State Theater of Ithaca is a historic, 1600-seat theater located in Ithaca that hosts various events from bands, to plays, to comedy acts, to silent films, and more.The State Theatrer building dates back to 1915. Designed by local architect Henry N. Hinckley, it was originally the Ithaca Security Company auto garage and dealership. In 1928, architect Victor Rigaumont was hired to design and oversee the transformation of the garage and showroom into a cinema and vaudeville palace.
Beginning with vaudeville, the theater evolved with the times. When movies became more popular in the early 1930s, the theater thrived primarily as a cinema house. After World War II, with the advent of television and suburban movies houses, downtown cinema palaces like the State struggled. To adapt, the owners added a second movie screen in the 1970s, dividing the balcony from the main house.
Ultimately, the theater closed in the 1980s because of financial difficulties and the demands of long-deferred maintenance, and after multiple attempts to revive the theatre and multiple owners, the theater finally reopened in 2001.
The wife and I recently visited the State Theater for the first time for concert. Let's start with the pros...the theater is absolutely beautiful. It resembles a palace out of a fairytale on the inside, with interesting designs painted on the ceilings and lights that blink on and off and resemble a starry sky in the dark. There isn't a bad seat in the place, as every seat has an amazing view of the stage.
The sound quality is great, even in the balcony. The bathrooms are clean, there are snack and drink (including beer) stands on site which are reasonably priced, and staff was relatively friendly. There is tons of on street parking very close to the theater, and being in the historic section of Ithaca, plenty of places nearby to grab some dinner beforehand.
Cons...as others have said, it is EXTREMELY cramped. The seats are crammed together and are made for extremely small people. Now, granted, I'm 6 ft tall and 300 lbs, but there were tons of people nearby much smaller than myself complaining about how uncomfortable they were. Not only are you touching the person next to you at all times, but also the person in front of you, as there's also 0 leg room.
And, as others have said, it is EXTREMELY warm. The theater has NO air conditioning, so with that many people in close quarters, especially if you're at a sold out show, it can be sweltering. I have to go back in two weeks for another concert and plan on wearing shorts and a tshirt, regardless of what others may be thinking.
It's a beautiful theater to see a show, but it is so extremely uncomfortable to be in, I wouldn't come back unless it was a show I absolutely HAD to see. read more