State Theatre
107 Columbus Avenue,
Sandusky,
OH
44870
107 Columbus Avenue,
Sandusky,
OH
44870
4 people
favorited this theater
Schine’s State Theatre was opened October 2, 1928. In September 1930 it was taken over by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. They were evict from the theatre in 1933 for non-payment of rent and it was then operated by Seltz Theatre Company.
The Sandusky State Theatre, Inc., is a non-profit 501 c-3 Organization, dedicated to the preservation of the State Theatre as an historic landmark and community cornerstone that serves the people of the greater Sandusky region by presenting programs of artistic, education and social merit.
Contributed by
Megan Bayer, Dave Wiegers
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
Hello
No, this theatre is not for sale. I checked into that.
PATSY—As an answer to your question, the State Theatre will re-open. I found this information out directly from the Erie County Chamber of Commerce.
JG
Hello
CHUCK1231—I am sorry, I don’t know the particulars on why it closed. When I found out it was closed last fall, I looked into it’s possible sale. So I contacted the Erie County Chamber of Commerce and they informed me that the State Theatre is not for sale and will reopen. As for function, I believe it was a combo theatre that catered both to live acts and movies. I am assuming that it will return to that function. The Chamber didn’t give me a time frame of when it will re-open. So I just hope the theatre is in good hands. It is a nice looking building.
JG
Hello Lost,
Is that a recent picture?
Hasn’t this theatre reopened yet????
I know they been having problems getting a decent person to run this place…but if it hasn’t reopened yet, there is something serious going on over there. What more is that I would be concerned about this theatre’s future.
JG
It is a beautiful theatre and I do hope that it does reopen.
Hello Lost….
Ahhh, that is MUCH better. Always like to see something on the marquee. So that means they are open again. That is a good thing. I do hope that the place is in the right hands this time around. A couple years ago they had some financial botching and they closed for a while.
The only thing worse than a blank marquee is one that says “Closed”, “Out of Business”, and the infamous “Temporarily Closed” (a nod to the reverse side of the Styx Paradise Theatre album).
Geo
Also a Sandusky Theatre advertised in 1911 and onwards, but no other corroborating information seems to be available.
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My great aunts were in vaudeville and played in Sandusky at the State Theatre. I believe it was the Schine’s State Theatre. This was in April, 1929.
The Sandusky State theater had a Page 3/8 organ installed in 1928. This organ’s main cable was accidentally cut during remodeling work. It was unplayable as of 2005. However, the pipes are being attended to, and the cable is being readied for reconnection. The console is going for restoration to a qualified shop in Indiana. It is expected that the Page will be back in full use sometime later this year.
A February 24, 1928, Sandusky Star Journal article about the start of construction on the new theater at Water Street and Columbus Avenue for the Seltz Theatre Company said that it had been designed by Lima, Ohio, architect Peter M. Hulsken, who had recently designed a theater for the Schine circuit in Lima. During the planning stage for the project, Schine had entered into an agreement with Seltz to operate the new house.
Schine’s State Theatre opened on October 2, 1928, but in September, 1930, the State and a number of other Schine houses in Ohio were taken over by Warner Brothers. In 1933 the Seltz Theatre Company evicted Warner Brothers from the State for failure to pay the monthly rent. A long lawsuit followed, and from this period until at least as late as 1950, the State was independently operated by the Seltz company itself.
There are a couple of quick exterior shots of this theater on Hotel Impossible, season 8, episode 13.