Home State Theatre
621 N. Robinson Avenue,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73102
621 N. Robinson Avenue,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73102
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This theater originally had a Neo-Classical style exterior and a Byzantine style interior, which was remodeled into a Streamline design in the 1940’s. It is currently used as office space. The theater was in operation from 1923 to 1951.
Contributed by
Lauren Grubb
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
R. Lewis Barton’s Barton Theatres circuit operated the Home Theatre for an indefinite period that was probably in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In a Dec. 2, 1999, article in the Oklahoma City JOURNAL-RECORD, Mr. Barton is credited with breaking the “downtown stranglehold on first-run movies” by bidding on them for the Home.
It its last years, the Home played art films. When I was a child, my family attended the musical ones, and regretted to see it close. After it closed, we went to the Frontier (Log Cabin), on NW 39th Street, for those movies, and then to the Plaza, on NW 16th Street, which played art film for a short time, and was temporarily re-named the Plaza Art Theatre. Lindy Shanbour, younger brother of possibly Oklahoma City’s best showman, the fabled Farris Shanbour, was a ticket seller at the Plaza Art as a young man. I saw Gene Kelly’s INVITATION TO THE DANCE at the Plaza Art. Lindy currently owns the Winchester Drive-in in Oklahoma City, which he inherited from his brother, George Shanbour, another Oklahoma City theatre icon.
Back to Farris, he resurrected the downtown Criterion, and the neighborhood Plaza and Tower Theatres, put them all on first-run product, and extended their economic lives several years. When he officed on 23rd Street in the later years of his operation, he’d walk his deposit down the street to the bank with one arm sticking out and a big money bag in his hand, and his other arm around his beautiful big-tittied secretary.
On this site can be seen two views of the 2200 seat auditorium. These photos would have been taken in the late 1940s after all the lavish Byzantine gingerbread had been stripped away to give the space a more contemporary, streamline look. There was also a 300 seat auditorium on the fifth floor.
Enter word ‘auditorium’ in search field field, then enter,
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They say seeing is believing, according to these 1940s photos the actual name must have been Home State Theatre. The Kimball pipe organ was so massive it had three separate consoles, and apparently was played up to the end.
Although the site is listed above I will re-enter it here for ease of navigation. To see upper floor auditorium type in word “stage”. To view Home State Theatre images enter word “theatre”-
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An important fact should be noted, once Warner Bros took over this house in 1930 the name changed to Warner’s Auditorium and the main entrance moved around the corner to 210 Northwest Sixth Street, and remained there until the theatre closed in 1951. Photos on above posting are of the Sixth Street entrance, showing the official name as Home State Auditorium.
During WWII years the tiny auditorium on the fifth floor began showing Fox News Reels, making this one of the first twin cinemas.
Official name of the former fifth floor newsreel cinema was Harding Hall. For a good auditorium image go to above okhistory web site and enter name “harding”.
The Home State Theater has a Kimball pipe organ quite similar to this one played by Simon Gledhill, on the 3/38 Kimball pipe organ inside the Oriental Theatre Milwaukee.
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It is located in what became the Journal-Record Building, which was heavily damaged in the OKC bombing on 19 April 1995. The building now houses the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum, which has its puvlic entrance on the west side. The north side of the building looks much like it did when the Home State Theatre was located there, minus the marquee. View link
Vintage photo of the Home State Theatre.
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As late as 1947 the Home State Theatre featured an organist during intermissions.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039958/
Interactive map of downtown Oklahoma City
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