MILWAUKEE — The New State is a hidden gem in the making. I learned about this through our partnership with Imagine MKE.
The New State’s plan is to transform the historic old State Theater into a music hub. The State Theater opened its doors in December 1915. It showed silent movies of the era before transitioning to talkies in the late 1920s. This iconic venue enjoyed a rich and colorful history, evolving from a cinema to a dance club, a concert hall, and finally, a strip club.
In 1975, it became the Electric Ballroom,featuring artists such as AC/DC, Elvis Costello, The Runaways, The Ramones, Eddie Money, Judas Priest, and Cheap Trick. Four years later and under new ownership, it was renamed The Palms, which was the first venue in Milwaukee to host the groups U2 and The Police. Other well-known bands such as Megadeth, Duran Duran, Talking Heads, The Replacements, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Stray Cats, Joan Jett, and Meatloaf graced The Palms stage until it closed in 1986.
Watch: The New State is a Milwaukee hidden gem in the making
Setting vacant for years after a two-alarm fire in 2017, In December 2018,103 years to the month of the opening of The State Theater, The New State team purchased the historic building at2612 W. State Street in Milwaukee with a huge restorative plan to create a music hub for youth, arts,and businesses.
But even without the space completed, The New State is already implementing its programs. Promise, the V.P. of The New State Board of Directors, says, “For the last two summers, we've had the opportunity and the pleasure to work at Washington Park Wednesdays, where we have our young people working as stage managers. They're running audio and helping produce a live show. We think it is a great aspect of teaching young people how to do things behind the scenes. Another thing we've been able to implement recently is DJ courses with students from Pathway High School. Pathways and DJ's teaches students how the controls work, how to mix, how to master.”
Promise says, “This matters to this area, in this community, because when young people are thriving and doing well, the city is thriving and doing well.”
John Hennessy,neighborhood developer and President of Hennessy Group says, “Not only is it a bricks and mortar project that completes things and looks good around here and helps 27th St. emerge as a neighborhood downtown. But it's a center for young people, families and the community. So, it's a bricks and mortar project, but it's also an economic development project because it creates jobs for young people.”
So far, The New State has completed its community music park and will soon be opening its café with future projections of a 415-capacity all-ages music venue, two rentable sound engineering studios, a storefront for local artists to sell art, music, and merchandise and so much more.
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