Will Rogers Theatre

The Will Rogers, Tulsa, was built by Griffith Theatres, later called Video Indpendent Theatres of Oklahoma City. It had a sister theatre--the Will Rogers--in Oklahoma City.

I was a projectionist at the Will Rogers in Tulsa from 1965 - 1976.
I worked with Mr. Frank Piro who was a projectionist at this theatre from the first show in 1942 through the last show in 1976. Frank was the finest booth partner any one could wish for.
Style - Southwest. Auditorium walls were murals of cowboys roping steers. Walls were beige and the seats were cloth with red cushions.
Function - 35mm motion picture theatre. Brenkert BX60 projectors, RCA 9030 optical sound heads, Brenkert/Enarc carbon arc lamps burning 7mm negative and 8mm positive carbons at 70 amps. The theatre was equipped to run full four channel magnetic sound if needed with RCA four track magnetic sound heads.
Seats - 719
Respectfully Submitted,
Ben Kehe, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

When OKC's Will Rogers Theater opened in 1946 it was billed as sister to Tulsa's WILL ROGERS. Though both structures were designed by Dallas Arhitect Jack Corgan, and were very similar in design, they were in no way identical.

The Beryl Ford Photograph Collection traces Tulsa history from a tough wild west town to a sprawling city. Depending on how far away you are from the date posted here, a blurry demolition picture of the Will Rogers Theatre can be found on page 63, image #752. This collection is constantly evolving and image numbers do change regularly, so you may need to browse around a bit,
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/BFC/index.htm

Though it has been rumored that Griffith Amusement neglected their theatre interiors. It is also known that Griffith Amusement usually kept exteriors up to date, utilizing them as oversized billboards.
Long before the Will Rogers Theatre was to be torn down it was allowed to fall into decay -
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/E0145.jpg

http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/E0146.jpg

SEE 1941 interior photos. SEE exterior shots, by typing in word "Theatre",
http://okhistory.cuadra.com/starweb3/b.archives/servlet.starweb3?path=b.archives/STARArchives.public.web

Vintage images illustrate interior motifs for the Will Rogers as decorated in unique Western Impressionist Styling.
These dull B&W photos cannot bring out how auditorium hues were rich earth tones, with splashes of bright colour thrown in here and there for dramatic effect. All together it created an exciting setting in which to view a movie.

The Will Rogers Theater had 818 seats.

1985 photo of the Will Rogers Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c36%2c3%2c-1&ProductID=32615

View of WRT auditorium seating arrangement -
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?q=will+rogers+source:life&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwill%2Brogers%2Bsource:life%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20&imgurl=6b62934c40912931

According to the Life Magazine that is a student assemble at the Will Rogers High School not at the Will Rogers Theatre. Try this link for a photo of the Will Rogers Theatre auditorium.
http://okhistory.cuadra.com/starweb3/b.archives/servlet.starweb3

Well that one don't work, go to the website listed on 8/29/07 and type in theatre and go to page 31 and there is a photo of the Will Rogers Theatre auditorium, much different than the high school auditorium.