and post it for the enjoyment of all. Good luck!
This site states, inaccurately I believe, that the State was called the Minnesota in 1929. According to CT, there was a Minnesota Theater at another address:
http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/ae2.asp
An early evening view:
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A well lit marquee:
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Beautiful photo and marquee!
More great photos. Keep them comin' on all the CT links! Thanks!
Sorry…just noticed that the location of each theatre photo is given…I just didn’t scroll down far enough to read it!
I just looked under VA and couldn’t find the Virginia Center. How would it be listed and where in the State is it? Thanks.
I just went through the ‘rest of’ the photos on that site and WOW! Especially the Virginia Center in Richmond, but then again it’s an atmospheric and they always ‘speak’ volumes! I didn’t count, but there must have been over 20 photos on that one site, alone! Thanks. Too bad it didn’t list location in most cases.
lostmemory: THIS is quite the photo and thanks for sharing it! The detail in the photo is really quite impressive!
Great photo, but don’t know any of the actors pictured…sure someone will enlighten us though.
Is that Myrna Loy?
Look at these happy people at a premiere back in 1952:
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TC: Great photo taken in the 20’s of a theatre that is still with us! Amen!
Here’s a construction photo:
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Hehe that brings back a memory… I remember the whole time the State was getting redone, and the mall around it was still under construction, there were dozens of plaster workers camped out in the surrounding unoccupied shop space. You could walk past on the street and see them pouring ornate moldings and such for the restoration of the theatre. Not something one gets to watch very often! And there was crumbled gold foil all over the floor in that outer lobby. That and loads and loads of white dust.