Esquire Theatre
463 S. Main Street,
Hobart,
OK
73651
463 S. Main Street,
Hobart,
OK
73651
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Griffith Amusement Company
Architects: Harold Gimeno
Styles: Spanish Colonial
Previous Names: Rialto Theatre, Kiowa Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Rialto Theatre was opened on November 11, 1925 with Noah Beery in “The Coming of Amos” & Gunner Kaasen and Balto in “Balto’s Race to Nome”. In September 1933 it was renamed Kiowa Theatre. Listed in editions of Film Daily Yearbook from at least 1941 through to 1950 and beyond as the Kiowa Theater (sometimes spelt Kiawo Theater). It had a major remodel and reopened as the Esquie Theatre on July 23, 1954 with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in “Living it Up”
Contributed by
Todd Scott
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
The Esquire, a one-screen theatre opened at the tail end of the silent film era, was converted to two screens in 1970. It was the first small town theatre in Oklahoma to be converted to two screens.
My wife and I visited The Esquire this past summer. It looks like a bomb went off inside it! It’s completely gutted! The only thing left is its marquis. I attended this theatre when I was a child, and its current state is truly disheartening. What a waste!
Another Hobart theatre, the OKLAHOMAN, is mentioned in the following link about stage scenery supply companies-
http://digital.lib.umn.edu/scenery/index.html
To view 1936 exterior photo of the Esquire Theatre, when it was still known as Kiowa, enter site below, type in word “theatre”, then enter. Images of the Oklahoman Theatre will also pop up.
View link
After looking at interior/exterior photos I can’t help but wonder if Harold Gemino was architect of this cinema. The facade and rustic, exposed beam auditorium are so similar to his Sooner Theatre, Norman, OK.
Notice how the Kiowas marquee touts “Western Electric Sound”, which translate to “sound on film.” My grampy told me how quickly moviegoers tired of Vitaphone disk sound, and alert theatre owners began to ballyhoo sound on film systems.
Here is a close shot of the marquee:
http://tinyurl.com/yh557p9
The NRHP Registration Form for the Hobart Downtown Historic District says that this house opened around 1930 as the Rialto Theatre. The timing, and the size of the building, suggest that it was this project noted in the April 10, 1929, issue of Motion Picture News:
The Esquire building bears a very strong resemblance to the Sooner Theatre in Norman, also designed by Harold Gimeno.Theaters went into decline, then returned to popularity. Unfortunate for small towns who did not have the population and the financial resilience to be returned to use. This theatre will be listed in the photo survey. John Wilson, Ph.D.
The Rialto Theatre opened on November 11, 1925 with Noah Berry in “The Coming Of Amos” and Gunnar Kaasen in “Balto’s Race to Nome”. It was renamed the Kiowa Theatre in September 1933.
After a major remodel, the theater reopened as the Esquire Theatre on July 23, 1954 with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in “Living It Up” along with the Pepe LePew Looney Tune “The Cats Bah” and a newsreel.