Mar Theatre
220 W. Main Street,
Marlow,
OK
73055
220 W. Main Street,
Marlow,
OK
73055
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The Whiteway Theatre opened in Marlow, Oklahoma on June 11, 1921. In 1946 the Hurshel and Vincie McKelroy bought the Alamo Theatre and the Whiteway Theatre in Marlow. This is when the name changed from Whiteway to Mar (short for Marlow). A city directory has O. L. Smith as the owner in 1954. He will own the Mar Theatre and the Alamo Theatre. The Mar Theatre closed about 1956. It was taken over by a church and used for screening religious movies until 1959. In 1962 it went over to retail use. By 2021 it was operating as a gymnasium named Flex Work.
Contributed by
Kyle Collins
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
Looked at some old Marlow Reviews today. Noticed that name change from Whiteway to Mar did not occur until the fall of 1949. I thought earlier that the McKelroy’s changed the name but now I think the Smith’s changed the name perhaps when he bought the two theatres.
The New Theatre opened namelessly with a naming contest on by June 11, 1921 by J.S. White in the existing Medcalf-Percival building. A confectioner was there at the launch as the de facto concession stand. Six different folks sent in the name Whiteway Theatre and each received passes for a full year of movies with the name going into effect July 8, 1921.
Frank Miller of the competing Pastime Theatre would take over the venue. On November 21, 1929, Miller switched to talkies with the playing of “The Jazz Singer.” When the new-build Alamo was opened in February of 1936, the Whiteway was downgraded to twice a week operation. The Whiteway became the Mar Theatre after the War. It closed in the mid-1950s but was taken on by a local church for some live events and additional religious film screenings through 1959. In 1962, it was converted for use as a Ben Franklin retail store.