Theatres
Oklahoma @ the Movies will not just focus on the stars or the films about Oklahoma. The exhibit wants to tell the story of Oklahomans going to the movies. The theatres where we saw movies at, the types of movies we saw as children, some of our favorite movies, and if these experiences inspired us to engage in a career related to the film industry.
Please, search for your favorite theatre and add a story, photo, or other information. If your theatre is not listed, please share any information you know of it, including the theatre’s name, city, address, and even upload a photograph.
I was disappointed to not find a photo of the Yale Theater in the Capitol Hill district of Oklahoma City. This was the area’s premier movie theater. While we could always go downtown to the Criterion, the Harbor, the Warner, etc. to see first run movies, the Yale was “The” place in south Oklahoma City to see them in their second release. It was here that we came to admire the great actors of the 1940s 50s and 60s. From John Wayne to Gary Cooper to Loretta Young to James Stewart, we anxiously awaited each of their movies. Admission ranged anywhere from 15 cents to 75 cents during those years and popcorn was never more than 15 cents for a sack.
My friends and I would catch a city bus at SW 46th and Shartel and ride it for a dime to Commerce Street where we had our choice of the Yale, the Redskin, or the Chieftain, all within a few blocks walking distance. Those were the days when parents were not reluctant to let their elementary school age children or young teens ride a city bus anywhere in the city. How we miss those days.
The Canadian Theater at the end of Main Street in Purcell. Just before Depot Hill (access to the railroad track over 250 feet below), the Canadian Theater closed its doors in the early 1980′s due to the massive multiplexes of Norman just a few miles away. The Theater is now a two-storied antique mall owned by Gail Tyler.