State Theater
320 South Salisbury Street,
Raleigh,
NC
27601
320 South Salisbury Street,
Raleigh,
NC
27601
1 person
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Boxoffice of October 23, 1954, had a few before-and-after photos of the front and lobby of the State Theatre, which had been remodeled that year. Plans for the remodeling were by E.H. Geissler. Geissler was later one of the co-developers of the Ultra-Vision projection system that was installed in a number of Wilby-Kincey theaters starting in 1969.
I know the definition of a “Roadshow” or “Hard Ticket” engagement, but I find it hard to believe that “The Wild Bunch” would have played a reserved seat engagement for such a short period when no other theatre played it as a “RoadShow” engagement.
definition of the term “roadshow"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadshow
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THE WILD BUNCH was one of the exclusive roadshow enagements that were in selected North Carolina cities among them Raleigh and Greensboro. It wouldn’t come to other cities in the state until late July or August of 1969 or even later on within the year when it was re-released.
The Wild Bunch actually played as a hard ticket showing or just as an exclusive engagement?
The State Theatre in Downtown Raleigh had also a lot of exclusive enagement films that played here:
Sam Peckinpah’s classic 1969 violent western THE WILD BUNCH opened here as a roadshow enagement on July 1, 1969 and it played here for weeks.
The State Theatre closed for a period in the early 1950s and underwent an intensive interior renovation that included new seats, carpets and stage curtains. They made a big deal out of the reopening (I was there) and soon after started a series of talent shows.
They had an extra wide seat in the back row that was installed for a rather “hefty” assistant coach at a local college who loved going to movies. Anybody sitting in that seat when he came in would be asked to move.
The State once had a Style 49 Robert Morton 2/3 organ.
The State Theatre opened in 1925 with the last movie being shown in 1975. Martin Theatres operated the state Theastre for a while.
I was present when the State Theatre was torn down for the Wake County Jail in the summer of 1987 on Salisbury St. The theatre was in ruins. The building in front of the State Theatre facing Salisbury St. is called the Lawyers Building and it is still there.
The main entrance for the State Theatre was a foyer through the Lawyers Building. Surely someone in Raleigh remembers this and can reminisce on the long foyer you had to pass through to reach the State.
For some reason the previous link still works for me. The photo might be cached on my computer. Here is the page with a photo of this theater and other Raleigh theaters.
There is an Office Building where the State Theatre once stood. It houses State Offices and the Probation and Paroll offices, so the header can list the theatre as closed/demolished.
LM the link don’t work. Need to add the full link again.
Here is an undated interior photo of the State Theater. Let me know if there is a problem with the link.
The State operated at least through the late 1960s, and possibly, into the early 1970s. The first movie I saw there was Tom Jones. The theatre had a triangular marquee, and there was a balcony. During the late 1950s and the 1960s, the State was one of only two downtown Raleigh theatres. The other was the more palace-like Ambassador, one block away on Fayetteville Street.
Lost Memory indicated the State was part of the Paramount chain. That might have been true through the 1940s. I know that during the approximately last 15 years of the State’s operations, it was NOT part of the Wilby-Kincy (Paramount) circuit. The Ambassador, Varsity, and Tower Drive-In were the only Wilby-Kincy Raleigh theatres at that time. I believe the State was an independent theatre. I know that sounds strange, because the State booked good movies, to include some Disney.
Civil rights protests were common in the early 1960s. In 1963, many theatres in the largest North Carolina towns agreed to voluntarily desegregate their facilities. This was prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act enactment. The owner of the State refused to desegregate. I remember seeing a local TV news story about this. The State was showing Love Is A Ball with Glenn Ford and Hope Lange. The story indicated there were larger crowds at the State that day, suggesting that people came out to support the State’s decision, not necessarily to see the film.
Some type of nightclub operated in the State after it closed. I remember the advertisements, but I never went. I believe that venture was short-lived. Afterwards, the State sat empty for years. I haven’t been back in a long time and do not know the present status.
A Robert-Morton theater organ size 2/3 opus 49 was installed in the State Theater in 1926. Status unknown.