Wes-Ten Theater
3925 NW Tenth Street,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73107
3925 NW Tenth Street,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73107
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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.
Thanks Guys.hope he shared the profits with an overworked Staff.
George Shanbour also used profits made from the Wes-Ten Theatre to purchase the extremely popular Beverly’s (downtown) Diner, next door to the Colcord Bldg.
Very rare was the case that there was a sell-out during that time frame and when it got really busy, George (owner) would assist with
the concession and he would be all smiles from ear to ear! ($$$$$).
They ran a 512 seat theatre with that staff.let’s take the projectionist out of the picture,A cashier doubled as a concession girl how on earth did they serve a sell-out with that few of people.I can see it on a tuesday evening in Febuary,but i assume the weekends must have been a mad house.I guess the Box office girl sold and tore tickets that can quickly turn to thief if one chooses to do it.What a operation, Longest Day.
Mike,
Thanks!
Another tid bit about the efficiency of the WesTen in the early 60’s;
The entire operation only required 2 employees. 1). Cashier doubled as Concession girl. 2). Projectionist (worked double shifts on Saturday) plus the Owner…
Theatre was cleaned by a partime person after operating hours.
The little theatre generated significant profits that allowed the future acquisition of the Tower Theatre and then later to the Winchester Drive Inn..
Great story Longest Day on what a owner could do.
Modern photos of the former Wes-Ten Theatre can be found on Roadside Oklahoma site. Facade has been altered beyong recognition.
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/486
LongestDay:
Yes, that large white buidling is the former WesTen Theatre. Appearance was extensively altered when the structure was converted to a homeless shelter. Original WesTen Threatre had a typical neon outlined, movie house facade, with a large, V shaped, flashing neon marquee.
Oooops! The comments were deleted above…They were; Yes, the 2 story
white building seen in the map is the ole Wes-Ten Theater Building. Here’s the direct link to the photo: View link
Is is the two story white building seen in the map view?
George Shanbour owned and operated the Wes Ten for a period of time in the early 60’s and he had the knack of turning a penny into a dime. He would buy freight damaged boxes of candy at a fraction of the normal wholesale and turned over large profits at the concession stand. He had found a old black and white cartoon in the trash and this same cartoon played time after time for months along with the featured movies. He was a great Movie Theater Operator and was the younger brother of Farris Shanbour, who was a large chain movie operator in Oklahoma City. George later obtained the Tower Theater and then much later, owned and operated the Winchester Drive In.
Speaking of Wes-Ten’s well stocked concession stand, their house specialty were frozen malts. In a choich of three tasty flavors.
As detailed above, horror movies were showcased at the Wes-Ten. Here is a site devoted to William Catle’s amusing promotional ideas –
http://www.horror-wood.com/castle.htm
As an elementary school student in the mid-1960s, my enduring memory is that the Wes-Ten theater would sometimes give out free admission tickets at our suburban OKC school.
I distinctly remember seeing Yellow Submarine and Help! at separate times, but the atmosphere was the same: a packed auditorium full of rambunctious kids dropped off by their parents. Of course, little attention was paid to the film, and most attendees were engaged in food fights, scurrying up and down the aisle and crowding the tiny lobby and its concession stand. These were among my earliest movie-going experiences.
My mother remembered this theatre for its William Castle publicity gimmicks. For “House on Haunted Hill” a skeleton with red light bulb eyes flew over the audience. “The Tingler” had pre-selected electrified theatre chairs that shocked some viewers and caused them to jump to their feet screaming during scary scenes. Other films used other corny techniques to garner ballyhoo.
Judging from old newspaper movie ads the Westen speicialized in cheap B-product from production companies like Roger Corman, William Castle, Kroger Babb, etc.
Soon after closing the Wes Ten Theatre was renovated into a homeless shelter.