The State Theater - Ann Arbor - Michigan
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N 42° 16.765 W 083° 44.450
17T E 273998 N 4684438
The State Theatre in on Main Street in Ann Arbor
Waymark Code: WM276H
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2007
Views: 190
"Famed theater architect C. Howard Crane, who also designed the Fox Theater in Detroit, designed the State Theater in downtown Ann Arbor. Built in 1942, the State Theater was the last commercial building to be completed in Ann Arbor after the start of World War II. During the war, building was restricted due to rationing of construction materials. Patrons of the theater fondly remember the blue neon clock to the side of the screen. The clock was there to keep co-eds aware of the time so that they wouldn't be late for dormitory curfews that were enforced during the 1940's, 1950's and into the 1960's.
Built solely to show movies (with only a screen and no usable stage), the State Theater is a high-style art deco cinema. The building was owned and operated by the Butterfield Theater Company until the early 1980s. Butterfield also operated the historic Michigan Theater a half block away from the State in addition to many other theaters in and around Ann Arbor.
In the early 1980s, the George Kerasotes Corporation (GKC) took ownership of the building. GKC owned a chain of theaters in the mid-west and their signature carpeting can still be seen on the floor of the State Theater lobby today. As with so many movie palaces throughout the country, the theater was "quaded" (sub-divided into four smaller theaters) at this time to better compete with the new trend in movie theaters - multiple screens -- both the main floor and the balcony were divided to have two screens each. "
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