Tower Theatre
425 NW 23rd Street,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73103
425 NW 23rd Street,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73103
6 people
favorited this theater
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Tower Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cinema West, Cooper Foundation, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.
Architects: W. Scott Dunne
Functions: Live Music Venue, Movies (Film Festivals)
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
405.708.6937
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"
- Jan 17, 2006 — Tower Theater in Oklahoma City Being Renovated
The Tower Theatre 23rd Street entrance (another entrance was located off 24th Street) had a narrow facade, with an extemely long, shooting gallery style lobby which led into a large lobby located beneath a balcony.
Opened July 15, 1937, the 1,500 seat, ornate auditorium had a complete working stage, pipe organ, and billowing, scarlet waterfall stage curtains.
It underwent renovations in 1953 and in 1968. The Tower Theatre closed as an adult movie theatre in 1989. It briefly reopened as a live music venue in the 1990’s but closed in 2000. reopened as a live music venue with some use as a host to film festivals in April 2016.
Contributed by
Jeff Chapman
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Recent comments (view all 49 comments)
It was 50 years ago today that “The Sound of Music” premiered at the Tower. With a reserved-seat run of 82 weeks, it’s almost certainly the long-run record holder for this venue. (Anyone know of something that ran longer?)
The Tower Theater is shooting to reopen as a music venue in April.
http://nondoc.com/2016/01/09/lights-up-tower-theater-turns-on-the-neon-in-okc/
Well, hope OKC is supportive of this new endeaver as this old theater has become somewhat of a land mark. Thanks for posting.
Pic added to Photo Section…Playing “Sand Pebbles”
I attended film school at OCU just up the street. My twin and I desperately tried to get interest and investment into the Theatre, but could not do so. Not sure why. It’s original Norelco 70mm/35mm projector equipment were still intact.
If anyone has information on these projectors – if they are still intact – PLEASE E-MAIL ME.
this theatre should be listed as OPEN as a live events performance venue. Film festivals are also featured. Updated Website: https://towertheatreokc.com/ Phone:405-708-6937
A detailed article on the history of the Tower (with minor references to other early downtown Oklahoma City theatres) can be found at doug.dawg.blogspot.com>2009/09>tower-theatre. Among the interesting facts is that the building permit said the cost of the theatre would be $38,000.
Evidence that this was an adult theater? I lived in the area at the time and there were no adult theaters in OKC in 1989 as far as I can remember.
Actually, it appears that it ran a mixture, but cannot tell because it didn’t show up by advertisements or showings. I recently read a couple of articles about the Tower from the 1980s and it appears that it was running selections of both normal English and Spanish films. However, it did have an adult bookstore next door.
Anyone have any photos of the original interior? Love this theatre!!