State Theatre

221 19th Street N,
Bessemer, AL 35020

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 15, 2024 at 2:49 am

The NRHP registration form for the Downtown Bessemer Historic District says that the State Theatre closed in 1960 and the building was completely remodeled for a chain jewelry store in 1964. It also mistakenly says that the building housed “…the Grand (later the State) Theatre for many years….” The building down the block that actually housed the Grand is long gone.

Both the Grand and the State were in operation in 1945 when their operating company, Bessemer Theatres Inc., filed a lawsuit against the city over its license fees for the theaters. The Alabama Supreme Court’s final decision, handed down in 1955, favored the city.