History

The State Theatre building was built in 1914 for Samuel T. White and was originally called White’s Theatre. It opened on June 22, 1914 and was one of the earliest movie theatres built in Greenville for both stage and film productions. Through the years, the theatre adapted readily to cinematic advances and trends, from the introduction of sound to comfort seating. On July 21, 1930 the theatre transitioned away from stage entertainment to talking pictures-feature films and the name was changed to State Theatre. In 1971 the name was changed to Park Theatre and remained Park Theatre until 1999. In 1999 the name was changed to Carmike Cinemas and operated as a budget $1.50 theatre showing second-run films. The building was bought by the Greenville Redevelopment Commission in 2008 and sat empty until today.