The State Theatre was designed by Charles Peter Weeks and William Day, of architectural firm
Weeks & Day, in a Spanish Renaissance style. The theatre is incorporated into a 12-story Beaux Arts style and remains one of the largest brick-clad buildings in Los Angeles today. The theatre's location at the intersection of
Downtown Los Angeles’ two busiest retail streets of the early 1920s ensured that the theatre was a consistent money maker. because of her ability to be heard clearly at the rear of the 125 ft deep auditorium.
Vaudeville ended at the State in 1935 and the Gumm Sisters moved to
Culver City to appear in experimental
Technicolor musicals where “Leather Lungs” changed her name to
Judy Garland. In 1931, the theater ran the first full-length movie of a football game ever exhibited in an American theater as a top feature. The 1931 USC football victory over Notre Dame was the first one half of a double feature. The first day business was so good, it was clear people were coming to see the game, so the manager pulled the second feature and ran the gridiron picture over and over. At the time, it broke all house records at Loew's State Theater. In 1949 the theatre was taken over by United Artists and the name changed from Loew's State to the State Theatre. In 1963 the State was acquired by
Metropolitan Theatres and it went on to feature many general release movies dubbed into Spanish. Metropolitan Theatres closed the State in 1997. The auditorium space is virtually square in shape, originally seating 2,450). Directly above the center of the
proscenium arch, occupying a small niche, is a seated
Billiken figure as a good luck charm. The theatre boasts a vibrant fire/safety curtain, by Armstrong-Powers, in the
Broadway Theatre District. The theatre was on a long-term lease to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, who called it the "Cathedral of Faith", which came to an end in early 2018. As of January 2018 the owners are seeking a new tenant. == Use as a filming location ==