Scenic Theatre

It is most likely that this is the Scenic Theatre, an apparently false history of which appears on the current State Theatre’s official web site. The Scenic was around long before 1927, and was apparently not an aka for the State. The Scenic was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, and was mentioned in the August 24, 1912 Moving Picture World, which said that C. L. Voelkers had sold his interest in the Scenic Theatre at Holstein to Conrad Claussen.

118 E. 2nd may not have been the theater’s original location, though, as a December 13, 1913 MPW item said that William Werner had recently purchased Clausen’s interest in the Scenic and planned to erect anew building for the house. However, I have not found any follow-up items indicating that Mr. Werner carried out his plans, so it might not have happened.

In any case, the Scenic was still in operation when the State opened in late 1927, and continued to be listed in the FDY through 1930, along with the State. If, as I suspect, the Scenic was the house at 118 E. 2nd Street, it’s presence on the 1933 Sanborn map could be evidence that it was still in existence at least that late, even though the State was the only house the FDY listed in the town that year, and with the notation that even it was closed. It might be that the Scenic was opened for part of the year in 1933, after the FDY went to press, and thus appeared on the Sanborn map as a theater. If so, it didn’t survive long. The 1934 FDY does not list the Scenic, but does list the State as open again.