State Theatre
1303 Meridian Street, Anderson
A Sad State
A year after the building was named to Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Endangered list, Anderson’s State Theatre remains in limbo.
In the early twentieth century, Chicago’s Publix Theater Corporation built the State Theatre along with Anderson’s Paramount Theatre, the only surviving movie palaces in a once-thriving collection of theaters in the city’s core. The nearby Paramount remains a showplace that regularly hosts events and movies, but the State Theatre sits vacant, closed in 2008 and little-used thereafter following a series of failed attempts to redevelop the property.
Opened in 1930 at the corner of 13th and Meridian Streets, the State Theatre retains many original architectural details, including its eclectic Spanish Baroque façade with white and emerald-green glazed terra cotta. Inside, however, the picture looks much different: a scene of decay with disintegrating plaster and peeling paint.
The City of Anderson purchased the theater from an out-of-state owner in 2019, in part to resolve previous legal issues alleging it had contributed to damage at the site in the 1990s by failing to shut off the building’s water service. While city leaders expressed hopes of making the landmark part of downtown redevelopment efforts, they’ve shared no clear plans for the State Theatre’s future and won’t respond to Indiana Landmarks’ offers to assist. Meanwhile, the building continues to deteriorate.
Brittany Miller
Director
Indiana Landmarks Eastern Regional Office
765-478-3172
bmiller@indianalandmarks.org
Paula Dalton
Anderson Historic Preservation Commission
765-642-1659
dalton.ranch63@gmail.com
Greg Winkler
Director of Economic Development
City of Anderson
317-506-4182
gwinkler@cityofanderson.com
Saving threatened buildings takes teamwork. You can be a part of that team. Reach out to local leaders. Let them know these buildings are important to you. And support state and local preservation groups.