What was old is new again...

I would bet there is a State Theatre in almost every small town. I know for a fact there is one in Santa Barbara...Stockton...and Modesto...I've personally seen them!

As with most of them, they were probably built a long time ago and, most likely, they are of an 'Art Deco' design. Even if you don't have a State Theatre in your town, you may have an 'Art Deco' theatre...or, more likely than not, HAD an 'Art Deco' theatre.

The Fremont Theatre in San Luis Obispo is one of the coolest I've ever seen. I used to live in S.L.O. I saw "Annie Hall" there with my kids' mother in 1977. I heard that Laurel and Hardy were there (among other 30's Hollywood notables) for the dedication...how cool is that?

Of late, the State Theatre in Modesto, California has been re-built, re-decorated, re-furbished, and resurrected. It was ready for the wrecking ball a couple of years ago.

In recent years, there have been music concerts by Gregg Rollie, Slim Man (huh?), Greg Allman, and a handful of other "were-famous-or-played-with-famous people people". By the way, Gregg Rollie was the keyboardist for Santana, and for Journey (1st incarnation).

Anyway, a local real estate broker (Michael Zagaris of PMZ Realty) headed up the effort for the revitalization of this great theatre. It's Modesto for gosh sakes! Modesto is George Lucas' hometown...the real-life model for American Graffiti (even though it was filmed in Petaluma, or Santa Rosa, or somewhere else near where he was living at the time...and, btw, where his empire is located today...Marin County).

Back to the Modesto State Theatre...it does have a state-of-the-art marquee (digital), and a state-of-the-art (digital) sound system...and, they have maintained (and restored) lobby murals and other original art deco items. The grand re-opening is the end of this month (February). And, there are many events scheduled for the coming year.

These relics of a bygone era are disappearing faster than us Baby Boomers. If there is one in your town...jump in...they are almost exstinct!