downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog
I was thrilled to see the State Theatre sign illuminated (again) nast night,… I can’t remember the last time I saw it turned on. This particular sign – its scale, its history – adds so much life to Congress Avenue. It’s easier to see at night than during the day when a tree blocks part of the signage. Last night’s featured guest, Christopher Titus, was the the first stage performance in several years.
-Jude
I’ve never been inside downtown Austin’s State Theatre – the Paramount Theatre’s sister stage located adjacent to the north. Years ago, the State Theatre flooded, and hadn’t returned to hosting performances (to my knowledge). If this performance info is accurate, Chris Titus’s appearance on February 1st will be first performance in nearly five years.
I hope this is a sign of more showcase performances at the State. Either way, this is a step in the right direction for a historic Congress Avenue theatre.
Next to the Paramount Theatre on Congress Ave sits another theatre. The State Theatre is managed by a non-profit, Austin Theatre Alliance, which also manages the Paramount. In recent years, you couldn’t be blamed for completely missing the theatre from the street-scape vantage point, though countless photos and postcards highlight the giant “State” neon monument. In 2006 a broken water main ravaged the State Theatre. At the time, its next door neighbor, 721 Congress Ave was under development by Sinclair Black (who was also the designer of the theatre’s renovation in 1994-1995). The two buildings share a basement, and logic dictated that the State Theatre allow 721 Congress to get further along in its development plans.
Cut to November 2009 and 721 Congress Ave is still a shell of a building with little prospect for achieving Sinclair’s vision anytime within the next five years. What will happen with the State Theatre? We don’t know. The State Theatre has not reopened for performances, though its acting school never closed. There’s been no updates published about their renovations or plans going forward. Just as the Ritz Theatre on 6th Street (another mid-century movie house) has been given a new life with its tenant the Alamo Drafthouse, we hope the State Theatre’s best days are yet to come.
