State Theatre
1303 Meridian Street,
Anderson,
IN
46016
1303 Meridian Street,
Anderson,
IN
46016
8 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Alliance Theater Corp., Publix Theaters Corporation
Architects: Donald Graham
Styles: Beaux-Arts, Mission Revival
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Sep 24, 2004 — Owners of the State Theatre Actively Seeking New Owner
The State Theatre in Anderson, IN is a classic movie palace that opened by Publix Theaters Corporation on May 30, 1930 with Claudette Colbert in “Young Man of Manhattan”. It was still showing movies until it closed in 2008.
In 2000, it was undergoing renovations and in 2007, there were plans to reopen as a live venue, but in 2013, the building remains closed. Renovations continued in 2017 to convert into an entertainment center/conference center, but these plans have been aborted.
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
I was lucky enough to have had a chance to play a concert there back in 2001. At the time it was partly owned by the father of one of my friends. It still had all of its original seating and stage. I even have have video of this event and it’s hard to believe that most of what you see in the video is gone. It was still beautiful then. I don’t understand what these people were thinking. As for my friend’s dad, he had a smaller share and almost no say in what happened to the building. To this day his extremely disappointed with how the current owners have destroyed this theater that was in perfect working order just a decade ago. This city is mostly to blame for this screw up. They should have worked harder to protect it from people like this, especially after what had to be done to save The Paramount.
ChrisNealis, I respectfully submit the following rebuttal: The 5 local partners owned the building for 5 years but did not put money into its upkeep, per their own admission. Their only outlay was an emergency electrical repair that was needed to present their first concert. When they sold the building (for 6 times what it was worth) it was because they admitted they had no experience and had run out of money. The California group had experience and a solid plan. That was thwarted by issues detailed below.
As for the theater you claim was in “perfect working order”, it was not. The buyers would have loved to be able to present events immediately (as they were misled to believe they could), but the building was a broken relic and not in useable condition. The roof had massive leaks that left huge holes in the plaster ceiling and black mold covering the rotting upstairs dressing rooms. The projector needed repair, the screen was ripped, the curtain was in shreds, the hvac system was barely functioning, the plumbing and electrical systems were illegal and inadequate, the reworked fly system was jerry rigged and unsafe, the non-original seats (which were from a 3rd re-seating in 1960) were in bad shape and were donated to the Mainstage Theater in Anderson. Their removal had been planned and approved all along by the Sellers as part of a new dinner theater style seating arrangement for food and drink service.
You fail to mention the new owners completely replaced the roof down to the rafters, repaired the plaster ceiling and walls, restored the paint to original colors and repaired the hvac system. Nothing original was removed from the theater. Also, per the Purchase Contract, all work was done with the written approval of the Sellers, who occasionally came in to see the progress and commended the new owners on the great job they were doing. By the way, that too is on video.
While all the work was not fully completed, as detailed in the posts below, the primary objective was always to immediately secure the physical structure and restore it to its 1930 glory. That was accomplished. When your band performed there you played in a white-washed, leaking, non-original venue with amateur repairs to the plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems and an ugly wooden extension added to the stage and covering the orchestra pit. There are photographs, inspection reports, architectural studies and contractors bids to support all of this. One last thing, the new owners have a 30 year history in historic preservation of theaters. They did work with the City to insure the building’s protection by having it added to the National Register as a contributing structure to a historic district.
Thanks for that detailed post State.
Dear state46016: I hope that you are still available. You had very interesting information regarding the State Theater. Please contact me at . Thank you. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
There may be hope
See the new facebook page for updated progress and some amazing pictures of the interior.
Maybe this status should be updated. Beautiful pictures taken last night.
Resteration efforts have stalled, the website is down, Its Facebook page has been scrubbed.
City of Anderson buys State Theatre from www.heraldbulletin.com Jul 30, 2019 — The theater has been tied up in a lawsuit filed by the former owners against the city, dating back to the first administration of former Mayor…
2014 YouTube video:
Grand opening ad:
Renovations still stalled. Link