State Theatre, Historic theater in Cleveland, United States
State Theatre is a performing arts center and former movie palace in downtown Cleveland, built in an Italian Renaissance style and completed in 1921. Three connected lobby halls run across multiple levels and lead to an auditorium with seating for over 3,000 people.
Thomas Lamb designed the building for Loew's Theatres as part of a wave of grand movie palaces built across major American cities in the early 20th century. When that era ended, the venue shifted toward live stage productions and has remained in use ever since.
Four large murals by James Daugherty showing drama, cinema, and fantasy hang throughout the lobby halls, and visitors pass them on the way to their seats. The paintings give the entrance a gallery-like feel that reflects the building's long role as a home for the arts.
The entrance opens into a multi-level lobby where it is easy to find your way around before reaching the auditorium. Arriving a little early gives you time to take in the painted walls and the overall layout of the building.
A musical that opened in the lobby in 1973 was planned for three weeks but ended up running for two full years without stopping. That makes it one of the longest uninterrupted runs in the building's history, and it happened in the entrance halls rather than the main stage.
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