Drake Theatre

List of Owners: 1930-1935 Radio-Keith-Orpheum 1935-1975 Harris Amusements 1975-1985 Cinemette Corporation of America

And I wonder whatever happened to the Derrick’s Wurlitzer organ? If anyone knows, please elaborate.

The community tried to find a buyer to turn the art deco building into apartments in 2013 to no avail. There is another theatre in the town called the Latonia though I don’t know its current status. There was also a theatre by the name of the Lyric. Oil City was a thriving town though no more, it seems. And to think the Derrick was closed because a mall theatre opened with 5 screens. Sad.

I hope this theatre is bought and saved! Time for someone to win the lottery.

Does anyone have any info on the “Venango Theatre” located in Oil City? Thanks!

A mention of both the Drake and the Venango can be found in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Sep 14, 1927 (pg. 26, lower right). It states that the Venango had 800 seats.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19270914&id=71pRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=52gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5068,1734847

If one compares the 1983 photo against the 2004 photos above, you notice the terra cotta parapet ornamentation and the deco tower capitals above the front entry were removed. This occurred the early 2000’s when the roof was replaced. there was dumpsters full of broken terra cotta scrolls and zig-zag pieces that were simply discarded. The white capitols of the towers reportedly set in some local private garden, but that was 2900 years ago. All of the ornament, except for the glazed white capitols, was the same buff color as the remaining terra cotta on the building. This monochromatic facade contrasts to the colorful terra cotta of the across town Latonia theatre. The Oil City Playhouse briefly reopened the Drake for a year or two in the mid 1990’s as a performance theatre.
I was fortunate to perform on the Drake’s stage in the performance of “Melba, The Toast of Pithole”, a melodrama written about the local oil boomtown and a colorful cast of characters. I played Danny Sweetapple, the hero of the story. I was impressed with the ornamental plater and murals depicting oil, hunting themes each in stylized art deco fashion, which never was too apparent when I watched movies there as a child. All of the lighting including wall sconces throughout and facetted central chendalier were still intact and operational at that time. I am not aware of the state of the interior today, although I am pessimistic. The entire building is vacant now after the departure of a marketing call center which occupied the adjacent office and retail space of the complex. I believe this fantatic historic building is currently for sale.

How much would it cost to rent the theatre for musical shows

2004 exterior photos of closed theater:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethgaines/35207894/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethgaines/35207986/
Exterior is Art Deco.

I recall the Drake having some Art Deco elements but it had a rounded precinium like French Renaissance. The mystery lies in the lack of information I can find on the Drake. Everyone in Oil City has been obsessed with the Latonia since it closed in the early seventies even though the Drake remained open. It was the only indoor movie theatre in the area. If you lived in Oil City/Franklin/Titusville in 1977, chances are you saw Star Wars there.