State Theatre
802 Jefferson Street,
Mendota,
IL
61342
802 Jefferson Street,
Mendota,
IL
61342
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Alger Theatres, Kerasotes Theatres
Previous Names: Princess Theatre, Palace Theatre, Strand Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Princess Theatre was opened in 1912. By 1914 it had been renamed Palace Theatre. By 1927 it had been renamed Strand Theatre. In 1932 it was taken over by the Alger Theatres chain and renamed State Theatre. It was closed in the 1980’s.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
This was a Kerasotes theater in the early Sixties.
In 1948 the State was part of the Alger Theaters chain, headquartered in LaSalle. Owners were E.E. and H.R. Alger.
The State Theatre opened in a new building at the corner of Jefferson and Illinois Streets in 1912 as the Princess Theatre. The 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory lists it as the Palace Theatre. The builder and original operator, E. J. Degenhardt, had been one of the town’s barbers. He sold the business in 1924, but retained ownership of the building.
In 1926 the house was still listed in the FDY as the Palace Theatre, but by 1927 it had become the Strand Theatre. It was taken over and renamed the State by Alger Theatres by 1932, although last listed in the laggard FDY as the Strand in 1933. The July 2, 1932, issue of Motion Picture Herald said:
From 1926 through 1941 the house was listed with 450 seats. In the 1942 Yearbook it is listed with 700 seats, indicating that an expansion that had probably been completed before the end of 1941.Konrad Schiecke’s book Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois says that the State Theatre closed in the 1980s.