Sunday, February 5, 2012

STATE Theatre

STATE Theatre, 212 Locust St., Harrisburg, PA. USA 17112

The State Theatre was located on Locust Street between 2nd Street and 3rd Street, a little ways down from Capitol Park. The site had been occupied by theaters since approximately 1900. First on this site was the Lyceum Theatre and then the Orpheum Theatre, the latter was demolished in 1925 to make way for the State Theatre.

The State Theatre was housed in a large stone building and featured a wide, narrow rectangular marquee with small display panels on each end. A large vertical sign towered three stories at one end of the marquee.

An ornate stand-alone ticket booth was in a wide but narrow exterior space with several entrance doors. The interior of the State maintained the most overtly theatrical ambiance of any Harrisburg theater.

There were two lobbies, the first a kind of arcade, and the second an elaborate, palatial affair with chandeliers and much architectural detail. Restrooms were downstairs at opposite ends of the second (main) lobby that also included several display frames for posters and a refreshment stand. I seem to recall a second-floor balcony (mezzanine) space over this lobby that led to the actual seating balcony.

The State Theatre had one of the largest auditoriums and screens in the city. It certainly had the largest screen when it was renovated for CinemaScope in 1953. Fox’s "The Robe" kicked off the wide-screen revolution in Harrisburg with a huge curved screen and a state-of-the-art 4-track stereophonic sound system.

During the first phase of this era the State Theatre alternated 20th Century-Fox CinemaScope films with the Senate Theatre on Market Square but they were much more impressive at the State Theatre.

During the 1940’s and 1950’s the State Theatre alternated Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, and Columbia releases. A relative also recalls big bands and stage shows at the State Theatre in the 1940’s. In the 1960’s films such as "The Wild Bunch, " “Barbarella," "Such Good Friends”, and "2001, A Space Odyssey" were screened.

Alas, "2001" did not prove prophetic for the State Theatre which was razed in the early-1970’s to make way for an office building. Poor choice for Harrisburg. It would have made a wonderful downtown performing arts center.

A view of Locust St. and the STATE Theatre looking toward Capitol Park, half a block away. 

CinemaScope Films in Harrisburg

An unusual collective movie magazine ad for the first six CinemaScope films released by 20th Century-Fox, 1953-1954.
CinemaScope was the first viable commercial wide-screen process developed by 20th in 1953. It was Fox's answer to 3-D and one of the tag lines was "You see it without glasses." The patented process was eventually leased to other studios (MGM and Warner Bros.) though many other wide-screen processes - SuperScope, VistaVision, etc. - were also developed.

CinemaScope also introduced stereophonic sound to the masses, but most only in first-run theaters that had been converted to the new 4-channel sound system.

THE ROBE opened at the State Theatre in Harrisburg with much ceremony. HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE opened at the Senate which, however, lacked the space for the huge curved screen that had been installed at the much larger State. Both theaters had impressive new stereo sound systems.

Both theaters also continued to provide the first Harrisburg runs of ensuing Fox 'Scope pictures.

Newspaper Ad: The ADVENTURES of HAJJI BABA (1954) Harrisburg, PA.

One of the lesser-known early CinemaScope productions.
There was a title song (sung by Nat "King" Cole):
"Hajji, Hajji, Hajji, Hajji,
Hajji Baba, Hajji Baba.
He was always in love.
In love,
In love......."
Song & Score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Lyrics by Ned Washington (as I recall).
CINERAMA
CinemaScope was also an off-shoot of Cinerama, an even grander process, which, however, required three cameras to photograph and three projectors to screen. It also required the virtual renovation of any theater showing Cinerama films and so they were only screened in large cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington. etc. CinemaScope required only one projector with a special anamorphic lens. 

By the era of 2001 A SPACE ODESSEY there was a Cinerama theater in the Colonial Park Plaze shopping mall outside of Harrisburg.

Note: There is still a Cinerama theater in Hollywood.
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