Dixie Theatre

Listed in the 1950 edition of Film Daily Yearbook with a seating capacity of 450.

Presented below are snapshots of Hugo's Dixie Theatre . . .
http://www.rootsweb.com/~okchocta/photos/jo2/dixie-steps1994.jpg
and,
http://www.rootsweb.com/~okchocta/images/d4/hugo_dixie-bellmont.jpg

One fascinating fact is that Hugo used to be called Cicus City, U.S.A., because it was headquarters to five different circuses.
This interesting site tells about Showmens Rest, a cemetery for circus performers -
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10433

There was a nickelodeon in Hugo called the Dixie, opened in 1909 by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Fickensher. There was an article about the Fickenshers in the June 30, 1956, issue of Boxoffice Magazine, which said they sold the Dixie in 1910 and moved to Frederick, Oklahoma, to operate the Gem and Airdome theaters.

This is a photo of the Dixie taken long after it had closed (the same as one of the photos in the now-dead link posted by Okie Medley above.)

I'm not sure if this nickelodeon was the same theater mentioned in the October 6, 1946, issue of Boxoffice which said: "C.L. Walker and L. McMillan are opening the Dixie Theatre at Hugo on November 17. This will be a second-run house and will seat about 500 persons." The building in the photo doesn't look big enough to have held 500 seats (though the figure might be a Boxoffice exaggeration) nor does it look as though it had been remodeled in the 1940s, as it probably would have been had it been reopened then. I'd guess there were two Dixie theaters in Hugo, and the photo depicts the silent era house.

There is a 350 seat Dixie Theater listed in 1935 for Hugo. There is no Dixie Theater listed in 1940 or 1945. As Ken Roe posted in the first comment above, there is a 450 seat Dixie Theater listed in 1950. The Dixie Theater mentioned in the October 6, 1946, issue of Boxoffice is probably the theater listed here. Maybe the 1935 Dixie is the nickelodeon that opened in 1909 or it could be a third Dixie Theater.

I have seen a photo from about 1915 of a theatre on Broadway street (not the Ritz) which had been ravaged by fire. It could be the early Dixie. It is not on the 1924 map of downtown Hugo and the listing for 1935 really does not make sense.

The Dixie in the photo linked is the Dixie Theatre listed in 1950. The theatre is the structure in the far right portion of the photo, the marquee and boxoffice had long been removed. It looks as though this photo was taken in the 1980s, shortly before all three buildings in the photo were destroyed by fire.

I first saw the interior of the Dixie in 1969. The seats had been removed in the 1950s and based on the floor space I viewed, 450 is an exaggeration, not to mention 500.

I don't know why the Dixie is listed in the 1935 Film Daily Yearbook, but it is. Two theaters are listed that year, the Ritz and the Erie. In 1930 only the Erie is listed.