The State Theatre
Historic Downtown Picture Palace (1927– current)
Kalamazoo State Theatre interior. photo: Kalamazoo State Theatre | The Hinman Company.
When the State Theatre opened in July 1927 at the corner of South Burdick and Lovell streets, it brought the “atmospheric” movie palace experience to Kalamazoo. Built for the W.S. Butterfield Theater chain, it was constructed in 9 months for $350,000. Originally it featured vaudeville shows and silent movies. Today it functions as a live performance venue.
An Eberson Theater
The State was designed by renowned theater architect John Eberson of Chicago. He adopted a Spanish motif for the interior and façade. Originally seating up to 1,300 people, the interior is reminiscent of an ornate Spanish courtyard. The interior walls resemble elegant building façades. The ceiling is painted dark blue with twinkling electric stars, and moving clouds are projected across it for an outdoor atmosphere. The auditorium, lobby and mezzanine are decorated in a Mediterranean color scheme with pottery, furniture, wrought iron, statues and paintings. The exterior façade utilizes buff-colored tapestry brick and ornate terra-cotta accents.
Kalamazoo State Theatre postcard view c.1930. Private collection
In 1964, the theater went through some drastic modernization. The original 45 foot vertical sign on the corner was replaced with a horizontal marquee over the box-office. The ornate interior was stripped of some of its original décor. However, recent preservation efforts have helped to restore the original splendor of the State.
Barton Theatre Organ
The State is also home to a Barton Theatre Organ, which accompanied silent pictures from 1927 to 1937. With the advent of “talkies,” it was silenced until 1950. It was fully restored in 1961 and put back into service. The original organ is still used for special presentations.
Survival
In 1982, Butterfield decided to stop showing first-run movies at the State and closed it due to poor profits and the proliferation of the suburban movie multiplex. Efforts to save the theater from a tragic end were pursued by several local entrepreneurs and preservationists. After years of uncertainty, Kalamazoo’s State Theatre has survived to attract a wide variety of performers. It is one of the few remaining “atmospheric” movie palaces in the United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in late 2021.
Written by Beth Scott, Kalamazoo Public Library Staff, December 1997. Last updated 8 December 2021.
Sources
Articles
“Playhouse rises, ornate and stately, in 9 months”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 13 July 1927.
“The State Theatre: Kalamazoo’s Spanish courtyard”
Alexander, Jerry
Kalamazoo Review, April 1976, pp.13-15.
“Saving the State: in Kalamazoo, one of the last grand old movie palaces is threatened”
Christian, Donna A.
West Michigan, January 1984, pp. 41-43
“A state of mind: from vaudeville to Verve Pipe, the State Theatre rolls with the times”
Ciokajlo, Mickey
Kalamazoo Gazette, 24 March 1997, page 6:1, column 1.
“Theater added to the National Register of Historic Places”
Kalamazoo Gazette, 5 December 2021, page A2, column 1.
Local History Room Files
Subject File: State Theatre
Orange Dot File: State Theatre
Websites
State Theatre
State Theatre Inventory 1989 (PDF) (courtesy of the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Office)
Correspondence relating to the State Theatre inventory PDF (courtesy of the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Office)