State Theatre

23 W. Elm Street,
Lodi, CA 95240

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DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 23, 2020 at 5:17 am

1913 photo postcard as Tokay Theatre added credit Mark Kittinger. Tokay Theatre still needs to be added as a Previous Names per above post.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on June 27, 2012 at 11:28 pm

The AKA Tokay Theatre needs to be added, per the article in rivest266’s link in the previous comment. A March 12, 1937, Lodi News-Sentinel article here tells of the purchase of the Tokay Theatre by the T&D Jr. circuit. The house had been closed for several years a that time.

The March 12 article says that the Tokay Theatre began operating in 1908, but a May 8, 1915, article in the Lodi Sentinel said that construction was underway on the Tokay Theatre, and that it would be opened by June 1, so apparently the house was rebuilt that year.

A major remodeling was carried out in 1928, as told in this article from the April 7 issue of the Sentinel. A short time later, the Tokay Theatre was taken over by National Theatres, then also operators of the Lodi Theatre.

In its last days, the State operated as a Spanish language house, but this proved unsuccessful. The State Theatre had ended its run as a movie house by November, 1961, when it was converted into a dance hall.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 29, 2010 at 12:39 am

This opened on August 27th, 1937.
you can see the multi-page opening announcements at View link
It was opened on the site of the old Tokay theatre.