The local papers and trade press state that Perri Construction built the Marine and the Mayfair theaters as “near twins” to the plans of Joseph M. Berlinger. Whether true or not…
The Dewey makes a comeback with a grand reopening on October 1, 1960. “If you want a show in Dewey, You must patronize it” was the friendly opening statement. Apparently the town wanted a more modern theatre because the place was rehabbed and had a grand re-reopening as the Capri Theatre on July 11, 1963 with Walter Bell and his wife in charge. It relaunched with Tony Curtis in “40 Pounds of Trouble.”
The 800-seat Oklah Opera House opened September 25, 1907 opening with the play, “Miss Pochahontas.” Its address was was 105-107 West Third Street. It switched to films and became the Oklah Theatre. Ventilation appears to have been a weakness so the Oklah Airdome launched May 9, 1909 operating in the warm summer months through the 1915 season.
In 1916, the Oklah Theatre improved ventilation and the Airdome was not opened for the season with the space converted. A big hit for the Oklah Theatre was its 1916 presentation of “Birth of a Nation.” It also had a big audience paying tribute to the late President Teddy Roosevelt at a memorial service in 1919.
The Oklah went out of business following an April 4, 1925 showing of Mary Pickford in “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.” A temporary closure ad was posted followed by a complaint by the property owner about equipment being removed from the premises by the operator.
Blanche L. Cutler, then managing the Odeon, gave the theatre brand new projection and a new interior renaming it on June 1, 1925 as the Liberty Theatre and “Welcome Stranger” on the big screen. The theatre was wired for sound to remain viable. Griffith Amusement Circuit bought out the theatre with a grand reopening on September 15, 1934. Movies ended initially on June 4, 1939 with a screening of “Men With Wings.” The space was used for wrestling the remainder of the month.
The Odeon Theatre closed on June 30, 1939 with “Tarzan Finds a Son” citing end of lease. The Odeon Building on Johnstone retained its name so the Odeon officially moved into the Liberty Theatre Building retaining the Liberty name but operating as the Odeon Theatre. The operators then moved its future bookings “temporarily” to the Liberty Theatre Building as the Odeon beginning on July 1, 1939 with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.” (The picture of the Odeon in Cinema Treasures is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen.) The theatre closed following the June 2, 1942 screening of “Roxie Hart.” It was used for sporadic events during World War II until a 1945 remodeling plan was introduced.
The theatre was gutted in 1945 for the creation a more modern theatre to the plans of architect Jack Corgan. That theatre would become the Arrow Theatre. That included moving the former opera house’s interior from a two balcony and wooden main floor to a single concrete floor with one, 191-seat balcony for African American patrons. The 728-seat theatre launched November 1, 1946 with an Open House followed by a November 3, 1946 screening of “Home Sweet Homicide.”
This picture of the Odeon is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen. The theatre would be gutted in 1945 and became the Arrow Theatre.
In 1922, a Hope-Jones pipe organ was installed to improve silent film presentations. Sound was added to the venue. But the original Odeon Theatre closed on June 30, 1939 with “Tarzan Finds a Son” citing end of lease. The operators then moved its future bookings “temporarily” to the Liberty Theatre beginning on July 1, 1940 with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.”
The Penn was opened in 1967 behind the Pennington Hills Shopping Center for Video Independent Theaters Circuit likely on a 30-year lease . Martin Theatres acquired Video Independent and twinned the Penn. Carmike acquired Martin retaining the Penn Twin almost to the end of its lease. The theatre had a brief run as a live country music house. The last Google map image of the Penn Theatre is in 2008 with its demolition likely occurring the year after when the land was purchased and redeveloped.
The theater is the Belle-Mead Drive-In and sometimes the Belle Mead Drive-In (should be also known as, I guess). It’s not the Belle Meade, however. The confusion is that Belle Meade is a neighborhood in Bartlesville so not sure why the “e' was not included.
The Belle-Mead was built and opened in 1953. It closed on September 5, 1957 with Fess Parker in “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.” The equipment was stored for the winter and never reopened. The drive-in was a target for vandals over the next five years before being demolished. According to most report, not surprisingly, the Belle-Mead was not consistently well patronized with the Hill-Top being the far more popular of the town’s two ozoners.
The Crown Theatre replaced the Mueller Hardware Store at 318-320 South Johnstone in 1937. E.J Nichols was the architect for operator P.C. Crown, a streamline moderne theater with Mirrorgraphic equipment. The Crown launched on a ten-year lease with the moniker, “Bartlesville’s classiest motion picture house” and an exclusive contract with Columbia Pictures on May 12, 1937. The opening had Mervyn Douglas and Mary Astor in “and So They Were Married” supported by short subjects including “The Old Glory,” Pathé News, a Columbia cartoon, a “New World of Sports” short, “Little Champs,” and Vaut-Mat.
The final film there was on January 13, 1940 with Lucille Ball in “Five Came Back.” On January 14, 1940, a fire destroyed the theater, the St. Regis Hotel and one more retailer. The remaining front wall was soon demolished.
The Montrose Theatre launched on April 1, 1954 with Robert Wagner “Beneath the 12-Mile Reef” supported by the shorts, “ Finale from Symphony #4” and “Vesuvius Express,” all in CinemaScope - the first films and theater to project in that format in Montreal. Its 46' wide panoramic magic silver screen was a hit.
The Soo Theatre opened with Marie Dressler in “Politics” on August 28, 1931. Regular operation continued until the theatre closed for the summer on July 24, 1952 with a double feature of Dan Dailey in “I Can Get it For You Wholesale” and Robert Clark in “Casa Manana.” The theatre did not reopen that year though did have some sporadic special screenings thereafter.
Lyons Mall began construction in 1966 and, when it wasn’t completed, was to be razed in 1968 and started over. The Mini Cinema was announced in September of 1970 by the Ridge Cinema Corporation as a location of the Jerry Lewis Circuit of automated theaters. The Lyons Mall opened a month later with the cinema launching on January 27th, 1971 as the Jerry Lewis Cinema with “I Never Sang for My Father.” The Lewis Circuit’s parent company, Network Cinema Corp. filed for bankruptcy on June 14, 1973 with the circuit imploding a year later. However, the name plate stood here for years to come.
On March 2, 1978, the Lewis name was finally dropped and the theatre operated as the Ridge Cinema. The Ridge closed briefly in 1983 and became the Lyons Cinema until closing on October 13, 1983. It reopened for one final time as the Ridge Lyons Cinema on June 26, 1985 with “St. Elmo’s Fire.” It appears to have closed on September 12, 1985 with John Candy in “Summer Rental”.
The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Highlands closed along with the circuit’s other locations on March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19. It reopened on August 18, 2020 only to close again October 6, 2020. It reopened a little more than 10 months later on August 13, 2021.
It became the Biograph Theatre on December 4, 1974 with “Slaughterhouse Five.” It closed on November 24, 1976 with “The Gumball Rally” and “Death Race 2000.” It was razed in 1984.
The Bel-Air 1-2-3 Drive-In Theatre closed August 21, 1986 with “The Fly” and “Aliens” on Screen 1, “Armed and Dangerous” and “Jo Jo Dancer” on Screen 2, “Back to School” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” on Screen 3. That weekend’s Bel-Air flea market and all future dates were moved to the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In.
The new Muscoda Theatre launched September 14, 1947 with Esther Williams in “Fiesta.” It replaced the former Muscoda Theatre which had served as the town’s opera house decades earlier.
Claude & Starck designed the Fenway Theatre which launched with Richard Dix in “Moran of the Marines” on November 22, 1928. The theatre showed off its Reproducto pipe organ, as well.
The New Empire Theatre replaced a 15-year old Empire Theatre that had existed on the North Side of the city square.The New Empirelaunched November 4, 1925 with Charles Ray in “A Son of His Father” supported by a comedy short, “The Tourist” with Johnny Arthur.
The Binger Opera House was built by operators Frank Marvel and Reinhart Lossan. It launched in 1906 with live events. It experimented with movies and on February 3, 1920 its name was changed to the Binger Theatre going with full-time movies and Erich von Stroheim’s “Blind Husband.”
New operators took on the venue changing its name to Ranora Theatre on May 5, 1925 with Mrs. Wallace Reid in “Human Wreckage.” It appears to have ceased operations following the September 29, 1927 screenings of “Pigs.” R.C. Rosser then sold the Ranora to Mr. R.V. Meecham. He took over and changed the name to the Amusu Theatre beginning with the October 7, 1927 showings of Milton Sills in “Men of Steel.”
The Amusu made the transition to sound to remain viable when it installed Movietone sound to play “King of Kings” on December 9, 1929. Meecham sold the venue to Mr. and Mrs. H.D. Cox in the 1930s and they reverted back to the Binger Theater nameplate.
But in January of 1947, the theatre was destroyed by fire despite the news story that stated “all of Binger’s 800 citizens fought side-by-side with firemen to extinguish a recent blaze which razed two buildings on Main Street and threatened the entire town. The Binger Theater was destroyed in the fire.”
Operators Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Cox would build a new theatre that was going to be the New Binger Theatre at least in concept stages. However, when the new theatre launched, it was called the Caddo Theatre. The Caddo opened on October 6, 1946 with “The Big Sleep.”
The local papers and trade press state that Perri Construction built the Marine and the Mayfair theaters as “near twins” to the plans of Joseph M. Berlinger. Whether true or not…
That is theatre manager Albert L. Greene (sorry for the delay of response).
The Dewey makes a comeback with a grand reopening on October 1, 1960. “If you want a show in Dewey, You must patronize it” was the friendly opening statement. Apparently the town wanted a more modern theatre because the place was rehabbed and had a grand re-reopening as the Capri Theatre on July 11, 1963 with Walter Bell and his wife in charge. It relaunched with Tony Curtis in “40 Pounds of Trouble.”
The 800-seat Oklah Opera House opened September 25, 1907 opening with the play, “Miss Pochahontas.” Its address was was 105-107 West Third Street. It switched to films and became the Oklah Theatre. Ventilation appears to have been a weakness so the Oklah Airdome launched May 9, 1909 operating in the warm summer months through the 1915 season.
In 1916, the Oklah Theatre improved ventilation and the Airdome was not opened for the season with the space converted. A big hit for the Oklah Theatre was its 1916 presentation of “Birth of a Nation.” It also had a big audience paying tribute to the late President Teddy Roosevelt at a memorial service in 1919.
The Oklah went out of business following an April 4, 1925 showing of Mary Pickford in “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.” A temporary closure ad was posted followed by a complaint by the property owner about equipment being removed from the premises by the operator.
Blanche L. Cutler, then managing the Odeon, gave the theatre brand new projection and a new interior renaming it on June 1, 1925 as the Liberty Theatre and “Welcome Stranger” on the big screen. The theatre was wired for sound to remain viable. Griffith Amusement Circuit bought out the theatre with a grand reopening on September 15, 1934. Movies ended initially on June 4, 1939 with a screening of “Men With Wings.” The space was used for wrestling the remainder of the month.
The Odeon Theatre closed on June 30, 1939 with “Tarzan Finds a Son” citing end of lease. The Odeon Building on Johnstone retained its name so the Odeon officially moved into the Liberty Theatre Building retaining the Liberty name but operating as the Odeon Theatre. The operators then moved its future bookings “temporarily” to the Liberty Theatre Building as the Odeon beginning on July 1, 1939 with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.” (The picture of the Odeon in Cinema Treasures is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen.) The theatre closed following the June 2, 1942 screening of “Roxie Hart.” It was used for sporadic events during World War II until a 1945 remodeling plan was introduced.
The theatre was gutted in 1945 for the creation a more modern theatre to the plans of architect Jack Corgan. That theatre would become the Arrow Theatre. That included moving the former opera house’s interior from a two balcony and wooden main floor to a single concrete floor with one, 191-seat balcony for African American patrons. The 728-seat theatre launched November 1, 1946 with an Open House followed by a November 3, 1946 screening of “Home Sweet Homicide.”
This picture of the Odeon is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen. The theatre would be gutted in 1945 and became the Arrow Theatre.
In 1922, a Hope-Jones pipe organ was installed to improve silent film presentations. Sound was added to the venue. But the original Odeon Theatre closed on June 30, 1939 with “Tarzan Finds a Son” citing end of lease. The operators then moved its future bookings “temporarily” to the Liberty Theatre beginning on July 1, 1940 with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.”
The Penn was opened in 1967 behind the Pennington Hills Shopping Center for Video Independent Theaters Circuit likely on a 30-year lease . Martin Theatres acquired Video Independent and twinned the Penn. Carmike acquired Martin retaining the Penn Twin almost to the end of its lease. The theatre had a brief run as a live country music house. The last Google map image of the Penn Theatre is in 2008 with its demolition likely occurring the year after when the land was purchased and redeveloped.
aka Hill-Top Drive-In - its most advertised name in the 1950s before becoming the Hilltop Drive-In thereafter.
The theater is the Belle-Mead Drive-In and sometimes the Belle Mead Drive-In (should be also known as, I guess). It’s not the Belle Meade, however. The confusion is that Belle Meade is a neighborhood in Bartlesville so not sure why the “e' was not included.
The Belle-Mead was built and opened in 1953. It closed on September 5, 1957 with Fess Parker in “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.” The equipment was stored for the winter and never reopened. The drive-in was a target for vandals over the next five years before being demolished. According to most report, not surprisingly, the Belle-Mead was not consistently well patronized with the Hill-Top being the far more popular of the town’s two ozoners.
The Crown Theatre replaced the Mueller Hardware Store at 318-320 South Johnstone in 1937. E.J Nichols was the architect for operator P.C. Crown, a streamline moderne theater with Mirrorgraphic equipment. The Crown launched on a ten-year lease with the moniker, “Bartlesville’s classiest motion picture house” and an exclusive contract with Columbia Pictures on May 12, 1937. The opening had Mervyn Douglas and Mary Astor in “and So They Were Married” supported by short subjects including “The Old Glory,” Pathé News, a Columbia cartoon, a “New World of Sports” short, “Little Champs,” and Vaut-Mat.
The final film there was on January 13, 1940 with Lucille Ball in “Five Came Back.” On January 14, 1940, a fire destroyed the theater, the St. Regis Hotel and one more retailer. The remaining front wall was soon demolished.
According to the local paper, the original Arrow Theatre burned down on November 17, 1937.
1955
The Montrose Theatre launched on April 1, 1954 with Robert Wagner “Beneath the 12-Mile Reef” supported by the shorts, “ Finale from Symphony #4” and “Vesuvius Express,” all in CinemaScope - the first films and theater to project in that format in Montreal. Its 46' wide panoramic magic silver screen was a hit.
The State Theatre launched on October 20, 1937 with Alice Faye and Don Ameche in “You Can’t Have Everything.”
The Soo Theatre opened with Marie Dressler in “Politics” on August 28, 1931. Regular operation continued until the theatre closed for the summer on July 24, 1952 with a double feature of Dan Dailey in “I Can Get it For You Wholesale” and Robert Clark in “Casa Manana.” The theatre did not reopen that year though did have some sporadic special screenings thereafter.
Lyons Mall began construction in 1966 and, when it wasn’t completed, was to be razed in 1968 and started over. The Mini Cinema was announced in September of 1970 by the Ridge Cinema Corporation as a location of the Jerry Lewis Circuit of automated theaters. The Lyons Mall opened a month later with the cinema launching on January 27th, 1971 as the Jerry Lewis Cinema with “I Never Sang for My Father.” The Lewis Circuit’s parent company, Network Cinema Corp. filed for bankruptcy on June 14, 1973 with the circuit imploding a year later. However, the name plate stood here for years to come.
On March 2, 1978, the Lewis name was finally dropped and the theatre operated as the Ridge Cinema. The Ridge closed briefly in 1983 and became the Lyons Cinema until closing on October 13, 1983. It reopened for one final time as the Ridge Lyons Cinema on June 26, 1985 with “St. Elmo’s Fire.” It appears to have closed on September 12, 1985 with John Candy in “Summer Rental”.
The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Highlands closed along with the circuit’s other locations on March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19. It reopened on August 18, 2020 only to close again October 6, 2020. It reopened a little more than 10 months later on August 13, 2021.
It became the Biograph Theatre on December 4, 1974 with “Slaughterhouse Five.” It closed on November 24, 1976 with “The Gumball Rally” and “Death Race 2000.” It was razed in 1984.
The Bel-Air 1-2-3 Drive-In Theatre closed August 21, 1986 with “The Fly” and “Aliens” on Screen 1, “Armed and Dangerous” and “Jo Jo Dancer” on Screen 2, “Back to School” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” on Screen 3. That weekend’s Bel-Air flea market and all future dates were moved to the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In.
The New Victor Theatre opened May 26, 1945 with Faye Emerson in “Hotel Berlin."9 The Mesa Theatre was the local movie house that launched in 1936.)
Opened June 11, 1936 with Joan Blondell in “Sons o' Gun.”
The new Muscoda Theatre launched September 14, 1947 with Esther Williams in “Fiesta.” It replaced the former Muscoda Theatre which had served as the town’s opera house decades earlier.
Claude & Starck designed the Fenway Theatre which launched with Richard Dix in “Moran of the Marines” on November 22, 1928. The theatre showed off its Reproducto pipe organ, as well.
The New Empire Theatre replaced a 15-year old Empire Theatre that had existed on the North Side of the city square.The New Empirelaunched November 4, 1925 with Charles Ray in “A Son of His Father” supported by a comedy short, “The Tourist” with Johnny Arthur.
The Binger Opera House was built by operators Frank Marvel and Reinhart Lossan. It launched in 1906 with live events. It experimented with movies and on February 3, 1920 its name was changed to the Binger Theatre going with full-time movies and Erich von Stroheim’s “Blind Husband.”
New operators took on the venue changing its name to Ranora Theatre on May 5, 1925 with Mrs. Wallace Reid in “Human Wreckage.” It appears to have ceased operations following the September 29, 1927 screenings of “Pigs.” R.C. Rosser then sold the Ranora to Mr. R.V. Meecham. He took over and changed the name to the Amusu Theatre beginning with the October 7, 1927 showings of Milton Sills in “Men of Steel.”
The Amusu made the transition to sound to remain viable when it installed Movietone sound to play “King of Kings” on December 9, 1929. Meecham sold the venue to Mr. and Mrs. H.D. Cox in the 1930s and they reverted back to the Binger Theater nameplate.
But in January of 1947, the theatre was destroyed by fire despite the news story that stated “all of Binger’s 800 citizens fought side-by-side with firemen to extinguish a recent blaze which razed two buildings on Main Street and threatened the entire town. The Binger Theater was destroyed in the fire.”
Operators Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Cox would build a new theatre that was going to be the New Binger Theatre at least in concept stages. However, when the new theatre launched, it was called the Caddo Theatre. The Caddo opened on October 6, 1946 with “The Big Sleep.”