State Theatre

Joe Vogel on September 23, 2009 at 11:07 pm

Boxoffice published an obituary for Phil Reich on February 20, 1961. One line says “His career goes back to vaudeville days and silent movies at his State Theater here.” The item also said that he had leased the State to Larry Lowstuter for 11 years, but had resumed operation of it.

Various items from Boxoffice over the years reveal some of the history of this theater. It was called Reich Auditorium early in its history, though the 1938 Boxoffice items that announced its renovation and reopening all spelled the name as Reicht. One of these items said that the auditorium had not been used as a theater for several years. It reopened as the Meyersdale Theatre in 1938, but had been renamed the State by 1939.

I can’t find anything about Phil Reich actually operating the house when it was called the State, prior to the last two years of his life. It was operated by several different lessees. In 1964 Larry Lowstuter, who had leased the house from 1942 until 1953, bought the State from Phil Reich’s widow. I don’t find it mentioned after that.

This reminiscence of life in Meyersdale in the 1920s contains the lines “My school days at Meyersdale High were typical. Basketball was played in Reich’s Auditorium because we had no gym.”

Meyersdale had another theater, called the Main, which was renamed the Roxy in 1931. It was in operation as late as 1958, but apparently closed by 1961 when a classified ad in Boxoffice offered the State for sale (for $27,000) and said that it had no competition in the town.

FBWimerjr on August 31, 2012 at 2:27 pm

I rode my bike by this theater in Aug 2012 as a side trip from the Great Allegheny Passage. It is now an apartment building, but still retains its “State” marquee.

SethG on August 1, 2021 at 9:04 am

This is a really old theater, and the facade is very crudely formed concrete with quite evident marks where the boards were used to form it. It first appears on the 1910 map as a skating rink and ‘electric theatre’ (in 1904 the lot was mostly empty, although partially occupied by a wooden ‘hall’). The 1919 map calls it the Auditorium Skating Rink & Moving Pictures. That’s the last available online, but it’s very evident from the fading of the marquee that it spent some time as the Strand before becoming the State. The marquee mostly obscures the original entry, which was a tall arch with light bulbs set in it.

This building is now abandoned. One of the front apartment doors looked like it had been kicked in. I’m surprised at the low capacity, because the building is really huge. The correct address seems to be 234.