State Theater
1412 Farnam Street,
Omaha,
NE
68102
1412 Farnam Street,
Omaha,
NE
68102
1 person
favorited this theater
The Sun Theater, which formerly sat on Farnam Street, in Omaha, Nebraska, opened on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 30), 1916. It was operated by the Goldberg Brothers.
The lights in the almost 800-seat theater were shaped like sunbursts. The color scheme for the lobby and auditorium was red and ivory. The seating was so steep that one could climb from the balcony into the top row of the main floor.
During the 1930s the name of the Sun was changed to The State Theater. It remained open, mainly showing Walt Disney films, until 1969.
The Sun Theater was demolished in 1976.
Contributed by
Ivan Kent Steinke
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The Sun Theater was part of a “planetary” theme at the time in naming theaters in Omaha. There was the Sun Theater, the Moon Theater, and the World Theater (later renamed the Omaha Theater). Sorry that I haven’t found out much information about the Moon, perhaps it was renamed also.
1967 photo of the State Theatre.
View link
Can someone tell me exactly where on Farnam the State sat? Was it on the north side of the street or the south side? Was it in the same block as the old WOW building, or was it further east?
The State Theater was across from the Paxton Hotel, where the downtown library is now located, on the North side of Farnam between 14th and 15th Streets.
I have uploaded the grand opening ad as Sun from November 30th, 1916 and as State from September 14th, 1929 as well as a picture of the Sun.