Ithaca Theater

413 W. State Street,
Ithaca, NY 14850

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Additional Info

Architects: Ed Crumm, Stanley Perez

Functions: Furniture Showroom

Styles: Streamline Moderne

Previous Names: Ryan's Ithaca Theater

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Ithaca Theater

The Ithaca Theater opened in November 6, 1940 with “Moon Over Miami”. Designed by local architects Stanley Perez and Ed Crumm, the theater became the most intimate and comfortable of the city’s downtown houses.

The two-story Art Moderne facade in tinted sand-colored stone supported an off-centered triangular marquee with green neon tubing and black letters on white opal glass. Coral drapes and brown wainscoating covered the front lobby. The latter led to an attractive auditorium with two flowing aisles and three sloping banks of seats, accommodating 600 patrons. There was no balcony. Red and blue drapes, sidewall lighting, and gold and red carpeting drew the eye to an ample, nicely masked, gently curved screen. On June 27, 1981 the theater was twinned awkwardly, with a straight wall bisecting the auditorium and seats angled uncomfortably toward that wall.

In the late-1980’s and early-1990’s, the theater closed periodically and reopened under new managements, at least once as a techno nightclub. Currently it serves as a warehouse for Bishop’s Furniture and Garden Center.

Contributed by BoxOfficeBill

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on March 18, 2005 at 6:38 am

Cheers to Ithacans and all Cornellians, past and present, on Green Dragon Day ‘05.

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on March 24, 2005 at 8:51 am

Notable films from the 1970s include “Jaws,” “New York, New York,” the remake of “King Kong,” and “Popeye.” Successful films after the bisection in 1981 included “The French Lieutenant’s Woman,” “Radio Days,” “Fatal Attraction,” and “Swann in Love.”

Patsy
Patsy on April 12, 2006 at 4:30 pm

Would love to see a photo of this theatre!

Roger Katz
Roger Katz on February 3, 2015 at 8:30 am

Address is 413 State St.

BarryFromOmaha
BarryFromOmaha on March 17, 2016 at 5:07 pm

1996s THE NUTTY PROFESSOR

rivest266
rivest266 on March 8, 2017 at 6:56 pm

November 6th, 1940 grand opening ad in the photo section and below.

Found on Newspapers.com powered by Newspapers.com

rivest266
rivest266 on March 9, 2017 at 3:50 pm

2 screens on June 27th, 1981. Grand opening ad in the photo section.

nathaniellp
nathaniellp on September 2, 2018 at 10:05 am

anyone know what they were charging in the early 50s?

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