The State Theatre is a historic movie theater in

Washington, Iowa Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Iowa, Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,352 at the time of t ...

. The venue is recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

as the oldest continually operating movie theater in the world. It opened in 1893 as the Graham Opera House and screened its first film on May 14, 1897, with a

cinematograph Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the ...

made in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

History

The original Graham Opera House existed in

, and hosted

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

from 1886 until a fire destroyed it on November 23, 1892. Architectural firm Foster & Liebbe drafted the plans for a replacement venue, which was constructed in 1893 at a cost of . The second Graham Opera House opened on November 27, 1893. The first production at the venue was Sardou's ''Odette''. Clara Morris visited Washington to star in the production but was ill with

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. One thousand tickets were sold for $5.00. On May 14, 1897, the Graham Opera House screened its first movie using a

from

. The venue thereafter became mixed-use, retaining its live theatre programming in addition to movies. In 1921, the Graham Opera House was purchased by Winfield Smouse, a local businessman. Smouse leased the property to Ralph and Clyde Pratt, who at the time operated an additional theater in the city. In 1931, the interior of the Graham Opera House was remodeled. In conjunction, the venue was renamed to the State Theatre. Its hosting of professional live theatre companies ceased thereafter; the stage was mostly used by local productions until it was removed to make way for a newer movie screen. On the morning of November 17, 2010, the State Theatre's projection room caught on fire from a

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

discarded in a trash can. The venue was subsequently closed for repairs and reopened in April 2011. In April 2016,

certified the State Theatre as the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the world.

References

{{reflist 1893 establishments in Iowa 1897 establishments in Iowa Buildings and structures in Washington County, Iowa Cinemas and movie theaters in Iowa Theatres completed in 1893