State Theatre

The State's orchestra leader in the 1920s was Lloyd Skeels. According to his granddaughter Simone, a friend of mine, Lloyd was somewhat frowned upon locally because he employed non-union musicians for the pit orchestra.

According to my now 92-year-old adopted grandmother Mary Tolson Bruce, who grew up in Long Beach in the 20s, the State, along with the Fox West Coast, were the two most prestigious theatres downtown at that time.

The last chain to operate this theatre was Pacific theatres.

The theater may be long gone, but the building remains in downtown Long Beach. I shot a film there while at CSULB and while I could tell a theater had been there, I could not tell it had been such a big house.

I can remember seeing only one film here as a kid: "King Kong vs. Godzilla". The theater's marquee can be glimpsed for a few seconds in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" displaying 1962's "Cape Fear" as the two cabs chasing Spencer Tracy head towards Nu-Pike.

I stand corrected. This theatre is now a big hole in the ground.

The State Theatre was located at 104 E. Ocean Ave.

the building that housed the state was called the jergins trust building....it also contained the long beach municipal court offices until a separate court building was built in 1960...there was an underground walkway that went from the north side of ocean, under the building to an underground arcade that was actually under the theater...it was one of my dad's favorites when he was in the navy during ww2...and one of mine until it finally closed...it covers a corner of the long beach performing arts center

On this site at the corner of Pine Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, a high-rise commercial and residential development will be built. We are looking for architectural "artifacts", which will be used in the elevation and possibly interior areas of the building. We would appreciate learning about the possibility of acquiring these items. Please contact me at sclark@jrare.com Thank you.

the state was a great place...first remember seeing Here Come the Nelsons(1951)with my family there....it had an odd set up...the front had offices that faced the street...and it was necessary to go up a flight of stairs to reach the entrance to the seating part of the theater..after passing the snack bar

I saw many of films at the state I was a teenage movie buff I clearly remember seeing "summer of '42" in the balcony it was a bit grubby but a place to be. the horseshoe driveway is all that is left but there is talk of reopening the tunnel that would be cool.

You can see this Theater in the last chase scene of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World With the Nu Pike in the back ground the treacks in the front of the police dept.were the Pacifc Elct.Red Car
line on Long Beach Blvd.

And he front of the police dept was the WMCA builing also on Long Beach Blvd.

Thanks James Childs oldprojectionist
my e-mail jhchilds25@hotmail.com

The State was one of the theaters I missed. I only ever saw it from the outside, on our occasional trips to Long Beach. I remember the first time I saw it, when we visited The Pike when I was about six or seven years old, and we miraculously found a parking space on Ocean Avenue. I remember walking down the hill, and seeing the theater across the street, set back behind a wide plaza bordered on the east by a balustrade. I thought it was the most splendid theater I had ever seen, and wanted to go there, but never got the chance. It's right near the top of my list of vanished theaters I most regret not attending, along with the Figueroa and the Carthay Circle in Los Angeles.

My grandmother owned an "out of town" newspaper shop on the Pine Steet side. The address was 34 south pine and the shop was called "Universal News". It was originally located across the street in the Ocean Center Building for many years, but in 1957 she moved it to the Jergens Trust. She was standing in front of her shop during the chase scene in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and said the cars went around the corner and down the hill of her shop at full speed. That was in 1962. I worked for her during the summers of 1965 through 1967. I still remember watching the crowds walking over to NuPike (later Queens Park). I also remember the arcade under the building that led to the north side of Ocean Blvd. It was pretty decayed back then, but I understand it is still under there. In the arcade beneath the Jergens Trust was a stamp collecting shop run by Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt. They were German immigrants and very kind. In August of 1967 she moved the shop to 1st Street because a large Navy Locker Club wanted to use the space of several shops, but in a couple of months, she closed it and retired. She passed away in 1980. I still have a photo of the shop and THE KEY to the front door!

What's the other theatre that can be glimpsed as Spencer Tracy leaves the police department to infiltrate the group as they find out where the money is? Seen even more briefly than the State, it's across the street from the police department adjacent to the auto dealership.

On the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", my best guess without going back and still-framing the scene on my DVD is that it was the RIVOLI. That theater is listed here, however, it says it is on American Ave. and that street was re-named Long Beach Boulevard many years ago.

The police station used in the move was actually the YMCA on Long Beach Boulevard near 6th Avenue (and no longer used as that, if it still exsists). The Rivoli would have been in the same block or two as the YMCA. In that same scene, you will see the auto dealership across the street is Cormier Chevrolet. They are still in business, and are now located off the 405 in nearby Wilmington.

By the way, there is another theater visible in the film. During the chase scene on the long-gone Rainbow Pier, you can quickly see the "Tracy" theater, which was located on Seaside Ave. It's also gone now.

The Jergins Trust Building was originally called the Markwell Building. The architects were Harvey Lockridge and the Spokane-based architect Kirkland Cutter. The theater and six story office building were completed in 1919. Three additional floors were added to the building in 1929, to plans by Lockridge.

RIght you are Joe!!

Here are some great photos of the building.

The first is the Markwell Building in 1918 under construction...
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014897.jpg

The second is about 1922 or so... note the ORIGINAL Municipal Auditorium is behind it... that was torn down in the mid-1930s I believe.. maybe you can find out for sure, Joe ...
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014894.jpg

Here is a photo from about 1928 with the new additon of floors under construction...
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014901.jpg

Here is a 1929 view with the building ALMOST completed... you can see the old tiles where the floors USED to end.. and in the 1960s, that line was still visible, by the way...
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014903.jpg

Here is the building looking great in the 1930s with a crowd lining up to see the stage show and "picture" (as movies were called back then)...
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014899.jpg

Here is the stage show (vaudeville) players and the marquee in the background...
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014904.jpg

The auditorium....
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014898.jpg

Christian:

I notice that in the second picture to which you linked, the building has a rooftop sign reading "Loew's State."

The old auditorium must have been knocked down at the beginning of the 1930s, or the late 1920s, as the new long Beach Municipal Auditorium (which was itself demolished in the 1960s) was opened in early 1932.

The Older auditorium was beautiful... but built of wood but a major fire trap. My grandmother was a founding member of the Long Beach Symphony Society and spent many nights in the old auditorium in the 1920s and said that the its accoustics were great, but the ocean waves were easily heard beneath the floorboards. Here is a photo of that older venue from 1929, which shows the State Theater behind it... notice this angle is looking north-east towards Ocean Blvd.... notice the rail tracks.. this was for the trolley cars whick came to the ocean at the end of the line..... within a year or two that was to become the start of a pleasure pier to drive around in your automobile and the famous "spit and argue" club... a sort of poor mans "Toastmasters".....
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014875.jpg

The 1932 building was massive, spectacular and beautifully versitile.. it had a symphony hall as well as a "hippodrome" type of arena for events. Here are some interesting shots of that amazing building, which I was fortunate enough to see one time inside before it's destruction for the new Pacific Terrace Theater.... in this west-facing shot, you will see the State Theater in the distance in front of the entrance to the auditorium just to the right ... it was about 2 blocks further down Seaside Avenue.....
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014881.jpg

Here is the symphony hall in 1932, which was housed in the circular ocean-facing area on the south side... the painting on the ceiling was amazing.....
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014868.jpg

Here is the large "hippodrome" sized convention area in 1932, which was used for rodeos, conventions, rock concerts, basketball games and hundreds of other uses...... for many years in the late 40s through the early 60s, Long Beach was host to the "Miss International Beauty and American Beauty" pagent... it was held in this room.....
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014873.jpg

Here is beautiful mosaic mural that was designed by Stanton Macdonald-Wright and placed on the facade facing Ocean Blvd. The last time I saw this in 1989, it had been saved, removed and re-installed to the entrance of the new Long Beach Mall downtown... not sure if it is still there or not... maybe someone knows... of course, most of these classic buildings are long gone from downtown Long Beach today and the waterfront has been extended well beyond where the Rainbow Pier used to be.....
http://newdeal.feri.org/smw/3.jpg

The mural is still there on the side of the parking garage. You can walk right up to it and inspect its intricately placed tiles. I remember looking at it when it was mounted high on the MVNICIPAL AVDITORIVM. One had no idea it was so detailed when viewing it from the street level. The Jergen's Trust Building is gone, but the subway still runs under Ocean Boulevard. You can see a little of the subway wall tile on the portion that ran through the JTB basement.

A photo from the California State Library:

http://helios.library.ca.gov/soca/laco/1992-0581.jpg

When I was 8 years old mom took us kids to the State to see 101 Dalmations in 1961. To get to the State from the other side of the street we crossed under Ocean Boulevard using a tunnel.

The tunnel's still there -- just closed off at each end. The south end is visible. Nothing's been built on the property yet.

Thanks for those great photos, Christian!

I have looked for any evidence of the tunnel around Pine and Ocean, with no success. Any hints?

Actually, the Long Beach Press-Telegram ran an interesting story last year about that tunnel with pictures of it then and now.

It's behind a plywood bararicade. Walk down the Pine Avenue hill toward the ocean from Ocean Boulevard, and turn left when you get to the bottom. The lot where the building stood is empty. You can see the tunnel tiles on the remaining south wall.

Jerry

Make that "barricade."

Here is some news on what is to be built on the empty site. A developer is ready to start construction this summer on a high rise condominium project. The units will start at 400,000 and go up from there. I hope they will save the tunnel! This property has sat vacant since our beloved Jergens Trust was torn down in the late 1980s. Here are some artists conceptions of the new project to be called "Edgewater"...
http://www.lbreport.com/images/04/edgwatr2.jpg
http://www.jrare.com/images/EdgewaterOnOcean.jpg

You can still see a little part of the old Jergens Trust building at a restaurant called "Mums" at 144 Pine Street. They have apparently preserved the old German walnut wall panelling from a penthouse law firm in their nightclub called "Club Cohiba".

Isn't the parking lot at the bottom of the hill where they keep the merry go round from the Pike?

The parking lot was still there through the 1960s and 70s. In the late 1980s, the Jergins Trust (State Theater) building was sadly torn down. In the years since, the parking lot has been taken over by the new Long Beach Convention Center. "NuPike", later just called "The Pike" and after the Queen Mary arrived in late 1967 known as "Queen's Park", is now the subject of a new project where some of the historic buildings will be remodelled as shops and restaurants. Does anyone have updates on the progress of this?

I work near the Pike. All of the restaurants and theaters are new. There are a few old buildings remaining, including a tattoo museum set to open in the future.

Here are two 1925 photos of the State:
http://tinyurl.com/fsewm
http://tinyurl.com/gaye6

Ken: The second of those two pictures also shows the big, blank wall of the then brand-new West Coast Theatre in the middle distance.

Here is an interesting view of the entrance in 1923:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014892.jpg

This shot gives you an idea of the street layout if you were trying to place the theater today:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014895.jpg

I miss the waves on the beach you can see in that 1925 picture. We have no waves today thanks to the huge 7-mile long breakwater built to during WWII. The navy used to park ships behind the breakwater while they were waiting repair at the shipyard. Now the navy shipyard is gone (replaced by a Chinese cargo terminal) and the breakwater serves only to retain the flood of trash dumped into the sea from the LA river every time it rains. Everyone thinks Huntington Beach is "surf city", but Long Beach was the forerunner, hosting the first national surf contest in 1938. Now the beach is empty nearly year-round. In my opinion, the breakwater slowly strangled beach attractions such as the Pike and led to the deterioration of the city through the 70's. I live two blocks from the beach and I never put even a toe in the water.

Sorry, the picture with the waves is on the page for the Strand theater: http://cinematreasures.org/theater/5074/
http://tinyurl.com/madt5

This 5/30/85 story in the LA Times states (no pun intended) that the State will be torn down in July 1985 and will be replaced by a luxury hotel. It's still a big hole in the ground. Condos are supposed to be built there but nothing has gotten started:

By fate so fortunate he still blesses his Irish luck, 69-year-old Harold Fahey grew up a stage brat in the main theater of a young city brimming with oil and ambition.

His haunt was the State Theater, a major-league vaudeville and movie house his father opened within the new Jergins Trust Building on Ocean Boulevard in 1920.

During a 15-year period, ending in 1935, Hal Fahey spent every possible hour behind the State's large stage, hanging out in the "green room," where performers gathered before a show.

As a 12-year-old, he danced the Charleston with Babe Ruth and dreamed of being a ventriloquist at the knee of Edgar Bergen.

At age 17, he watched as fallen heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, devoid of theatrical talent, brought overflow crowds to their feet with his simple presence. And, also as a teen-ager, he secretly fell in love with a fresh-faced starlet named Ginger Rogers.

"I had seen a lot of actors and actresses by that time," said Fahey, "but I liked her because she was such a sweet person, like a schoolgirl. We took her to the Pacific Coast Club one Friday night and really knocked the natives dead."

In recent weeks, Fahey, a retired designer of bank buildings, has returned to the old theater several times, touring it and the 10-story Jergins Building with an architect's eye toward restoration. The Jergins, with one of the city's best locations at Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue, is scheduled to be razed in July and replaced by a luxury hotel.

"I am very sentimental about this theater," said Fahey last week from inside the old State.

He was dapper in a cream-colored suit and florid tie, but the theater was a mess. The stage had been hacked in half and curtains were torn. Gone were the theater's 1,800 seats, its bronze chandeliers and brocaded draperies. The angels with harps that had graced its ceiling dome were covered with gray paint. So few lights worked that it was difficult to see even the destruction that remained.

"I was against it being torn down," said Fahey. "but now I realize that architecturally and in an engineering sense, it is not feasible to make it a safe and modern structure."

That comment will not make him popular with local cultural preservation groups, of which he is a member, Fahey said. Preservationists have worked for more than a year to find a buyer to restore the Jergins but have been unsuccessful. Current owners have estimated that restoration would cost between $15 million and $20 million and that, in the end, the building would lose money.

Standing or not, the State Theater will continue to evoke the best of Fahey's memories, he said. They are captured in old photos of home run kings, singing cowboys and movie stars. More than once, a small circus with lions, tigers and clowns was featured on its stage.

From the Orpheum in New York and the Pantages in Hollywood, the stars came to perform at the State by the hundreds.

Babe Ruth even slept in the Faheys' large First Street home while doing a week of appearances at the theater in the winter of 1927, the year he hit 60 home runs. "Every morning when I got up, he'd be there," recalled Fahey, still slightly in awe. "I was going to an academy, and before they'd come to pick me up, we'd have breakfast together. He ate a ton. He was rotund and we had to bring in a heavier chair for him."

Fahey's father, William, who "made a million dollars" off the State and a few million more from investments in other theaters and movie productions, talked baseball with Ruth. And one evening young Hal danced for the slugger on stage.

"They'd have a simulated baseball stadium as a backdrop and Babe Ruth would be on stage in his uniform and with a bat. He'd just point laughingly and select 10 to 15 youngsters from the audience, and he'd ask them, `What do you do best?' "

Some would sing. A little boy, with Ruth as his pitcher, walloped a ball, hitting the drummer in the theater's 15-person orchestra. And Fahey, chosen by prearrangement with the stage manager, did a 10-minute Charleston. His father was furious, Fahey recalled with a smile, explaining that the old man had tried unsuccessfully to keep him out of the performers' way.

Ruth, who was paid $5,000 for his week of 45-minute shows, was "a womanizer and a liver-upper, but we never knew it," said Fahey. "His driver would have him home by 10 o'clock."

`Extremely Wholesome'

Of all who appeared, Ginger Rogers, promoting her earliest films, probably drew the largest crowd, Fahey said. "I can tell you exactly what she looked like without makeup. It's as if she's standing right here. She was freckle-faced and had pretty, bright eyes. She had red hair, though not naturally. She was sweet and clean and jolly, extremely wholesome. I was impressed."

But Hal's favorite was Bergen. "He came maybe eight times over 10 years. One time in the green room, he let me hold Charlie McCarthy on my lap and tried to teach me to be a ventriloquist. He loved children."

But by 1935, motion pictures had raised stars' wages beyond the means of the senior Fahey, and the State's six-act, 75-cent afternoons of vaudeville and movies were becoming a thing of the past.

The State eventually became a theater for movies only. Fahey, hooked by the entertainment business, worked with his father until the old man sold his theaters in 1950. Films were shown at the State by its various owners until it was closed in 1977.

Now, Fahey lives on Ocean Boulevard, near the house of his birth and a short bike ride from the family's First Street home.

"I still ride by and think about it all," he said. "There are so many memories."

Thanks for the beautiful memory of the State Theater, Ken. Very nice of you to post this!

I wish I could have seen it in its heyday.

The State is on the far right:
http://tinyurl.com/yqvsr9

Ken -

Thanks for the great picture. I can remember going to the State only twice. Once with my mother to see "When Comedy Was King" and again in the late sixties to see a double bill of "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "That Touch of Mink," both in re-release with some friends.

My mother was very protective and didn't like me going to theatres down on Ocean Blvd. She was happier if I went to the Crest or the Towne, because there were fewer sailors around.

In ken mc's picture from Jul 7, 2007. You can seen the sizes of the buildings for the United Artists Theatre and the West Coast Theatre and the Imperial Theatre next door to the West Coast.

The first photo is from V-J Day in August 1945. The other photos are of the arcade underneath Ocean and are undated:
http://tinyurl.com/2kof54
http://tinyurl.com/35exoo
http://tinyurl.com/2mvdbn
http://tinyurl.com/2k9snk
http://tinyurl.com/3cysbf

I Remember going to all the old theaters when I was stationed in Long Beach from '68-'72. I went back there for the first time since a couple of years ago. I stood on the corner of Ocean and Long Beach Blvd dumbfounded. The only thing I recognized was, the Arena and the Breakers Hotel. I miss the old downtown Long Beach. Does anyone have any pics of Ocean Blvd from that era. Especially the North side. Thanks

Try the USC archives. Many Long Beach photos. Most are not here as there is no theater in the picture.

Here is a 1943 ad from the Long Beach Press-Telegram:
http://tinyurl.com/2c82bb

Here is a December 1959 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/264ck2

There is apparently some interest in reopening the tunnel once the current construction is completed. As I understand, the tunnel is structurally sound, just a little musty after being sealed off for several years. I don't think there would be any stores, it would just be a pedestrian walkway underneath Ocean to the east side of the street. My source was someone who works in the Breakers building on the intersection of Pine and Ocean.

Here is a 1934 photo. Stock car races were being held at Mines Field, which later became LAX:
http://tinyurl.com/2cmwab

Dark Hazard with Edward G. Robinson and Genevieve Tobin was released in February of 1934.

Here is the location today. The condo complex has been advertised for the past year, but no construction to speak of as yet:
http://tinyurl.com/ypzzx5

You can see the State's marquee in the 1974 film "Gone in 60 Seconds":
http://tinyurl.com/2rsm6a

My dear friend JOSEPH MUSIL has an amazing collection of 35mm slides, especially of ALL the Long Beach theaters.

If you wish to see them screened in the beautiful surroundings of his fabulous Strand Theatre in his SALON OF THE THEATRES in Santa Ana, Ca., I suggest you call him: 714-667-6959 for an appointment.

Interestingly, Mr. Musil headed the restoration of Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and was manager of the Fox Theatre, Long Beach... Please remember there will be an admission fee. The password is "Simon" and the show will be most memorable!!!

This is the beach side of the State in 1940, from the LAPL. Most if not all photos show the street side, which admittedly was where the theater entrance was:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00077/00077455.jpg

Here are two photos circa 1920s from the LAPL:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00077/00077198.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00077/00077197.jpg

This one is dated 1930:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00077/00077202.jpg

Another street photo,