State Theatre

Decorator Rex Davis of the Teichert studios had some unkind things to say about the original decor of the State in this Boxoffice article of June 21, 1941. The house had just been redecorated by Teichert, under the direction of architect Roy B. Blass.

Henry L. Newhouse and F. M. Bernham were the architects of the State Theatre. A rendering of the building can be seen at the bottom of this page of the February 2, 1924, issue of Exhibitors Herald.

The 2009 CTA calendar features this image for August: View link

Yes, it’s true, Red Skelton did play the State!
NEWS ITEM:
Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, May 19, 1959, s. 3, p. 10, c. 6:
RED, ONCE FIRED, BOUNCES BACK
SKELTON TELLS OF CHANGE, by Stephen Harrison

Richard Skelton, also known as Red and once fired here by popular request, returned Monday to the scene of the crime—rehired by popular request.

Can’t Vie with Legs
Having abandoned Vincennes, he was playing vaudevile in such landmarks as the Haymarket, the State & Congress, and the Gem, where aficionados paid a lot more attention to burlesque girls' legs than they ever did to Skelton.

[At the time of this item Skelton was headlining at the famed Chez Paree.]

Doug
Not that I recall. I only went there a couple times. Most of my swimming was at Palmer Park
John

The photo above is pretty close to how the building looked the last time I saw it (around 1990).

John – Read your post about the Roseland YMCA. I grew up in Englewood, around 63rd & Halsted Sts. At 66th & Union Ave., there was the Englewood YMCA. Went in there several times as a guest. The Catholic Church policy at the time was no Catholics could join the YMCA. Anyway, in the wintertime, we’d swim at the Englewood Y’s indoor pool. Apparently, Roseland and Englewood had the same policies for swimming. I remember the fish classifications for swimmers and remember having to swim naked. Like you, I never understood that policy.

John – I remember People’s Lutheran – the Boy Scout Troop I belonged to – I think it was 728 – had troop meetings there. The scoutmaster was a this great Italian treasure named Fee Fanizzo – Uncle Fee we called him. For that matter, I think the Cub Scout Pack, which I also had belonged to, was 3728 and also based out of People’s. BTW, there are some good pictures if you go to the main Webshots site and, in the search box, enter Chicago Roseland. The first page or two are some shelter shots, but then you get into the good stuff. Like photos of the Y, Schmid & Lofgren, the Roseland, the State, etc. Regrettably, no Giovanni’s, which is still the standard I judge all other pizzas by. I think they moved to Dolton – and still use the family recipe.

And Doug, like you, I learned to swim at the Y. They had grades like minnow and perch. My best friend and I went one spring break. Fenger had great summer swim classes too. And the Pump at 103rd and the tracks was nice.

Doug,
Yes, the YMCA is still there. Right next to where the White Castle used to be. I knew all kinds of ways to sneak into the “Y”. Spent a couple nights sleeping in the gym after my father locked me out of the house for not being home by 9pm.I swam there a few times but I actually learned at Palmer Park pool. I used the weight room when I was a teenager also.
John

I remember when they used to open Palmer Park for the summer…they would have a big celebration….put out some white sheets, put pennies all over them and we would race and try to grab as many as we could…There was a great big church right in the middle of the boulevard near Palmer Park…I never went in it, but it intrigued me.
I remember Morgan Park Military Academy…I think it is gone now.
A kid that lived next to me on Perry Ave was an usher at Parkway Theater…his name was Ronnie Stromberg.

Mendel was looking a bit peaked. However, a couple of years ago, I stopped at the old Pullman Library at 110th and Indiana. Same waxed wood smell, old heavy wood tables and chairs and the balcony hadn’t changed a bit. I wish I had a nickel for every time I rode my bike down the hill and picked up a basket full of books at that place. It was nice to see it kept up and took me back to some nice memories. Our old church, Elim Lutheran, at 113th and Forest was OK too. The name had been changed to Reformation Lutheran, but the building wasn’t too much the worse for wear.

One addendum…I went back to Roseland in the 1970’s…the State had become a church. Beautiful Roseland with it’s great business area had deteriorated into a terrible slum.
Doug Bruton

Hi I am Penny Krejca. I grew up in Roseland until I was 16 and had to move for our safety. I went to the State Theater every Saturday. It cost 25 cents. I think. I loved getting cups of Green River Pop from there. I remember when they had scary movies and Frankenstien would come out and scare us all while lightning flashed across the big screen. Wonderfull Memeories.