The State Theatre was designed by San Francisco architect Timothy Pflueger. It was one of the small local theaters owned and operated by the T&D chain throughout California, a number of which Pflueger designed for the company.

The State Theatre was Oroville's first Spanish Colonial Revival style building, one of only two high examples of the style in the city.

The late 1920s were a period of prosperity in Oroville, reflected in a number of major building commissions. Butte County agriculture was in a period of expansion, particularly in citrus farming (hence the oranges on the Theatre's wall sign). The Western Pacific Railroad, serving Oroville, was making improvements to better serve this expansion, and newspapers regularly reported the number of carloads of local oranges being shipped to Eastern markets.

Gold dredging was especially active in the area, and would continue to support Oroville's economy during the early years of the Great Depression, allowing a continuation of building activity into the early 1930s.

The twenty-year debate regarding the location of the proposed Feather River Highway, an all weather route across the Sierra Nevada, was about to end with the State Highway Commission's location decision. Construction of this road was anticipated to mean much to the local economy: jobs for workers, equipment and supply sales, and repair work. Completion of the highway was expected to bring throngs of visitors and vacationers, requiring new hotels and entertainment centers.

Excerpted from the NRHP Nomination.