Our mission is to promote preservation statewide. preservationoklahoma
Ranger Theater
Much like
historic hotels, theaters across the state hold special memories for their
communities. Many can remember clearly
their first time seeing a movie, being surrounded by the glamour, and perhaps a
rare feeling of air-conditioning, in their local downtown theater. These elaborate jewels, often unique in their
design, lost their luster as television, drive-in movies, and eventually huge
multiplexes changed the shape of the entertainment industry. Today, though, there is still hope for these
historic structures, as they lend themselves to redevelopment as live
performance spaces (which for some was actually their first use before the
advent of motion pictures). The fact
that many of the structures were designed with multiple uses in mind, including
attached storefronts for business directed at movie goers, or offices or
residences on the upper floors, only adds to the possibilities for the reuse of
historic theaters statewide. Our example
of a historic theater holds true to many of these patterns and possibilities.
Ranger Theater, Alva (Representing Theaters Statewide)
The Ranger
Theater is one of five theaters that were located around the town square in
Alva. This theater, along with the Ritz and the Rialto, were known as the
“Three R’s of Entertainment” in Alva in the 1930’s. All were owned by Jones
Amusement Company. Jones brought the first partial talkie to Alva in the 1930’s,
as the Great Depression sent droves of Americans to the movies in search of
momentary escape. The Ranger Theater was built in 1937, and it was one of the finest
400 seat houses in all of the southwest. It was operated by the Jones Amusement
Co. until the 1950’s when the television business started to pull viewers away
from movies. The theater closed, and remained empty for many years, but most of
the details (including original woodwork, tile work detail, ticket booth,
paint, and top floor apartment areas with Murphy beds intact) remain today.
