Capacity 571 Phone +1 814-272-0606 | Opened 15 October 1938 | |
Owner The State Theatre, Inc. Operator The State Theatre, Inc. Current use Community theatre (since 2006) Address 130 W College Ave, State College, PA 16801, USA Similar Nittany Valley Charter S, Alpha Fire Company, Whitaker Center for Science a, Millbrook Playhouse Profiles | ||
The State Theatre is a 571-seat non-profit community theatre in State College, Pennsylvania. It currently operates as one of the cultural hubs of music, cinema, and live performances for downtown State College and the Centre County region.
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Movie theatre
The State was originally built as a movie theatre for Warner Bros. Pictures in 1938 at a cost of $70,000 (approximately $1,190,993 in today's dollars). It was described as a "beautiful and tasteful modern theatre presenting the finest pictures with the most advanced sound, projection and comfort." The first movie shown at the theatre was The Sisters starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis. The State Theatre, also referred to for a period as The State Twin, continued to operate as a movie theatre until March 2001.
Community theatre
Shortly after its closure as a cinema, plans were in place to convert the property into a non-profit community theatre. Costs to cover the ambitious renovation, conversion and expansion goals would be raised through local fundraising efforts as well as corporate and government grants.
Once the necessary capital was received, the theatre building was extensively refurbished and reopened in December 2006 as a state-of-the-art venue for theatre, dance, music, film, concerts, and other regional and international performances. Some of the sold-out opening night guests of the "new" theatre included Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania State Senator Jake Corman, and State College Mayor Bill Welch.