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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2011 > January > 12 > Entry
State Theatre to re-open — sort of
Four years after the State Theatre suffered major damage when a downtown a city water main broke, the historic venue is set to host a show.
Ken Stein, executive director of the Paramount and State theaters, said that all the safety issues with the building had been addressed but that the 300-seat venue is “still just slightly better than a basic auditorium.”
Stein said that after comedian Christopher Titus performs Feb. 1-5, the non-profit organization will assess further improvements needed to restore the State. Stein added that State will likely be used by South By Southwest Film Festival for screenings.
The stage has been rebuilt and a new sprinkler system installed, but acoustical and other technical features have not been brought up-to-date. “The State still really needs a complete re-do in order for it to hold full theatrical productions,” said Stein. He estimated that it would take about $2 million to bring the venue up to current acoustical and technical standards.
Stein said that the several hundred thousands dollars had gone into fixing the basic safety violations damaged by the 2006 flooding.
Portions of the 1930s art deco venue at 719 Congress Ave. were submerged in 2006 when a city water main underneath the alley behind the Congress Avenue theater burst. The State’s stage suffered major damage, a lighting grid was destroyed, and about 25 percent of the seats were damaged along with backstage production areas and dressing rooms.
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