State Theater
511-515 Cumberland Street,
Lebanon,
PA
17042
511-515 Cumberland Street,
Lebanon,
PA
17042
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Chertcoff
Functions: Church
Previous Names: Stage Theater
Nearby Theaters
Built on the site of the Auditorium Theatre. The Hadla Theatre Corp. opened the 1,000-seat State Theater on February 1, 1939 with Wallace Beery in “Stablemates”. The Chetco Theatres Corp. took over in 1948. In 1977 George W.E. Christainson took over as operator. followed by Finch/Witmer Theatres in 1979 when it became an adult movie theatre. Cecelia A. Eisenhour 1985 was the operator in 1985. Other operators were Joellyn M. Probst 1996, ABC Holding Corp. 1999, Alan E. Celmer 2000.
Following closure it was taken over by Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in 2005.
Contributed by
John Messick
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Here is a link to a photo of the State today. I hope it works.
State=PA&County=&Abbrev=LB&office=&cn=3 www.courthouseonline.com/Quimage.asp?
www.courthouseonline.com/Quimage.asp?State=PA&County=&Abbrev=LB&office=&CN=3
Here is the church site. As you can see, the marquee says “On Stage”, which may have been the last incarnation before the church:
http://www.cornerstonelebanon.com/
The State is still there serving as the Cornerstone Fellowship. It was purchased several years ago and converted into a dinner theatre type venue. The seats were removed and replaced by tables and chairs. It was renamed “On Stage”, probably because it was a cheap and easy way to change the marquee sign. It was available for private parties, and several popular music groups held concerts there. It was then sold to the owner of a local bar, who remodeled it once again, but never opened due to problems transferring his liquor license.
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/y5ywvst
When I go by this building I always wonder what it looked like before the ugly Perma-Stone front.
Built on the site of an earlier theater called the Auditorium Theatre, the State Theatre opened its doors by manager Henry Cherkoff of Lancaster on February 1, 1939 with Wallace Beery in “Stablemates” (unknown if extras added). Arthur Lichtenthaeler, who served as the projectionist at the old Auditorium Theatre, served as the original projectionist at the State Theatre. It originally housed 1,000 seats.
The State Theatre continued to operate without advertising in the 1970s, but appears that it closed as a first-run movie theater in the latter part of the decade. In the early-1980s, the State became an adult movie theater for only a short couple of years.