This view is erroneousely dated 1919, but it had to have been an earlier date than that because the Orpheum Vaudeville Theatre (nee Empress, AKA- Rialto) name was changed to Rialto by 1917. Note the first Rialto just beyond the Orphuem. By 1916 this theatre had been torn down to make way for a high rise Kress. http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A0824.jpg
Peoples Nickelodeon and the Civic Auditorium usually ran their newspaper advertisements together, confined within the same display column. Peoples ads usually were located in a bottom corner of the Auditorium ad frame. Also, both facilities opened November, 1907.
It is therefore a reasonable guess that Peoples (a small cinema) Nickeloeon was situated inside the sprawling Civic Auditorium Building on the corner of California & Walker. Most likely the Peoples interior decor matched that of the Auditorium, Craftsman/Mission Styling.
Found on the Oklahoma County Tax Assessor web pages are these antique postcard views of the Criterion Theatre,
c1929 - View link
and c1940s - View link
Here is a 1940’s snapshot of the former Empire after conversion to the Century Pool- Billiard-Snooker Parlor. Criterion Theatre is seen in background. View link
Here is a Library of Congress 1910 panaramic view of downtown Oklahoma City. Near photo center can be seen the Empire Theatre. Directly behind the Empire sits the stagehouse of the Folly Theatre. Several other theatres can be seen in this image, but one would have to be extremely familiar with OKC to be able to spot them all- View link
In 1919 the Criterion Theatre would be built this side of the Empire.
1906 pre-opening newspapaer announcements and ads list the Bijou Theatre as located at 29 East Main Street. If the Bijou truly was located on East Main, then it was placed in the middle of a warehouse district, which would certainly explain its failure.
Below is a 1910 panaramic photo of Oklahoma City, from Library of Congress. The Bijou Theatre would have been photo center, just this side of the Uneeda Biscuit warehouse. View link
Newspaper ads appear as early as March, 1903, for an O.K. Theatre, 220 W. California Ave., Okla. City, OK. Explore this site for more info- http://www.newsok.com/theoklahoman/archives
Myrna:
Back newspaper issues reveal that you may have gotten your facts a bit backwards. An O.K. Theatre, 220 W. California Ave., ran ads as early as March, 1903. It seems to have been in business several years. Perhaps the O.K. later moved “up” to First Street from California.
Ninety-eight years ago today, March 31, 1909, Grand Opening ceremonies were held for Oklahoma City’s new Metropolitan Theatre. Seven big acts of Orpheum Circut Vaudeville filled the bill. http://www.newsok.com/theoklahoman/rchives
Newspaper research uncover facts about the checkered past of the Olympic Theatre. Grand opening occured November 10, 1908, featuring “Talking~Moving~Pictures”. Later The Olympic specialized in films produced by Humana Talking Pictures of NYC.
It was closed in mid 1919, just before United Artist started next door construction on their giant Criterion Theatre (Paramount had conrol by the time the Criterion opened). Reopened early 1967 as the Mondo Adult Theatre, a loop house. In April, 1968, it was renamed Academy X Cinema. Razed February, 1972
While early 1903 advertisements appeared for films shown inside a tent at the Barnum Circus, and later at the 1903 Oklahoma State Fair, the earliest newspaper ad I’ve been able to locate that promote a moving picture shown inside an established Oklahoma City theatre is dated March 12, 1904. On that date Overholser Opera House (AKA- Orpheum, Warner) presented a Kinodrome movie entitled “Cinderella”.
From September 4th thru the 11th, 1908, the Overholser advertised “Moving Talking Pictures”.
After studying old newspaper ads from the below site I suspect that the Gem originally opened in 1907 as the Theatorium. One ad dated October 1, 1907, list the Theatorium address as 212 Broadway, and while the Gem was at 217 Broadway, the entrance could have been moved somewhere along the line. Or, street numbers could have been shifted as the city grew. Then again, the Gem and Theatorium could have been two seperate theatres. http://www.newsok.com/theoklahoman/archives
Oklahomo Cowboy:
You have charm. You are clever. Without a doubt you are the best looking young stud in Oklahoma City, but your vocabulary and spelling are somewhat lacking. Perhaps the word you were wanting to write is moniker(?).
As a teen during the late 70s an oilman would sometimes take me along with him on business trips to San Francisco. One of the many things we did while there was to go see double features at the Warfield Theatre.
A lavish building, but since the Warfield lot is pie shaped the floor lay out is a bit disorienting. Standees curve around the auditorium and are actually located in bulding rear, with stage housing abutting the office bulding.
On one trip to SF we saw as one half of a double bill at the Warfield an old Marion Davies film entitled “Paging Miss Glory”. This was a goofy type movie centered around an absurb plot that claimed if the beauty and personalities of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Jeanette MacDonald, Ginger Rogers, Norma Shearer, and Ann Sothern could be combined the end result would result in Marion Davies.
In the 12/20/05 posting, that 1948 unidentified photo is later labelled the Esquire Theatre. Could this movie house have originally been named Marion Davies? The Esqure would have sat cattycornered from the Hearst Bldg, and I’ve heard W.R. Hearst built a theatre in her honor across from his office suite so he could see from his desk the name Marion Davies' spelled out in pink neon.
Without question the Tilghman, Guthrie, and Highland were three seperate movie houses. Both the Tilghman and Guthrie nickelodeons were located on opposite ends of Oklahoma Ave. The Highland Theatre sat on Harrison.
Melba:
A very accurate description of the old Cozy Theatre. Due to the floor slope the entire interior was a “form follows function” step pattern. In keeping with this scheme auditorium isles on both the main floor and balcony ran along side walls.
Because multiple railroad tracks ran underneath this structure it was not so much torn down as it was dismantled. Wrecking crews had to take the building apart piece by piece, reversing the process it took to build it.
During its burlesque era the Busby Theatre most likely staged these types of strip-tease acts,
[url=http://www.burlesquehistory.com/index.html]
[]www.burlesquehistory.com/index.html](http://www.burlesquehistory.com/index.html[/url)[/url] http://www.anatomyofburlesque.com/
with this style of bump & grind rhythm music, View link
It is true the Village Cinema originally opened as a modern, single screen theatre, with an imaginative contemporary decor. Lobby furniture was of black leather and chrome. Restrooms walls were veneered in refelctive black glass. Auditorium seating offered ample leg room, and a beveled shadow box framed a massive silver screen.
During its burlesque days perhaps Dubinsky provided a house band that performed snappy tunes like the ones played on these sites – – - View link
and/or http://www.spaceagepop.com/lester.htm
Griffith gained a reputation for acquiring beautiful theatre structures, milked them for profit, while letting them dilapidate into a ramshackled mess. The lovely Yale was amoung these.
On rare occasions when the cheapskate operators of the Reno Burlesque Theatre did provide a full pit orchestra it would have probably sounded something like the ones on the below link. View link
These are nice views of the old Majestic,
c1920
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A0115.jpg
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A1573.jpg
c1950
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A0219.jpg
This view is erroneousely dated 1919, but it had to have been an earlier date than that because the Orpheum Vaudeville Theatre (nee Empress, AKA- Rialto) name was changed to Rialto by 1917. Note the first Rialto just beyond the Orphuem. By 1916 this theatre had been torn down to make way for a high rise Kress.
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A0824.jpg
Two c1940’s views of the (already ancient) Main Street Cinema
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A1584.jpg
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/A1482.jpg
Peoples Nickelodeon and the Civic Auditorium usually ran their newspaper advertisements together, confined within the same display column. Peoples ads usually were located in a bottom corner of the Auditorium ad frame. Also, both facilities opened November, 1907.
It is therefore a reasonable guess that Peoples (a small cinema) Nickeloeon was situated inside the sprawling Civic Auditorium Building on the corner of California & Walker. Most likely the Peoples interior decor matched that of the Auditorium, Craftsman/Mission Styling.
Found on the Oklahoma County Tax Assessor web pages are these antique postcard views of the Criterion Theatre,
c1929 -
View link
and c1940s -
View link
Here is a 1940’s snapshot of the former Empire after conversion to the Century Pool- Billiard-Snooker Parlor. Criterion Theatre is seen in background.
View link
Here is a Library of Congress 1910 panaramic view of downtown Oklahoma City. Near photo center can be seen the Empire Theatre. Directly behind the Empire sits the stagehouse of the Folly Theatre. Several other theatres can be seen in this image, but one would have to be extremely familiar with OKC to be able to spot them all-
View link
In 1919 the Criterion Theatre would be built this side of the Empire.
1906 pre-opening newspapaer announcements and ads list the Bijou Theatre as located at 29 East Main Street. If the Bijou truly was located on East Main, then it was placed in the middle of a warehouse district, which would certainly explain its failure.
Below is a 1910 panaramic photo of Oklahoma City, from Library of Congress. The Bijou Theatre would have been photo center, just this side of the Uneeda Biscuit warehouse.
View link
Newspaper ads appear as early as March, 1903, for an O.K. Theatre, 220 W. California Ave., Okla. City, OK. Explore this site for more info-
http://www.newsok.com/theoklahoman/archives
Myrna:
Back newspaper issues reveal that you may have gotten your facts a bit backwards. An O.K. Theatre, 220 W. California Ave., ran ads as early as March, 1903. It seems to have been in business several years. Perhaps the O.K. later moved “up” to First Street from California.
Ninety-eight years ago today, March 31, 1909, Grand Opening ceremonies were held for Oklahoma City’s new Metropolitan Theatre. Seven big acts of Orpheum Circut Vaudeville filled the bill.
http://www.newsok.com/theoklahoman/rchives
Newspaper research uncover facts about the checkered past of the Olympic Theatre. Grand opening occured November 10, 1908, featuring “Talking~Moving~Pictures”. Later The Olympic specialized in films produced by Humana Talking Pictures of NYC.
It was closed in mid 1919, just before United Artist started next door construction on their giant Criterion Theatre (Paramount had conrol by the time the Criterion opened). Reopened early 1967 as the Mondo Adult Theatre, a loop house. In April, 1968, it was renamed Academy X Cinema. Razed February, 1972
While early 1903 advertisements appeared for films shown inside a tent at the Barnum Circus, and later at the 1903 Oklahoma State Fair, the earliest newspaper ad I’ve been able to locate that promote a moving picture shown inside an established Oklahoma City theatre is dated March 12, 1904. On that date Overholser Opera House (AKA- Orpheum, Warner) presented a Kinodrome movie entitled “Cinderella”.
From September 4th thru the 11th, 1908, the Overholser advertised “Moving Talking Pictures”.
After studying old newspaper ads from the below site I suspect that the Gem originally opened in 1907 as the Theatorium. One ad dated October 1, 1907, list the Theatorium address as 212 Broadway, and while the Gem was at 217 Broadway, the entrance could have been moved somewhere along the line. Or, street numbers could have been shifted as the city grew. Then again, the Gem and Theatorium could have been two seperate theatres.
http://www.newsok.com/theoklahoman/archives
Architect William A. Wells also designed the Lyric Theatre, Robinson & First, Okla. City.
Does this recent photo show the Fairview Drive-In?
View link
Oklahomo Cowboy:
You have charm. You are clever. Without a doubt you are the best looking young stud in Oklahoma City, but your vocabulary and spelling are somewhat lacking. Perhaps the word you were wanting to write is moniker(?).
As a teen during the late 70s an oilman would sometimes take me along with him on business trips to San Francisco. One of the many things we did while there was to go see double features at the Warfield Theatre.
A lavish building, but since the Warfield lot is pie shaped the floor lay out is a bit disorienting. Standees curve around the auditorium and are actually located in bulding rear, with stage housing abutting the office bulding.
On one trip to SF we saw as one half of a double bill at the Warfield an old Marion Davies film entitled “Paging Miss Glory”. This was a goofy type movie centered around an absurb plot that claimed if the beauty and personalities of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Jeanette MacDonald, Ginger Rogers, Norma Shearer, and Ann Sothern could be combined the end result would result in Marion Davies.
In the 12/20/05 posting, that 1948 unidentified photo is later labelled the Esquire Theatre. Could this movie house have originally been named Marion Davies? The Esqure would have sat cattycornered from the Hearst Bldg, and I’ve heard W.R. Hearst built a theatre in her honor across from his office suite so he could see from his desk the name Marion Davies' spelled out in pink neon.
In the background of some those Carthay Circle photos can be seen a school building. Is that the same school used in the movie “Grease!”?
Without question the Tilghman, Guthrie, and Highland were three seperate movie houses. Both the Tilghman and Guthrie nickelodeons were located on opposite ends of Oklahoma Ave. The Highland Theatre sat on Harrison.
Melba:
A very accurate description of the old Cozy Theatre. Due to the floor slope the entire interior was a “form follows function” step pattern. In keeping with this scheme auditorium isles on both the main floor and balcony ran along side walls.
Because multiple railroad tracks ran underneath this structure it was not so much torn down as it was dismantled. Wrecking crews had to take the building apart piece by piece, reversing the process it took to build it.
During its burlesque era the Busby Theatre most likely staged these types of strip-tease acts,
[url=http://www.burlesquehistory.com/index.html]
[]www.burlesquehistory.com/index.html](http://www.burlesquehistory.com/index.html[/url)[/url]
http://www.anatomyofburlesque.com/
with this style of bump & grind rhythm music,
View link
It is true the Village Cinema originally opened as a modern, single screen theatre, with an imaginative contemporary decor. Lobby furniture was of black leather and chrome. Restrooms walls were veneered in refelctive black glass. Auditorium seating offered ample leg room, and a beveled shadow box framed a massive silver screen.
During its burlesque days perhaps Dubinsky provided a house band that performed snappy tunes like the ones played on these sites – – -
View link
and/or
http://www.spaceagepop.com/lester.htm
Griffith gained a reputation for acquiring beautiful theatre structures, milked them for profit, while letting them dilapidate into a ramshackled mess. The lovely Yale was amoung these.
On rare occasions when the cheapskate operators of the Reno Burlesque Theatre did provide a full pit orchestra it would have probably sounded something like the ones on the below link.
View link