The Sioux Falls State Theatre celebrates 100 years of film

Maybe a young couple had their first kiss under the sparkling marquee after watching “Gone with the Wind” in 1940.

Maybe there was excitedly a first date in 1950, or unfortunately a last date in 1970, or a child’s first time watching “The Lion King” in the ’90s.

Indeed, patrons stood in line for vaudeville and ventriloquists onstage in the 1930s, silent films like the award-winning “Wings” in 1927 or Charlie Chaplin’s classic slapstick humor in “The Gold Rush” in 1925.

The world premiere of the swashbuckling “Last Hunt” in 1956, starring the dashing Stewart Granger, took place right here in downtown Sioux Falls.

For decades, the Sioux Falls State Theatre on Phillips Avenue has been majestic, magical and famous for its grandeur. And the “crown jewel” of the Queen City will celebrate 100 years of memories in the new year, along with a milestone five years since its 2020 grand reopening.

Preservation and discovery

Executive Director Allison Weiland, who joined the State Theatre during the early stages of renovation and fundraising in 2017, says she and the board, staff and volunteers serve as the “caretakers” of the facility, ever tending to the Beaux-Arts architecture and always revealing something new about its age-old, charming physical attributes.

In 2014, Milwaukee-based artisan Conrad Schmitt, whose restoration firm also helped to renovate the St. Joseph Cathedral in 2009, discovered the ornate design along the frieze area, near the ceiling, visitors see today.

Board secretary John Swedeen, who succeeded former president Stacy Newcomb in 2016, says during restorations, a rag was found in the walls with paint still on it, helping them affirm the original colors of the theater, calling them “subtle, beautiful colors of the prairie and nature."

“We are preserving this cultural memory for our community, hopefully bringing together generations who’ve appreciated the building and its films for decades," Weiland says.

Thirty years of closure didn’t slow down progress

Despite more than half a century of entertainment, the State Theatre closed in 1990 as other movie theaters started popping up and the mechanics of the building became weary.

The last film to show at that time was, perhaps serendipitously, Dana Carvey’s 1990 movie “Opportunity Knocks.”

But, like this community does, film lovers rallied, turning the theater into the home of the Sioux Falls Film Society in 2001 and then evolving into the Sioux Falls State Theatre Co. nonprofit in 2005, “saving” the facility from demolition and offering further aspirations of restoration.

Although the marquee did not glow for quite some time, toil and hope were always behind the scenes.

A Community Appeals Campaign in 2012, to restore “the last jewel in the crown of historic downtown,” helped renew the lobby and bathrooms. In 2017, Swedeen and his wife, Holly, donated $250,000, and in 2019, T. Denny Sanford came in with $3.5 million to restore the main floor.

Swedeen said Sanford helped to pick out the “best” recliners for the auditorium.

The City of Sioux Falls also donated $1.5 million for final upgrades.

On Dec. 11, 2020, the 1954 sentimental classic “White Christmas” filled the theater once again.

“It was a big learning for us, getting connected to the right people who shared the same vision and wanted to help us bring it back to life,” Weiland says.

Current board president Jennifer Warren attributes Newcomb for most enthusiastically spearheading the restoration process in 2014-15.

“Historic renovation is complicated, but so many community memories were once made here, and we’re thrilled to continue that tradition," Weiland says.

Weiland says they greeted more than 48,000 patrons this past year and showed nearly 600 movies – all as a single screen movie theater.

In 2026, they’ll begin a multi-million-dollar fundraising effort to complete the balcony, which will double the amount of seating in the theater.

Right now, there are 165 recliners, and popcorn sells for $2. The theater shows about four to five films a week, and Warren says ticket prices, which start at $7, haven’t budged since they reopened.

“It’s really become a centerpiece for downtown,” Weiland says.

Loyal fan calls State Theatre ‘a dream come true’

But there aren't only new releases to see. The State Theatre is unique for its diverse filmography, including independent or foreign films, Disney classics on a Saturday night, late-night titles that are “so bad, it’s good,” silent films or the Friday night debut of a local filmmaker.

Sioux Falls resident Derrick Veurink has seen them all.

“The State is a dream come true for Sioux Falls movie fans,” said Veurink, who’s seen nearly every movie offering since the historic building reopened in 2020. His favorite genre is “howlingly-funny” comedies, like the 2022 cult classic “Hundreds of Beavers.”

“When it reopened, it was very clear that the State was going to be the single best place to watch a movie in Sioux Falls,” he says. “The presentation is immaculate, and there is an energy in the room when you’ve got a full house. It’s an exciting experience.”

Veurink even has a “fixed spot” in the theater, with his large popcorn and Coke ready when he arrives. Find him in the back row, right in the center.

Weiland calls it “nostalgia,” to meet a couple who came to the theater in the ’70s and then return for the same film they saw decades earlier. To honor the centennial, organizers will offer a year-long film series featuring a few classics from each decade the theater was open that “ties into the history of our community,” she says.

Maybe someone who’s never seen “Jaws” or “The Muppets” or 1960s box office rebel Steve McQueen in “Bullitt” will experience history for the first time, in the front row.

The first film ever shown was the WWI comedy “Behind the Front” on March 2, 1926. For anyone who’s never seen it on the big screen, it continues to be shown every year on the theater’s birthday.

“The city has embraced the State so much,” says Swedeen, who says his favorite film shown at the State was Jack Nicholson’s 1980 horror film, “The Shining.”

He swears the theater is haunted in the “bowels” of the building.

“I feel so proud and so happy at how it all turned out,” he said.