The State cinema in Leith opened in 1938, part of a rather forward-thinking multi-use leisure development that also incorporated several shops, two billiard halls, and a skittle alley. The billiards and skittles were in the two floors above the entrance foyer, with the main cinema filling the rear part of the building.
The cinema closed to films in 1972, and became a Mecca bingo hall, and was later again converted at great expense into the Babylon nightclub. This has since closed, and the cinema part of the building has since been lying empty. A snooker hall still uses the upper floors in the foyer block.

The building was B-listed by Historic Scotland in 1995.

As reported in the Edinburgh Evening News, a planning application has been submitted to Edinburgh City Council to demolish the cinema part of the complex, and replace it with a restaurant and flats. The foyer block and snooker hall would remain, with the exterior being repaired and restored to its original colour scheme. The entrance to the flat complex would be through the cinema foyer, in which it is planned to retain some of the original decoration.