Built in 1908 during the booming lumbering era in Michigan, the State Theatre was originally known as the Bijou, and was one of the many vaudeville and burlesque houses in Bay City.

[1] The State's predecessor was the old Bijou Theatre, located on the ground floor of the Ridotto Block at 520 Center Avenue.

The Bijou circuit included vaudeville theaters across Michigan controlled by Butterfield, based in Battle Creek.

The size of the Bijou circuit permitted economies of scale for Colonel Butterfield, who could book higher-quality acts for longer runs, with lower travel expenses.

Sound films were introduced in 1928, beginning with a showing of Uncle Tom's Cabin featuring a Movietone soundtrack.

The renovation was designed by C. Howard Crane, and shared stylistic elements with the contemporaneous Fox Theatre in Detroit.

In 1991, GKC closed the theatre and sold it to Tim O'Brien, operator of two independent cinemas in the Saginaw area.

The property reverted to the Bay City Downtown Development Authority, which sought a non-profit operator for the theatre.