About the Centre Theater
Oklahoma City Museum of Art throws 60th Anniversary party for Historic Downtown Centre Theater
On Christmas Day 1947 Oklahoma City saw an impressive new movie palace open downtown. The Centre Theater, the last of the downtown movie palaces to open in Oklahoma City, was considered to be one of the most modern cinemas between Chicago and the West Coast. Built within the municipal center of Oklahoma City, the theater’s design matched those of its neighbors, City Hall, the County Courthouse and the Civic Center Music Hall.
Now sixty years later the Oklahoma City Museum of Art occupies the entire block at 415 Couch Drive on the site of what was formerly the Centre Theater. In 2002 the Oklahoma City Museum of Art opened its new location while preserving many of the unique architectural elements that were original to the building such as the box office, poster display cases, and the Plexiglas staircase railings.
The Centre Theater had a long run from its opening in 1947 to the mid 1970’s when it was eventually closed down. Throughout its operation, the theater was more than just a cinema; it was a venue for sports telecasts, civic fundraisers, voter registration, religious lectures, live theater, rock concerts and even a square dance. It was a special place for many people.
The Museum has been collecting many of the stories, photos and memories that people have shared about the Centre Theater and will produce a souvenir booklet and short documentary detailing its history over the decades. Here are some highlights.
Just days before the Christmas Day opening in 1947, the 1600 theater seats were mysteriously lost in the St. Louis railyards. Theater owner, Howard Federer was unfazed, “We’ll open even if they don’t get here until Christmas Eve. We’ll scatter enough chairs around somewhere.” Turns out the seats finally arrived on two railcars and were installed just in time for the opening.
In 1949 stars Susan Hayward and Robert Preston made red carpet appearances at the Centre Theater for the Oklahoma City premiere of Tulsa.
By the 1950s the Centre was a destination for romance and great movies. As one woman put it, “I knew that if a guy brought me here on a date, he was a keeper.” This was echoed by Mrs. Karper as well, “We went on our first date at the Centre Theater. I think it was a Burt Lancaster picture. I don’t remember exactly because I was more interested in my date. I knew right away that he was the one.”
Disney’s Cinderella released in 1950 at the Centre was particularly special for two people. Judy Posey remembers her grandmother taking her to the premiere of Cinderella as a little girl from Norman and being awestruck by the experience. Edmond Tucker went so far as to actually get legally married onstage at the Centre before a presentation of Cinderella.
Floyd and Twila Howard met at the Centre box office where she worked in the mid 1950s; they fell in love, got married and came back to the Museum last year to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a photo in front of the very same box office.
Joan Bryant recalls a very different kind of love,“When I was a child the movie Old Yeller had a promotion that if you brought your dog you got in free. I was dropped off by my father and my dog and I enjoyed the movie. The theater was filled with all kinds of dogs and their owners. I especially remember all the dogs got along.”
In 1957 Hollywood stars Zsa Zsa Gabor, Joel McCrea, Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon all made appearances with their films at the Centre Theater.
The 1960s were a time of change in downtown Oklahoma City and in the movie business. The influence of television sets in most American homes caused the movies to get bigger, wider and more spectacular. Filmed musicals like Mary Poppins, South Pacific, West Side Story, and the Beatles’ A Hard Days Night enjoyed long runs at the Centre. While businesses and residents were moving out of downtown, suburban Oklahoma City was growing rapidly.
After a change in ownership in 1967 the Centre pulled out all the stops to find new audiences by presenting telecasts of the Indianapolis 500, heavyweight boxing matches, and the new phenomenon of midnight movies. Miles Coussens remembers, “Our friends lived close to downtown. We would gather on weekends, often at the Centre Theater for a midnight movie. This theater's pop-culture and psychedelic genre fed our desire to see the world differently and thrust artistic interest among youngsters. It was a fixture in our lives.”
The Centre was struggling to keep its doors open in the 1970s despite rock concerts, live theater performances and more midnight movies. Urban Renewal was changing the face of downtown. Rick Lippert recalls, “Streets were all torn up. Buildings were being blown up and there were barricades everywhere. The big department stores were shuttered so you could see the ghost of past opulence down here. It wasn’t a pretty sight.”
One of the final blows to the Centre came in 1973 when its 19 year old manager was arrested because of a controversial X rated film entitled Deep Sleep which was declared obscene by an Oklahoma County judge and ordered burned.
Before long the doors closed on the Centre Theater in 1975. Almost immediately plans were being made to destroy the theater and build a new city office building in its place. A candidate for mayor that year prophetically was quoted as saying “The theater is a city resource and should be preserved. Due to its excellent location and structure I believe the Centre Theater can perform a very useful and valuable function in Oklahoma City for many years to come.”
Over the next 25 years the Centre miraculously escaped the wrecking ball and was home to pigeons and rats until the Oklahoma City Museum of Art purchased the property from the Urban Renewal Authority in 2000 to develop as a multi-use visual arts facility. After two years of furious planning and construction the Oklahoma City Museum of Art opened the new Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center on the site of what was formerly the Centre Theater.
“Since the Museum reopened here we have heard many interesting memories of the 
Theater. The purpose of compiling a history of the theater is to honor its memory in our community and celebrate its new life as a vibrant visual arts center where new generations can enjoy movies, art, dining and shopping.” said Brian Hearn, Film Curator.
To commemorate the 60th Anniversary, the Museum of Art will screen the original opening night double feature: Magic Town starring Jimmy Stewart and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty starring Danny Kaye on Saturday, December 22, 5:30pm.
The event will include pre-feature newsreels and cartoons, as well as an intermission birthday party with hors d’oeuvres, birthday cupcakes, a champagne toast, as well as the 60th anniversary souvenir booklet with Museum produced DVD documentary The Centre Theater: 60 years of Movie Memories, all included in the cost of admission.
Tickets are $30 per person. Advance tickets go on sale Tuesday, December 4, 2008. Call 405-278-8237, Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is located in downtown Oklahoma City at 415 Couch Drive. For more information, call 405-278-8237.
