{"nrhp_refnum":"96000613","name":"State Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"107--119 W. State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ithaca","county":"Tompkins County","state":"NY","lat":42.43932349600004,"lon":-76.49955731599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-06-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story buff-brick movie palace at 107-119 West State Street in Ithaca, New York, converted in 1928 from a 1915 garage and automobile showroom designed by Henry N. Hinckley. Architect Victor Rigaumont designed the conversion.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the State Theater as Ithaca's finest movie palace, with an atmospheric interior blending Collegiate Gothic, Moorish Revival and Renaissance Revival elements. It typifies the opulent 1920s 'combination houses' that offered both live stage acts and motion pictures. Its large neon marquee and sign were noted as the first of their kind in Ithaca.","narrative":"Located at 107-119 West State Street in downtown Ithaca, this brick building began in 1915 as a fireproof garage and automobile showroom designed by local architect Henry N. Hinckley. In 1928 the Berinstein family, operating as Cornell Theaters, Inc., hired architect Victor Rigaumont to convert it into a movie palace and road house. The plain buff-brick street front, with copper-framed windows, now carries a large illuminated marquee and a vertical neon sign. Inside, an atmospheric auditorium blends Collegiate Gothic, Moorish Revival and Renaissance Revival elements, including a crenelated parapet, turrets, gargoyles, Cornell and Oxford college shields, and a ceiling painted with constellations. The theater opened in December 1928 before an audience of 1,818. It is regarded as an example of the 1920s combination houses built for both vaudeville and film, and as Ithaca's finest surviving movie palace. The balcony has since become a second theater.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Victor Rigaumont (1928 conversion); Henry N. Hinckley (original 1915 garage)","architectural_style":"Early 20th Century; Collegiate Gothic (with Moorish Revival and Renaissance Revival elements)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a theater; the balcony has been converted into a second theater, and the offices of a performing arts organization occupy part of the building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.256094-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/96000613.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000613/f90cfe7838-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000613/f90cfe7838-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:State_Theater,_Ithaca,_New_York.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:State_Theater,_Ithaca,_New_York.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"05000018","name":"Ithaca Downtown Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/ithaca-downtown-historic-district-additional-documentation-05000018/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322528","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Theater_(Ithaca,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7603563"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/tompkins-county/state-theater-96000613/"}