View From The Top

Lovers, families and Cornell students rushed to 107 West State Street for the 6 p.m. showing of the movie Show Girl at the new theater in town on a snowy December evening over 80 years ago. The aroma of the holidays filled the air, and the largest continuously lit neon sign in the Southern Tier greeted them at the marquee. The admission was 50 cents for adults, 30 cents for kids.

As they removed their gloves and scarves and shook off the snow and mud from their winter boots, little did they know they were about to enter a magical atmosphere that mimicked a warm summer night in a classic castle courtyard: an arched midnight blue ceiling illuminated with twinkling lights and drawings of the constellations, gothic stucco walls decorated with shields that represent the eight Cornell colleges, all the colleges of Oxford, Yale, Harvard, Penn, Cambridge and Carnegie Institute of Technology, as well as the United States Army and Navy, the largest, most extravagant vintage stage in the area with a gorgeous embroidered curtain, and the finishing touches added by a dreamlike cloud machine.

The crowed ooh-ed and ahh-ed, but as the organist played his first note, everyone quieted down and leaned on to their loved ones as they became mesmerized by the silver screen. This was the beginning of the State Theatre’s history as Ithaca’s cultural icon and premier venue of entertainment.

Ithaca’s State Theatre first opened its doors on Dec. 6, 1928. The construction was directed by two Cornellians from the Cornell Theatre, Inc. — Lewis Henry 1909, former Sun managing editor, and A.F. McCann 1916, a member of the Sphinx Head and also a former member of The Sun. The building was originally the Ithaca Security Company auto garage and showroom built in 1915, but was converted to a theater when the automobile business left in 1927. Later, it was transformed to a “cinema palace and vaudeville hall” by the Bernstein family, which owned several upstate New York theaters.

Recognized by the American Institute of Architects as one of the most significant historical architectural works in upstate New York, the theater’s primary style is Collegiate Gothic, a popular architectural style seen on college campus constructed between 1900 and 1930, and Moorish and Renaissance Revival elements were also added to create a classy fusion of styles. The original organ, which was played alongside silent film and seated in a loft 75 feet above the ground floor, was purchased from the Binghamton’s Link Organ Company in 1925. The first master organist was a nationally celebrated musician, appropriately named Charles Sharpe Minor.

Nowadays State Theatre houses primarily concerts and other live performances. Operated by a small staff of four, the State has hosted a wide range of performers from the finalists of Last Comic Standing, classical piano quintet The 5 Browns, to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the Dalai Lama. The Cornell Concert Commision hosted its concerts there in the 2004-05 school year while Bailey Hall was under construction, with performers from Marcus Rob, the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma.

“The State Theatre almost legitimizes Ithaca’s claim to being a city in my opinion,” said Miles Crettien, an Ithaca College senior who performed there as a bassist with his band the Rozatones. “It is a place where great artistic talent comes through, and provides an avenue for the people of Ithaca to experience great current cultural icons. Its beauty and prestige gives the people of Ithaca something to be proud of.”

There were times in its history, however, when the theater was not given that much appreciation.

After the decline of the vaudeville and the rise of movies in the 1930s, the State Theatre functioned primarily as a cinema house. The theatre struggled after the World War II due to the rise of television and suburban movie houses; a second movie screen replaced the balcony in the 1970s in response to the changing market. Unfortunately, the State Theatre closed in the 1980s due to long deferred maintainence and financial difficulties.

Downtown Ithaca once boasted seventeen grand theaters, including the Lyceum, the Crescent and the Strand. The state theatre was the last remaining vaudeville and cinema house in Ithaca, and it’s closing aroused widespread anxiety in the Ithaca community. The State Theatre became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In May 1998, Historic Ithaca, Inc. — a community organization to restore and renovate local historical sites —

responded to community demands and took over the immense task of restoring the State with funds from private donors, the municipal government and historic foundations. However, literally everything in the building needed work: the seriously damanged roof and plaster walls, electrical system, heating and ventilation, fire detection system, bathrooms, carpeting.

Despite the difficulties, phase I of the restoration was completed in 2001, and the theatre regained its occupancy permit later that year. On the re-opening night of Dec. 5, 2001, every seat in the house was filled.

“[The renovation] means the rebirth of downtown as a community gathering place, which begins with the restoration of the arts, entertainment, and dining,” said Dan Smalls ’91, an agricultural economics (now applied economics and management) alumnus, who is the talent buyer and director of the State Theatre. In March, the control of the renovation project transitioned from Historic Ithaca to State Theatre of Ithaca, Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted solely to the restoration of the State Theatre.

“Historic Ithaca was good at restoring things, but not very willing to take risks. Hopefully many new great things will come with this new partnership,” Smalls said, beaming.

In addition to serving as a cultural and artistic center of Ithaca, the State Theatre represents intimate personal value to the people of Ithaca. For 80 years, the theater not only served as an entertainment center and a community gathering place, but also as a local favorite spot for weddings and dates, shaping the most important days in many people’s lives.

Jean Hubbell grew up in a town outside Ithaca and continues to observe the Ithaca community’s use of the State Theatre as its operations manager.

“The other day a senior citizen couple came to see [comedian] Kathleen Mad­igan, and they told me they went on their first date here as Cornell students when the State Theatre was still a movie house,” Hubbell said. “There are so many other stories like this one. ... A lot of young ushers from the time when [the State Theatre] was still a movie house came in with their wife and children after the renovations were complete, and they were absolutely amazed at the work that has been done,”

“A very pregnant lady came in the other day. Her husband said the last time they came to see a show here she was pregnant too. Now the same performer is here, and she’s due again!” added Carolyn V. Ambrose, the box office associate.

Today, walking into the State Theatre is like taking a trip back to the 1920s. As Crettien said, the theater definitely has a “vintage look.”

With the help of many enthusiastic volunteers and a dedicated staff, the starlit ceiling, the shields the marquee and the neon signs are already restored to their original condition. The State even plays silent movies accompanied by live organists on special occasions — such as the State’s 80th Birthday Silent Film Event in December, a showing of Harold Lloyd in Speedy — to reminisce about the old days.

Although much work still has to be done, the theater has proven to be viable since its reopening, and will remain an vital part of Ithaca culture in the years to come.

“I love my job,” Hubbell said. “I love seeing how happy people are when they leave.”

Outside the State Theatre