The State Theatre pages: history | vintage exterior views | recent exterior views | ticket lobby | lobbies and lounges | vintage auditorium views | recent auditorium views | projection booth | backstage | basement cafeteria |
The auditorium from centerstage. Thanks to Mike Hume for his April 2018 photo. Visit his Historic Theatre Photography site for tech info and hundreds of fine photos of the many theatres he's explored. And don't miss his page on the State Theatre.
Proscenium height: about 34' at center.
Stage depth: 27' 6" from smoke pocket to back wall.
Apron depth: 58" from smoke pocket to lip.
Centerline to SL wall: 48' Obstructions: 2nd floor dressing rooms overhang the wing space for the offstage 10' 5". There's also a dumpster enclosure upstage left and dressing room stairs downstage left.
Centerline to SR pinrail/lockrail: 31'
Grid height: 70' ?
Grid access: Via ladder from either stage left or stage right on the stair landing between the 3rd floor and the flyfloor.
Basement and dressing room access: Stairs are located downstage left and upstage right.
Loading door:
Currently there isn't one. The area upstage left where the door into the alley was is now
occupied by a concrete block enclosure for a dumpster.
Traps: There's no evidence that the center portion of the stage was ever trapped. There may be a trap SL below the trunk door areas but it's not visible either from onstage or in the basement.
Orchestra pit: Width is 9 1/2' from apron lip to the downstage edge at center plus 3' back under the apron. The length is approximately 48'. Currently the pit is covered with removable plywood panels. Access is via stairs in the basement stage left. There was neither a pit lift nor an organ lift.
Asbestos:
Operated stage left with a lattice track arbor up against the wall near
the proscenium. The curtain is painted with a fanciful design that
looks like it's out of a science fiction movie. The upstage side of the smoke pocket is 6 1/2" from the proscenium plasterline. The offstage edge of the pocket is 41" from the proscenium.
Flyfloors: Both stage left and stage right, 27' 10" above stage floor. They're above the third floor dressing rooms. Access either side is
via stairs up from the third floor dressing rooms. Originally the State was a hemp house.
Counterweight system:
It's an Armstrong-Power system with arbors tracked both front and back. Operation is stage right at at stage level. It's in two sections separated
for access to the dressing rooms and the stage door. The
sets are operated from the offstage side of the lockrail. Behind the
lockrail there's walking space to get to the dimmerboard and stage door
downstage and the stairs upstage going to the basement and upstairs
dressing rooms. Not counting the asbestos and the lambrequin, there are 21 sets currently rigged.
Downstage linesets:
-- No lockrail - each of the sets has a separate tension block/ropelock. Measurements are the distance from the smoke pocket. Sets are operated from the offstage side.
#1 - 23" - 56" high arbor - wire guide using aircraft cable
#2 - 48" -
#3 - 58" - labeled "gold curtain"
#4 - 66" - screen frame - the arbor is on the flyfloor
-- Upstage of set #4 there's a gap for a passage offstage. There is no set #5.
Upstage counterweight battery:
-- Pinrail: on the onstage side of the battery
-- Ropelock location: on the offstage side of the arbors
-- Line spacing: 6" centers
-- Batten length: 56' typical with 5 lift lines
-- Arbor height: varies but typically there's 79" of space for weights.
-- Set capacity: about 550 lbs. beyond tare weight.
-- Weight size: 3 1/2" x 11" The amount of weight available is not known.
-- Measurements are the distance of the T-track from the smoke pocket. The actual position of the lift line sheaves was not surveyed.
#6 - 10'6" - separate ropelock - not part of the lockrail
#7 - 11' - separate ropelock - not part of the lockrail
#8 - 11' 6"
#9 - 12' - no batten
#10 - 12' 6" - no batten
#11 - 13'
---- 13' 6" - no track
#12 - 14'
#13 - 14' 6" - no arbor
#14 - 15' - no arbor
#15 - 15' 6"
#16 - 16'
#17 - 16' 6" - no batten
#18 - 17'
#19 - 17' 6"
#20 - 18' - no batten
---- 18' 6" - no track
#21 - 19'
#22 - 19' 6" - no batten
#23 - 20"
#24 - 20' 6"
#25 - 21'
#26 - 21' 6"
#27 - 22' - no batten
#28 - 22' 6" - no batten
#29 - 23'
---- 23' 6" - no track
#30 - 24' - no batten
#31 -24' 6"
#32 - 25' - no batten
#33 - 25' 6"
Lattice track counterweight sets on SR flyfloor:
There are four sets arrayed along the SR wall. Set A is presumably the lambrequin, downstage of the asbestos. Set B is the movie screen operated at stage level via a run of 1/4" aircraft cable connected to a purchase line at ropelock #4 down at stage level. Set C has no arbor, set D has an arbor but no load.
Loading bridge: Access is via a ladder down from the grid. Weight capacity is unknown.
Torm lighting positions: There are crow's-nest type platforms
anchored to the proscenium wall
both stage left and stage right up 11' 9" from the stage. These once
served as access to a lighting bridge in the first electric
position. The stage right platform is right up against the offstage edge
of the smoke pocket. SL is 47" farther offstage. Both platforms stick
out 39" from the proscenium wall and are 54" long.
The original dimmerboard:
This illustration of the dimmers for the 1921 board (but not the switching section) appears on page 37 of the 1923 Ward Leonard publication "Theatre Lighting: Past and Present" that's on Internet Archive. The caption:
"Floor type Ward Leonard Dimmer Bank installed in Loew's Theatre, Los Angeles. Space below the overhanging row of plates at left allows for the installation of switchboard."
The 62 page booklet includes
interesting photos of vintage equipment as well as shots of many
theatres and their dimmer installations. Included
are the Metropolitan and the Raymond in Pasadena. Thanks to Bob Foreman for
locating this. See what other research he's done lately on his terrific
Vintage Theatre Catalogs site.
The replacement board: The second generation resistance board is still in place downstage right. It's a Frank Adam board with some cross interlocking shafts but no pre-selective capability like the later models. The houselights were wired for three color circuits.
Company switches: None.
Basement access to house mix position: Not possible at present.
Balcony rail to stage center at curtain line: 50'. There is no pipe or circuitry installed.
Proscenium box to stage center at curtain line: 44' from upstage side.
Upper balcony exit walkway to stage center at curtain line: 69' from position nearest to the stage.
Booth followspot positions: None at present. Two spot ports on the house right side of the booth have been covered over and amp racks are in the way.
Projection throw: Approximately 120'
Movie screen: Flat format picture is 18' 6" high x 33' 4" wide. Scope is 18' 6" high x 44' 6" wide. The frame is 31' high x 56' wide.
Stage door:
At the end of the exit passageway SR that's between the theatre and the office
building. It can be accessed via the office building lobby. From the
auditorium one can get backstage by going out a side exit house left to
get to the passage.
Dressing rooms. There's space easily for 60 performers plus musicians. There is no backstage elevator.
-- Stage level: nothing
-- Basement SL: two dressing rooms
for 5 performers each plus another small room are along the offstage side of the SL corridor. A kitchen that used to be a 3 person dressing room and a toilet room are along the onstage side of the corridor. Downstage there's one room for 2 near the orchestra pit stairs and a musicians' area under the pit. Just upstage of the orchestra pit stairs there's a large room (that used to be two) suitable for chorus, catering or wardrobe.
-- Basement SR: one room for 3 and one room for 6 are on the offstage side of the SR corridor. There's a toilet room with a sink on the upstage end of the corridor. A chorus room downstage has space for 16.
-- 2nd floor SL: A room with space for 3 performers downstage with a toilet room nearby. Heading upstage from the stairs there's a room for 2 followed by a larger room for perhaps 5. There's a trunk door opening onto the stage.
-- 3rd floor SL: A room for 3 downstage with a toilet room nearby. Heading upstage in the corridor there are three rooms for 2 performers each. A trunk door is in the corridor.
-- 2nd floor SR: From the upstage stairs there are three rooms along the corridor for 2 performers each. There's another room for 2 downstage plus a toilet room nearby.
-- 3rd floor SR: From the upstage stairs there are three rooms along the corridor for 2 performers each. Downstage it's a newish shower room plus a room with toilet and sink nearby.
Prop room: Downstage left, under the proscenium box area. There's also quite a bit of space behind the dimmerboard for electrical or sound storage.
Production / carpenter's office: Nothing on stage level. Lots of space to commandeer in the basement.
Wardrobe and catering: Lots of space in the basement under the stage including a large shop/storage area upstage that runs between the SL and SR corridors. Currently there are no washers or dryers. The other large basement spaces include the chorus dressing room downstage right of center and a similarly sized room left of center near the stairs to the pit.
Organ chambers: Located high above the proscenium box areas.
Access to the house right chamber is via stairs up
from the proscenium box then a short ladder. For house left you exit the downstage end of
the third floor dressing room corridor into the exit passageway between
the theatre and office building. There's a ladder up to a ledge where
you can get a second short ladder up to the organ chamber door. The organ itself is long gone. It was a 3/18 Moller initially, later replaced by a Style 235 Wurlitzer.
Stage left:
The view across from centerstage. The concrete block structure was done to provide an enclosure for a dumpster. The loading door into the alley was formerly in the wall beyond that. Note the trunk doors on the 2nd and 3rd levels and the flyfloor above. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
Upstage left. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
An alley view of the loading door area. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A view from downstage. The door at the left goes into the prop room. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
At the left a peek into the prop room, located below the proscenium box. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
A closer look at the sign on the door. Well, it looks like somebody did cut the rope. But it's the wrong rope. This is the purchase line to operate the asbestos curtain, not the rope to cut in case of emergency. Photo: Claudia Mullins - April 2018
Pin connectors on the smoke pocket. At the bottom of the image it's an outlet from the theatre's house vacuum system. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
2nd floor dressing rooms stage left:
The dressing room room downstage of the proscenium on the 2nd floor, originally for 3 performers. There's a toilet room next door. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A door in the corridor opposite the stairs gets you out on the platform that once was access to the light bridge. On the left that's a bit of the arbor for the asbestos curtain. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Upstage of the stairs there are just two rooms. This is the first one, a room that was originally set up for 2 performers. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The room at the upstage end of the corridor. There's been a remodel. The room has been enlarged to include what was formerly corridor space. There's a trunk door out of the frame to the left. Around to the right beyond the shelves it's an exit to the fire escape in the alley. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The view out the trunk door of the upstage room on the 2nd floor. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
A peek into the first room upstage of the stairs. The window will give you an alley view onto the roof of the retail building to the west that from 1916 until 1921 was a theatre called Palace of Pictures. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The dressing room downstage of the proscenium, originally for 3 performers. The doorway next door is to a toilet room. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The downstage end of the pinrail. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
Stage right:
Looking across to stage right. Thanks to Wendell Benedetti for his April 2018 photo. It's one in a great nineteen photo set that's on the LAHTF Facebook page. They were mostly taken during a Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation "all-about" tour of the building.
Looking downstage. That's just a pinrail we're looking at, not ropelocks. The counterweight system is unusual in that it's operated from the offstage side of the arbors. Originally the house was just hemp with the counterweight system being a later addition. Note the trunk door on the second floor that's now blocked by the upstage linesets. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
A view of the T-wall when the church had everything interesting backstage either caged or walled off. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014
Downstage right. The cages were added by the church tenant that was in the building for twenty years ending in early 2018. The dimmerboard is beyond that downstage cage. The passageway between the two groups of linesets leads to the stage door downstage and the dressing room stairs upstage. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
Downstage right rigging and stairs. That platform (with a lineset running through it) was used for access to a long-gone light bridge in the first electric position. The white stuff is some of the church's set and added drywall. At the right is a bit of the T-track for several downstage linesets. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014
Downstage between the proscenium and the dimmerboard. This recess is currently plastered over on the house side. In 1921 it was an annunciator to display cards announcing the vaudeville acts. Later it became an enclosure for PA speakers. There's no answer about the rocks left behind by the church. Perhaps they were offering hot stone massage? Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A portion of the dimmerboard revealed behind a door added by the church. The big lever on the right is the master for the stage side of the board. On the left is the house master, the three house color masters and some of the handles for the individual house light dimmers. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
The stage side of the board. The usual practice was to put this closest to the proscenium, but here it's on the offstage end. Although we have four rows of dimmers, the stage lighting positions were wired for only three colors. The bottom row is just for floor pockets and other stage receptacles. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A closer look at part of the stage end of the board. The upper two rows of dimmers with the fancier handles could be interlocked to one of two shafts that rotated in opposite directions. Thus as the master lever is pulled down, some dimmers could come up while others went down. Interestingly, we didn't get this feature for the blue dimmers or the dimmers at the bottom for the pockets. Photo: Claudia Mullins - April 2018
The view from behind the caged linesets downstage. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Tension blocks and ropelocks downstage. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The downstage ropelocks after they got uncaged. Photo: Bill Counter - June 2018
The exit passageway stage right. We're looking north along the east side of the auditorium from backstage. This area was an open-air space between the theatre and office building that later got roofed over. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014
Looking back toward the stage end of the passage. The open door is a house left exit from the auditorium. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
2nd floor dressing rooms stage right:
On the stairs upstage right looking at the now-blocked second floor trunk door. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
Down the corridor. On the left at the end the door gets you out onto the platform that had once been light bridge access. At the end where the turquoise lockers are it's a room for 2 performers. Out of the frame to its right is a toilet room. Beyond that is an exit door leading to a fire escape in the exit passageway between the theatre and the office building. On the right side of the corridor are three rooms suitable for 2 performers each. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A peek in the first room downstage of the stairs. Evidently the church didn't like the mirrors and lights that were there. That's a medicine cabinet they hung on the wall. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The second room, originally for 2 performers. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The third room, again for 2 performers. Seen enough dressing rooms yet? Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A peek out onto the platform that once served as access to a lighting bridge. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
On the stairs to the 3rd floor. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Along the corridor downstage from the stairs. On the right there are three rooms with space for 2 performers each. At the end it's a newish shower room. Take a right at the corner and there's a room with toilet and sink as well as an exit. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The flyfloor stage right:
On the stairs between the 3rd floor and the flyfloor. That ladder will take you the rest of the way to the grid. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The view toward the proscenium from the top of the stairs. The window at the far right gets you a scenic view into the airshaft between the theatre and the office building. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The stage right end of the grid. That whitish thing is a loading bridge. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The stage basement:
A peek into the first dressing room downstage of the stairs. It used to be a room for three performers. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Downstage on the offstage side of the SR corridor is this room with space for 6 performers that's had a bit of a remodel. That horizontal item on the right wall used to have hooks for costumes on it. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
A hatch to get to the space between the ceiling and the stage floor. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Downstage left looking toward stage center in a little corridor leading to the pit stairs. Behind us is the SL corridor and the stairs downstage left. On the extreme left is a small dressing room or office. On the right the doorway with the steel stud showing goes to the room seen in the previous two photos. The door on the left opposite it goes to a musicians' area under the pit. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Looking into the musicians' area under the pit. The wall at left follows the line of the orchestra pit above. There's been some church-installed drywall so it's difficult to tell if there was originally access from here to other basement areas. The lit doorway leads to a skinny room that was perhaps the music library. The door at the right goes to a toilet area. Photo: Bill Counter - June 2018
The landing at the orchestra pit entrance. We're left of the stage centerline. Photo: Mike Hume - April 2018
The downstage left stairs up to the stage. The SL corridor is to our left. The doorway on the right leads to a storage room on the house side of the firewall. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The storage room adjacent to the stairs. That's the organ windline in the upper left of the photo. The door leads to the former location of the organ blower. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Looking upstage along the SL corridor. On the left it's a kitchen and then a toilet room. On the right is a small dressing room or office we're peeking into followed by two partially deconstructed dressing rooms with space for five performers each. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
The kitchen on the onstage side of the SL corridor. It used to be a room for 3 performers. Photo: Bill Counter - April 2018
Early stage comments: A December 3, 1921 article in Exhibitors Trade Review mentioned the technical wonders of the State: "The new Loew [sic] State Theatre, which opened in Los Angeles Nov. 12 has a screen 24 by 44 1/2 feet. It is twice the size of any other screen in use in that city and pictures are furnished for it by what is said to be the largest projection booth in the world...
"The stage curtain weighs 1100 lb., and is made of velour. Special scene shifting apparatus makes it possible by means of pulleys to whisk the medallions from the stage floor in a few seconds. The stage can be changed from three to fifty feet in size instantly." Thanks to Cezar Del Valle for the research. He has excerpts from the article in a Theatre Talks blog post. The page with the full article can be seen on Internet Archive.
The State Theatre pages: history | vintage exterior views | recent exterior views | ticket lobby | lobbies and lounges | vintage auditorium views | recent auditorium views | projection booth | back to top - backstage | basement cafeteria |
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