Bison Theatre
225 E. Main Street,
Shawnee,
OK
74801
225 E. Main Street,
Shawnee,
OK
74801
1 person
favorited this theater
The Bison Theatre is shown as open in the Film Daily Yearbook of 1945, with seating for 1080. It was located on Main Street at Philadelphia Street. After it closed in the mid-1950’s, the former Bison was converted to a clothing store, later became a church, and today houses an antique mall. Any further information on this theater would be appreciated.
Contributed by
Bryan
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
This theater is not listed in the 1975 Shawnee phone book.
This theater was open on November 23, 1930 because an armed robbery took place there that day:
View link
The Bison Theatre was located on the corner of Main Street and Philadelphia. It was built by Griffith Theatres, later called Video Independent Theatres of Oklahoma City. The theatre seated over 1000 people originally. It had a domed ceiling with twinkling lights to resemble stars. The theatre had a working stage and could accomodate traveling stage shows and entertainers as well as movies. In 1947, with the opening of the Hornbeck Theatre in Shawnee, the Bison was changed to a second run policy. In 1954 Jones Theatres, Inc. partnered with Video in the Bison’s ownership. The Bison was a victim of television in the mid-1950’s when it closed. The V-shaped marquee on the Bison was moved to the Ritz Theatre in Shawnee during a major renovation of the Ritz in 1966. The building was sold and first became a western wear clothing store, later a church and now an antique mall. The stage area is still intact in the antique mall.
On below site, historic photo of the Shawnee Bison Theatre is mistakenly listed as the one in Oklahoma City.
In search field type in word “theatre”, then press enter -
View link
Seems OHS corrected their error. Both the Shawnee Bison Theatre and Enid Aztec (minus balcony) were sister houses, designed by Carl Boller. To compare images, on above post type in name “Aztec”, “Bison”, or “Esquire”.
Roadside Oklahoma web showcases both vintage and modern potos of the former Bison Theatre,
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/642
Photos of The Bison Theatre.
View link
View link
View link
This is what the neighborhood around the old Bison Theatre looks like these days,
View link
The Cinema Section of Roadside Oklahome is closed, they no longer have theatre photos according to the site. Go to their home page for further details.
Ray, In your post on 10-8-07 you said the Bison in Shawnee and the Aztec in Enid “were sister houses, designed by Carl Boller.” In my research on the Aztec I haven’t been able to verify the identity of that theater’s architect. May I ask the source of your information? Thanks for your help!