{"nrhp_refnum":"77000970","name":"Loew's State Theater","other_names":["Loew's Theater"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"362--374 S. Salina St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Syracuse","county":"Onondaga County","state":"NY","lat":43.04747872400003,"lon":-76.15277031799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Loew's State Theater is an eight-story masonry theater and office building at 362-374 South Salina Street in downtown Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York. It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and opened in February 1928.","why_significant":"The nomination holds that it is a leading work by Thomas Lamb, a prolific theater architect, and marked a turning point in his career toward an oriental-inspired \"fantasy\" style. It is described as one of the last surviving examples of this type of fantasy architecture in New York State. It also offered Depression-era audiences an escape through lavish interiors, movies and stage shows.","narrative":"Loew's State Theater occupies the southern end of a downtown Syracuse block on South Salina Street. The eight-story stone-faced building holds a 3,300-seat theater at its center, 21 ground-level storefronts and 160 offices on the upper floors. The exterior is plain apart from Doric and Ionic pilasters and engaged columns on the top two stories. Inside, architect Thomas Lamb created an Indo-Persian fantasy of bas-relief animals, a filigreed ceiling, a gilded lobby and a large procession mural. A Tiffany-designed chandelier bought by Marcus Loew hangs in the lobby. Opened in 1928, it marked Lamb's move away from his earlier Adamesque style and served as a prototype for later Loew's theaters in New York City. The building is valued as one of the last surviving examples of this style in the state and as a Depression-era escape for audiences. After 1947 attendance declined, and demolition was considered in 1966 before tax incentives kept it open.","period_of_significance":"1927-1928","architect_builder":"Thomas W. Lamb","architectural_style":"Eclectic \"fantasy\" theater architecture with East Indian, Persian and oriental motifs inside; neoclassical detailing on the upper stories of the exterior","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as private property in good condition and unaltered, on its original site. At the time of nomination, ownership was in transition and the city and Loew's Corporation were seeking an alternative use. The building faced possible demolition if a local group's fundraising to buy it failed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.695541-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/77000970.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000970/583e48236f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000970/583e48236f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Doncram","credit_html":"Doncram, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LoewsStateTheatre_16december2007.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"14000193","name":"South Salina Street Downtown Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/south-salina-street-downtown-historic-district-boundary-increase-14000193/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320384","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landmark_Theatre_(Syracuse,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6484804"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/onondaga-county/loews-state-theater-77000970/"}