Property Record
2612 W STATE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | State Theater |
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| Other Name: | The Palms |
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| Reference Number: | 110207 |
| Location (Address): | 2612 W STATE ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1916 |
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| Additions: | 1923 |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | theater/opera house/concert hall |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | F.W. Andree; Lindl, Lesser and Schutte - 1923 |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| Additional Information: | Builder was M. Rice and Cohen. Was known as the State Theater until 1955. NR eligibility evaluation (REC 1/17/2019): Eligible • Criterion A, area of Entertainment, Period of Significance 1916-1955. • This building was constructed as a movie theater, from the earliest period of stand-alone, purpose built, movie theaters in Milwaukee, and appears to be the first one in the city. • This building is distinguished representing this early history of small stand-alone movie theaters, the era before the grand movie houses were built • This building is quite rare in Milwaukee. While many others were constructed in its image, the relatively small scale of them meant they were easily overlooked, left vacant, and eventually demolished to make way for larger buildings and redevelopment. There really aren’t any of these left in Milwaukee, and none having any level of integrity where it is recognizable as an early movie theater (others having been severely altered or demolished) • This building was used as a movie theater until 1955 and was altered during the period of significance (auditorium enlarged 1923, men’s room added to basement 1930s, ladies room altered 1938, concessions and managers office built 1940s.) • Spaces from its period as a movie theater: auditorium (volume intact and stage intact although the sloped floor was leveled in 1955); projection room, lobby, restrooms (our understanding is that these spaces are also intact, although it looks like the lobby was reconfigured) • The theater retains its original decorative plaster wall/ceiling finishes • Terrazzo floors date to the POS and should be retained • Because we are looking at this building under Criterion A, we are able to accept a certain level of alteration and it seems to us there is enough integrity that the building is recognizable as a theater and given its rarity we thought this was important representing this history in Milwaukee |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |