Landmark Theatre (Syracuse, New York) facts for kids
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Loew's State Theater
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The Theatre's exterior in January 2023
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| Address | 362 S. Salina Street Syracuse, New York United States |
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| Owner | Syracuse Area Landmark Theatre |
| Type | Movie palace |
| Capacity | 2,908 |
| Screens | 1 |
| Current use | Performing arts center |
| Opened | February 18, 1928 |
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Loew's State Theater
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 Location in New York
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| Location | 362-374 S. Salina St., Syracuse, NY |
| Architect | Thomas W. Lamb |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000970 |
| Added to NRHP | May 02, 1977 |
The Landmark Theatre, first known as Loew's State Theater, is a really old and fancy building in Syracuse, New York. It's like a giant, beautiful movie theater from a long time ago, when movies were just becoming popular. It was designed by a famous architect named Thomas W. Lamb. This theater is special because it's the only one left in Syracuse that shows how grand and amazing theaters used to be in the 1920s. It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a very important historical building.
History of the Landmark Theatre
The Loew's company decided to build a new theater on February 19, 1926. It was built where the Jefferson Hotel used to be. The Loew's State Theatre opened its doors on February 18, 1928. It showed both popular vaudeville stage acts and brand-new movies. Vaudeville was a type of show with many different acts, like singers, dancers, and comedians.
During tough times like the Great Depression and World War II, the theater was still very popular. People loved to escape into its fancy, comfortable rooms for a few hours. But by the 1970s, fewer people were coming, and the building started to fall apart. It closed in 1975 and was almost torn down.
In 1976, a group called Syracuse Area Landmark Theatre (SALT) was formed. Their goal was to save and fix up the theater. A famous singer named Harry Chapin even held a benefit concert on October 11, 1977. This concert helped the group raise $65,000 to buy the building. That's when Loew's State was renamed the Landmark Theatre.
The Landmark Theatre eventually bought more parts of the building. From October 2010 to November 2011, they did a huge $16 million renovation project. They made the backstage area bigger and added new dressing rooms. This was done to help the theater host larger and longer shows. They also moved the box office to a new spot on Salina Street.
Besides the main theater, the building also has shops and offices. Some of the upper floors were turned into apartments. On September 12, 2008, the Landmark Theatre hosted a special event. It was the world premiere of the movie The Express. This movie was about Ernie Davis, a famous football player from Syracuse University. The movie stars Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid attended the event.
Architecture and Decor
The Landmark Theatre was one of the first "Oriental-style" movie theaters. This style mixes different looks from places like Europe and the Middle East. Architect Thomas Lamb said the theater combined "European, Byzantine, Romanesque" styles.
A huge, beautiful chandelier once hung in the lobby. It was designed by Louis Tiffany for a very rich person named Cornelius Vanderbilt. But this chandelier was sold in the 1970s. The theater also used to have a huge Wurlitzer organ with 1,400 pipes, but it was also gone by the time SALT bought the building.
The grand lobby, which you reach by a big staircase, once had a fishpond with a Japanese pagoda fountain. Today, the Landmark's red and gold decorations and several large paintings have been fixed up and look beautiful again. The restored lobby is usually only open for special events.
