[1] The building was originally known as the Lyceum Theatre and was designed by David McClure, and built by Simon Alexander, whose family owned the premises.

It was constructed in 1914/1915 in a Federation Free Classical architectural style and was designed for a mixture of vaudeville and lantern slide shows.

[2] In 1939 the theatre was redesigned in an Art Deco style by William Leighton, and reconstructed by Simon Alexander's son John.

The remodelling of the State Theatre left it structurally intact but altered its appearance, "dispensing with the arches and pediments and imposing a simple restrained facade".

The alterations included the entrance to the picture garden, and made provision for a grocery store on the corner, a millinery shop, and refreshments in the cinema vestibule.

[3] With the decline in cinema attendances in the 1950s and 1960s due to the introduction of television, the Astor Theatre became a shadow of its former self, eventually reduced to showing pornographic films.