The stately State Theatre
Once appearing on the silver screen
Today it’s a vacant lot, the legacy of a fire believed to have
been started after its condemnation as a result of the 1989 Loma
Prieta Earthquake.
The stately State Theatre
Once appearing on the silver screen
Today it’s a vacant lot, the legacy of a fire believed to have been started after its condemnation as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
But for generations of kids in San Benito County, the State Theater at the corner of Seventh and San Benito streets was the place where fantasy flickered on the screen. It was a place for first dates and first kisses, popcorn and Jujubes.
This photo was taken in 1932, when a ticket to a double feature, newsreels and a cartoon could be had for 5 cents.
The theater changed its appearance and its name over the years. When it was lost, it was the Showcase. An elaborate terrazzo entry extending across the sidewalk was the only reminder of the theater until recently, when it was removed during a downtown streetside beautification project.
The attire of visitors in front of the theater reveals something else. A few generations ago, a trip to the movies was an event that called for dressing up.
In its later years, it matinees were populated by kids, while evening showings were largely the province of teens. The theater’s healthy population of bats flitting in front of the screen helped give it its own cachet.
