State-Lake Theatre

Commenting on earlier posts regarding the Wurlitzer pipe organ, the original organ in this theatre was a W. W. Kimball instrument. It was replaced by Wurlitzer Opus 1773 shipped from the Wurlitzer factory on October 28, 1927. It was a Style 240 of 13 ranks and 3 manauls. It was removed in June 1962 and sent to California where it remained at the Avenue Theatre where some additional ranks of pipes were added. When the Avenue Theatre closed this organ made a brief stop at the Towne Theatre in San Jose.

In 2005 I purchased this instrument and it is now the focal part of my FL home. It has been enlarged to 25 ranks.

Yes, I guess you’re right. Our economy isn’t quite as rough up here in Canada. Cineplex Entertainment and Empire Theatres have been busy opening new multiplexes or updating older ones to stadium seating. I was thinking that for downtown Chicago something more along the lines of Landmark or an Angelika especially if it was to have only 7 screens. Would have been interesting to see what Muvico would have done since they usually do “themed” type of theatres.

Wow, sounds like a great plan. Did you see that Muvico pulled out of Block 37? Too bad, would have been nice to have a theatre in the heart of the Loop again. Maybe another company will take a shot at it.

To Cinemark Fan, Oh Contraire. I have a photo copy of a Chicago Sun-Times June 20, 1969 movie ad that shows MACKENNA’S GOLD playing at the Chicago Theatre in “70mm Super Panavision Stereophonic Sound Technicolor.” I would venture a guess that the State-Lake had a bigger screen. I did see APOCALYPSE NOW in 70mm at the State-Lake on opening day, October 5, 1979. I paid a then unheard-of $5.00 for the ticket. That’s the kind of day that I will never have again.—Tim O'Neill

Here is an ad circa 1947:
http://tinyurl.com/mast2w

Don’t worry Cinemark, the theatre would probably be an Indy-style adventure itself.

Meanwhile, I would have taken up the 70mm Apocalypse Now showing. I’ve never seen it in a theatre but my parents did a year before getting married. My mother called one of the worst movies she’d even seen (but nowadays she would probably tell the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie was the worst ever, though I strongly disagree with that).

Oh my, I’m babbling.

Also, a 70mm Poltergeist/E.T. Spielberg double bill seems nice.

Aww man, those photos make me wanna walk in with my $2 and see “Raiders”. And I have my baton to ward off any mice and rats that might be there.

Does anyone know where I can find auditorium photos of the State-Lake?

I just happened to rebrowse the State-Lake page. BWChicago’s 06/09/05 post with has a link to a Stanley Kubrick picture from 1949. It looks like Kubrick may have applied a little bit of primitive “photoshop” techniques to enhance the State-Lake marquee.

The film “He Walked By Night” although released in 1949, while possibly playing there at the time, may or may not have been added with a little artistic license by Kubrick. To better convey the gritty street feeling he was trying to capture as a photo journalist. The story was based in L.A., but is/was known for it’s film noir photography style at the time.

Good ideas, Chicago229. Thanks for posting them.

Not to mention the presumed cost of heating & air conditioning a giant space, whether it had much of an audience or not. I remember some cold days at the State-Lake and a few others. Alienating what little audience you did have, was the next to last step to closing.

I don’t remember the State-Lake becoming as run down cosmetically as say the McVicker’s in the end. But no vandals is no people, either way.

David – If you look at my booking lists for most of the palace theaters downtown you will notice it was quite rare for a movie to play too long from the late 70s until my list ends. The palaces were too expensive (at least more expensive then the suburbs), you had to pay to park and there was an inherent fear of crime – especially at night. That’s why it really sucks that many of these theaters are gone now and those that survive are either badly in need of extensive repair or don’t show movies anymore. But I guess I shouldn’t complain as long as they survive. This beautiful theater has no signs it ever existed – and that is the saddest thing of all.

I just noticed a bit of a trend, that mught have been signaled by the introduction of the VCR. If you look at JRS40’s movie list from 4/28/07, basically after “Apocolypse Now” (fitting), The State Lake must have began struggling to keep an audience. As most of everything after that, was there for less than a month.

Here is an October 1950 Life magazine photo, from a new collection of images on Google:
http://tinyurl.com/56hd3v