State Theatre

220 N. Washington Street,
Falls Church, VA 22046

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The State Theatre (Official)

Additional Info

Architects: A.O. Budina

Functions: Concerts

Styles: Art Deco

Phone Numbers: Box Office: 703.237.0300

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News About This Theater

State Theatre, Falls Church, VA

Opened on January 27, 1936 with Dick Powell in “Thanks a Million”, the State Theatre was a popular movie house until closing in November 1988.

The theater reopened after going dark for almost ten years and was given a multi-million dollar restoration in the late-1990’s. Although the seating configuration has changed to accomodate live events and private functions, the State’s balcony has retained its original look and its original 200 seats. Minutes away from DC, the State has become a local hot spot again.

Contributed by Ross Melnick, Chrisi Rogers

Recent comments (view all 9 comments)

mzfitsyou
mzfitsyou on August 3, 2004 at 5:09 pm

I saw my first movie at the State (“Lady and the Tramp”). I took my oldest child to the State for his first movie (“Pete’s Dragon”) in 1984. It was in nasty shape at that time. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to find it returned to it’s former glory as a local night club. I have been there on several occasions since its renovation. Though my kids will not see any more movies there, they can still appreciate the wonderful craftsmanship of the theater. Now if only the Amuzu Theater in Southport could be refurbished and returned to it’s former glory! What a wonderful independent film theater it would be! And with the sophisticated Baby Boomers who keep moving into the area, it’s certain to stay afloat. Come on Mr. Owner – don’t just sit on it any more!

Seth
Seth on August 29, 2004 at 9:59 pm

The local paper in Arlington has an ‘X years ago in history’ feature that mentioned this theater as being in trouble with the Commonwealth for trying to buck the blue laws (re: Sunday movies) in 1936. It was apparently one of the first in VA to try.

Local619
Local619 on June 15, 2007 at 2:26 am

Booth ran Simplex E-7 projectors with Peerless Magnarcs powered by generators

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 18, 2007 at 12:43 am

This is a painting by Hannah Shapero:
http://tinyurl.com/2kyyve

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on September 28, 2008 at 4:00 am

Here are a couple of shots of the State from March 2008. Although the interior has had some major renovations, it is still a great venue: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 20, 2008 at 9:35 pm

There seem to be two different site for this theater, this one and the one at the top of the page:
http://www.thestatetheatre.com/index.xml

Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/8fuvgs

stopngosteve
stopngosteve on January 17, 2011 at 5:10 pm

Love this place! My buddy & I saw “Jaws” and “Can’t stop the music” (yes, the village people movie) there.

slockeco
slockeco on January 8, 2012 at 10:40 pm

worked here in ‘87 and '88, just before it shut down. Nice to see the improvements. They ran a couple marathons over weekends, but I can’t remember the genre now…

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 14, 2015 at 10:28 pm

1945 photo added courtesy of the Quentin Porter Collection.

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