State Theatre

156 Bank Street,
Burlington, VT 05401

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Affiliated Theatres

Previous Names: Orpheum Theatre

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The State Theater burning on May 1, 1977

The Orpheum Theatre opened April 9, 1917. It was renamed State Theatre on November 22, 1930. Seating was listed at 680.

It was destroyed by a fire on May 1, 1977. The remains have since been demolished. It looks like government buildings take up the area where the theatre was located.

Contributed by Chuck

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on May 27, 2015 at 7:06 pm

The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State, it’s Card # 575. Address is Bank Street. There is an exterior photo dated January 1941. Condition is Good. It was built in 1930 and is showing MGM product. There were 575 seats. The Majestic Theatre was listed as a competing theater, but no report card was prepared for it

rivest266
rivest266 on August 25, 2016 at 12:19 am

This opened on April 9th, 1917 as Orpheum and renamed State on November 22nd, 1930 (4 days before the Flynn). It was owned by Affiliated Theatres. I have posted both grand opening ads in the photo section for this cinema.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on January 3, 2018 at 2:14 am

Fire on May 1, 1977 ended the theatre’s run. The State Theatre’s last film was “Bound for Glory.”

jbakerVT
jbakerVT on February 10, 2018 at 12:37 am

The building which contained the State Theater was a three-story brick building. The State Theater was 158 Bank Street and the adjoining business at 160 Bank Street was the Black Cat Café, which seems to have been the origin of the fire. The new building on the lot of 160 Bank Street is a one-story building and was built as a McDonald’s. Today it is a farm-to-table restaurant called The Farmhouse Tap & Grill. The Google Maps street view shows part of a bank building which was on the new lot West to where the State Theater stood. I posted a scan of the newspaper clipping of the theater burning, which confirms dallasmovietheaters assertion that “Bound for Glory” was one of the final films shown there. The right hand marquee was blown out by the explosion from the Black Cat Café (presumably) so it’s unclear at this time if that was the only film being shown at that time. I will post more if I can find anything else.

MoniSimon
MoniSimon on January 15, 2019 at 5:21 pm

As a 15-year-old high school student I worked the whole summer of 1956 in the ticket booth at the State. My pay was $0.50 per hour and I worked from 1:00 to 9:00 all seven days a week. My $28 weekly salary was put in the bank for my college fund.

MoniSimon
MoniSimon on January 15, 2019 at 5:26 pm

Thank you to everyone who posted information. Does anyone have any pictures? Cameras and film were expensive before the digital age, so I don’t have any photos, but I’d love to see some.

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