Hoo-Hoo Theatre
118 E. Main Street,
Gurdon,
AR
71743
118 E. Main Street,
Gurdon,
AR
71743
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My guess would be that the theater once belonged to or was operated by The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo or one or more of the club’s members.
Why the name Hoo-Hoo?
This rather large web page features three photos of the Hoo Hoo Theatre. Two show it in its last days, after the marquee fell into the street, and one shows it still in operation, with the 1975 movie The Dixie Dance Kings listed on the marquee.
This web page from Arkansas Historic Preservation briefly mentions the Hoo Hoo Theatre, saying that it was built by a Mr. Wright in the mid-1920s, and that it was called the Wright Theatre before being renamed the Hoo-Hoo Theatre.
This 1997 article in the Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times says:
If the building ever made it onto the Arkansas Register of Historic Places, the status failed to save it from demolition.Interesting name.
Here is a postcard:
http://tinyurl.com/y9zpgth
Only in Arkansas.
Incidentally, not only has the Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo, from which this theater’s name was derived, outlasted the theater, it even has a web site.
It now occurs to me that, long ago, I saw a vintage postcard of a building called the Hoo-Hoo that was at one of the world’s fairs- probably San Francisco’s in 1915. I remember wondering then what it was, as the card had no explanatory details. Now I realize it was probably operated by this organization.
A special event took place at the Hoo-Hoo Theatre in 1940. The September 7 issue of Boxoffice announced it:
An item datelined Gurdon, Ark., in the January 13, 1940, issue of Boxoffice was headed “The Hoo-Hoo Bows” and gave the opening date as January 4. The house had recently been purchased by K. Lee Williams, and had previously been called the Wright Theatre.
In 1963, the Hoo Hoo was part of the K. Lee Williams chain, along with the Gurdon Auto Theater.
The Film Daily Yearbook;1950 edition lists the Hoo-Hoo Theatre with a seating capacity of 577.