State Theatre

Regarding that fine photo from 1945: When the State was turned into a warehouse for Ford’s department store in 1967, that marquee was removed and the entrance blocked off. The two poster case frames facing the street remained, though filled with stucco. The rest of the facade, including the black and green veined marble along the base, and all of that ornamentation, remained exactly as shown right up until the building’s post-1989 earthquake demolition. The ornamental cartouche and moldings which stick up above the main cornice line were removed and salvaged prior to demolition, as were the ornamental corbels with the cherub faces in their centers. A friend of mine salvaged all the marble along the bottom himself. I have one jagged approximately 6 x 8 inch piece of it which I snagged subsequently.