State Theater Sign, Sheridan Street in Ely, Minnesota
State Theater neon sign on Highway 1 in Ely, Minnesota, with parked vehicles and storefronts.
The State Theater anchors Sheridan Street in downtown Ely, a small city on Minnesota's Iron Range that serves as a gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Ely's downtown developed around the mining and outfitting trades that supported the surrounding iron mines and, later, canoe-country tourism. Sheridan Street, part of State Highway 1, remains the town's main commercial corridor, lined with small businesses like Kerntz Appliance that have served the community for decades.
Photo taken in August 2022.
