Bays Theater
208 N. Main Street,
Blackwell,
OK
74631
208 N. Main Street,
Blackwell,
OK
74631
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Griffith Amusement Company
Firms: Boller Brothers
Functions: Fraternal Hall
Previous Names: New Bays Theater
Nearby Theaters
The Bays Theater was opened on March 25, 1920 with a live presentation of “The Chocolate Soldier”. The following day it screened its first movie “The Flames of Hellgate” starring Beatriz Michelena, with music being provided by a live pianist. It was remodeled on Febriary 19, 1937 screening Edmund Love in “Seven Sinners”. It was closed in 1939.
Contributed by
Lauren Grubb
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
According to one source I’ve read, this theater may also have had a “Reproduco”, which was an automatic pipe organ/piano combination type instrument. These are very collectable instruments nowadays.
The Bays Theater opened its doors on March 25, 1920 with a live presentation of “The Chocolate Soldier”. Its first film attractions were screened the following day with Beatriz Michelena in “The Flames Of Hellgate” and Mr. and Mrs. Carter DeHaven in “Their Day Of Rest”.
It was remodeled with a massive downgrade on its seating capacity, and reopened on February 19, 1937 with Edmund Love in “Seven Sinners” along with the short “The Fish From Hell”, an unnamed Oswald The Lucky Rabbit cartoon, and a Universal Newsreel. This didn’t last long, and the Bays Theater closed in 1939.
The Bays Theatre was renamed the Plaza Theatre on January 4, 1930, reopening as Blackwell’s second talkie theater with Richard Dix in “The Love Doctor” along with a unnamed comedy (listed as Talkomedy) and a serial episode of “The Pirate of Panama”. The Plaza Theatre closed in 1934 and the theater was abandoned for almost three years.
After extensive remodeling, it reopened back as the Bays Theatre on February 19, 1937.