Liberty Theatre (Closed)
Vandalia, IL
Photo courtesy Don Gardner

The Liberty Theatre still makes you look twice in downtown Vandalia. Its Art Deco frontage, distinctive lettering, and projecting marquee give the building plenty of personality, even with no feature listed outside. It's easy to picture moviegoers gathering beneath the canopy while someone decided whether there was enough time to stop for popcorn. 04-06

Opened around 1910 as the Dixie Theatre, it received a streamlined remodeling and the Liberty name during the 1930s. The changes gave an older movie house a more modern appearance, helping it keep pace with the era of talking pictures. First-run movies continued until early 2008, ending nearly a century of entertainment at the downtown location.

Here's another shot of the Liberty Theatre, this one taken in late 2008. The front facade of the theatre has been repainted to lighter, more pastel colors.

Liberty Theatre
Vandalia, IL
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

A later view shows the frontage repainted in lighter, pastel colors, although the “closed” message remained on the sign. Unfortunately, the problems went deeper than the paint. Years of water damage and deterioration eventually brought down the main auditorium ceiling. From the sidewalk, the Liberty still looked like a theater waiting for its next feature; inside, returning it to use had become a much larger undertaking. 11-08

UPDATE: The nonprofit Liberty Theatre Foundation is working toward restoring the building as a performing arts and community venue. Structural repairs, roof replacement, and updated building systems are among the substantial needs. Plans call for preserving the marquee and Art Deco facade while making the interior suitable for another generation of audiences. Hopefully, the next change to that attraction board will announce a reopening rather than another year of waiting. 07-26

State Theatre (Rem.)
Wayne, MI
Photo courtesy Jay Lin

The State Theatre makes quite an impression at Michigan Avenue and Newberry Street in downtown Wayne. Its rounded frontage draws your eye around the corner, while the tall neon STATE sign makes sure you know what you're looking at. Even during a quiet spell, this building never stopped looking like a place built for an evening at the movies.

Designed by architect Ted Rogvoy, the State opened December 29, 1946, under the Shafer family's Wayne Amusements operation. The original single auditorium seated about 1,500, giving the community a substantial new movie house for the postwar years. Its sweeping curves offered a thoroughly modern alternative to the elaborate movie palaces of the 1920s.

The interior changed considerably as the business adapted. It became a four-screen theater in 1992, but the familiar exterior remained largely intact. Phoenix Theatres took over operations in 2012 and purchased the property from the city in 2014, continuing improvements while preserving the original neon sign.

State Theatre
Wayne, IN
Photo courtesy Mark Comstock

There's another attraction along the east wall: the Wayne History Mural, celebrating the community beyond the theater's own story. Between the mural, the wraparound marquee, and the vertical sign, there's plenty to examine before heading inside. This is one building worth walking around rather than simply photographing from the car.

UPDATE: This is the State Theatre in Wayne, MI in Wayne County. It is located at 35310 Michigan Ave and is at the NW corner of Michigan Ave and Newberry Street. The theatre was built in 1946 as a single screen theatre. It was designed by Ted Rogvoy and is now a 4 screen theatre. Many thanks to Mark Comstock for updated info. 12-08

UPDATE: The State continues welcoming moviegoers as Phoenix Theatres State Wayne, with updated projection, sound, and reclining seats behind its historic frontage. The marquee has received repairs and replacement sign faces while retaining its familiar appearance. Fortunately, Wayne kept both a working cinema and a particularly memorable corner of its downtown. 07-26

State Theatre Wayne, IN Photo courtesy Mark Comstock	State Theatre Wayne, IN Photo courtesy Mark Comstock

Crump Theatre
Columbus, IN
Photo courtesy Jay Lin

The Crump Theatre gets better the closer you look. The tall vertical sign draws your attention along Third Street in downtown Columbus, but the porcelain panels, colorful tile around the ticket booth, and streamlined entrance deserve their own inspection. This is a theater where the show starts out on the sidewalk.

Despite its 1940s appearance, the Crump dates to 1889, when John S. Crump developed it as an opera house. Later remodelings adapted the building for movies, with the familiar Art Deco frontage arriving around 1941. That younger face hides one of Indiana's oldest surviving theaters.

Safety concerns closed the Crump in 2014, and it landed on Indiana Landmarks' endangered list in 2019. Volunteers and local businesses helped bring it back for events in 2023. Donated equipment included seats from the Indiana War Memorial and a sound system formerly used at Market Square Arena—a little additional Indiana history behind the doors.

Crump Theatre
Columbus, IN
Photo courtesy Jay Lin

UPDATE: The Crump has resumed hosting events while a larger restoration campaign moves forward. Plans call for preserving its architectural character and improving the building as a performing arts venue. Fortunately, the comeback is already more than a proposal: audiences have returned, even as substantial work remains ahead. 07-26