JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Johnstown community is saddened to hear that the State Theater of Johnstown has closed its doors for the foreseeable future due to damages to the interior from a storm in August.
“I’m sad. I’m very sad to hear that,” Mark Miller, a Johnstown resident said. “It’s great that April brought it back and hopefully they get everything repaired and reopened again.”
The State Theater has been a staple of the community for nearly a century. Originally a part of Lee Hospital, it was used for various things.
Families invited to ‘Read Under the Lights’ event in Curwensville “The hospital would use the theater for some things,” Beth Freeburg, a local resident and granddaughter of a former employee at the hospital said. “They did anniversaries for their employees. I know the top two floors were mainly for records, that kind of thing.”
The theater was renovated in 2020 by Eric Reighard of Johnstown State Theater LLC. But over time, cracks in certain areas have shown themselves.
“I remember that the theater was in disarray,” Freeburg added. “I remember… it needed work done on it in the hospital.”
After the rainfall in our area from Tropical Storm Debbie in August, more damage was caused on the interior with the leaks becoming worse. The theater took to Facebook to announce their closure for an indefinite amount of time to fix the repairs.
The theater had a lineup of different movies to celebrate Halloween, but all those events have been canceled.
“I really wanted to go there and see a movie,” Emily Bravar, a Westmont resident said.
“They did have a lot of things scheduled and everything,” Miller added. “And I’m very sad to hear that.”
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The State Theater has been a small part of an initiative to revitalize downtown Johnstown. The building still holds memories of years past for many residents, but folks now see how the area is blooming into a new era.
“It means a lot of things to me,” Miller said. “It means a lot of business, a lot of good business downtown now. Downtown is finally blossoming. It’s coming back to life. It’s really, really nice. It’s a nice area to be in.”
“I grew up here in the 80s, and after the ’77 flood, all throughout the ’80’s’80s, it was really deteriorating here. And it’s come back a lot.”
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