State Cinema

Located in the east London district of Leytonstone. Opened as the Premier Electric Theatre on 20th June 1910 with “I Love to Sit and Look at You”. The architects were Emden & Egan. All seating was on a single floor. The proscenium is wide, with a highly decorated plaster surround. The ceiling has beautiful plaster decorations. By 1934 it was operated by Ben Jay’s Circuit. It closed on 1st October 1938 with Jack Holt in “Making the Headlines' and Richard Arlen in "Murder in Greenwich Village”.

Noted cinema architect George Coles was employed to re-construct the exterior the ageing cinema into a modern Art Deco style, and the seating capacity was reduced to 600. It re-opened on 26th December 1938 with Tyrone Power in “In Old Chicago” and Wayne Morris in “Love, Honour and Behave”.

The State Cinema closed on 15th July 1961 with Sasha Krusharska in “Stars (Sterne)” and it became a bingo club in August 1961. In 1979 it was converted into a snooker club and this remained in use until early-2006. The building was unused and ‘For Sale’ until 2008, when it was refurbished and converted into a banquet hall known as Ivory Mansion. By October 2015 the banquet hall had new operators and it had been renamed Imperial Venue.

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Ken Roe on September 18, 2006 at 5:50 am

Three photographs that I have taken of the State Cinema:
As seen in Summer 1995:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/246437404/
Two views that I took in July 2006 with the building empty and ‘To Let’:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/246440498/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/246441311/

benrayner on November 6, 2007 at 8:07 am

Dear Ken it looks a very truncated cinema in all these pix – has anyone got an original photo?

Ken Roe on November 6, 2007 at 9:58 am

There is a December 1938 photograph taken at night (re-opening night perhaps?) on page 57 of the book ‘The Amber Valley Gazeteer of Greater London’s Suburban Cinemas 1946-1986’ by Malcolm Webb Published 1986. It shows the ‘new’ Art Deco style frontage designed by George Coles outlined in neon tube lighting with a ‘State’ vertical name sign. I have never seen photographs of the original 1910 designed building.