State Theater

January 19, 1926, was opening night at the State. The local newspaper, the Eau Claire Leader, published a special section in honor of the occasion, with a headline on the front page declaring, “New Theater Is Brightest Gem in Glittering Chain of F.&R. Amusement Houses.” A few pages later, it’s described as “Glorious as a Fairyland—Yet Sturdy as the Pyramids.” One of the most talked-about features was a $20,000 Wurlitzer organ identical to the one at the Chicago Theatre. The first feature shown was the silent film “Classified,” with Corinne Griffith.

Just shy of three years after opening, in December 1928, the State began showing talking films. Movies soon replaced vaudeville performances at the theater. For those looking for a wider variety of entertainment, the venue housed eight bowling lanes and tables for playing pool, billiards, and snooker (a game similar to pool and billiards) in the basement and a large dance hall on the second floor.

In 1982, the movie theater in the venue closed to the public, and a remodeling project began shortly thereafter. The theater was donated to the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council in 1986, and the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, as the theater was then known, began hosting performances in 1988. The Chippewa Valley Theater Guild, the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra, along with many local and traveling performers, presented shows at the site during that time. In 2007 the building was officially added to the National and State Historic Register as part of the Confluence Commercial Historic District in Eau Claire’s downtown.

The Eau Claire Regional Arts Center provided a home for a wide range of performances for thirty years, eventually closing in August of 2018. The Confluence Project in downtown Eau Claire promised the construction of a new arts center across from Phoenix Park, where the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers meet. The history of musical and theater performances now continues, down the block, in the Pablo Center at the Confluence. This space provides yet another venue for regional theater groups, orchestras, university performers, and traveling artists to share their craft, as well as a community gathering site in the downtown area. As of February 2021, future plans for the State Theater building are unknown.

• About: Explore the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, Eau Claire Arts. Accessed July 31st 2020. http://www.eauclairearts.com/about_us.phtml.
• Eau Claire Regional Arts Council, Creator. Eau Claire Regional Arts Council Records (1982). Print.
• Giffey, Tom. The Life and Death and Life of the State Theater, VolumeOne. Accessed July 31st 2020. https://volumeone.org/statetheatre.
• Property Record: 312-316 EAU CLAIRE ST, Wisconsin Historical Society. Accessed July 31st 2020. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI41073.
• Valleau, V. B.. "Street Corner Conversation Led to Formation of F&R Chain of Amusement Houses." Eau Claire Leader (Eau Claire, Wis.) January 19th 1926.
• WPT Presents: History of Eau Claire's State Theatre, PBS Wisconsin. June 29th 2012. Accessed July 31st 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmYNE-400Pw.