Gentry Cinema
214 W. Gentry Avenue,
Checotah,
OK
74426
214 W. Gentry Avenue,
Checotah,
OK
74426
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Allen Theatres
Previous Names: Majestic Theatre, Gentry Theater
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News About This Theater
- May 3, 2010 — Gentry Cinema For Sale - Includes Real Estate
- Nov 12, 2009 — Gentry Cinema For Sale - motivated seller
- Jul 21, 2009 — Twin for sale -- reduced again to $285,000
- Jun 12, 2009 — Gentry Cinema for sale
The Majestic Theatre was opened on February 2, 1912. It was closed in 1917 and was converted into a hardware store, which closed in 1940. It was reopened as the Gentry Theater on May 15, 1941, with a seating capacity of 400. It was closed in the mid-1990’s and went to other uses.
The Gentry Cinema was purchased by Richard Coleman in 2008, and was restored and reopened on December 12, 2008. Seating capacities in the two screens were 132 and 32. Sadly, this was short-lived and the Gentry Cinema was closed again in 2009.
In 2013 it was taken over by the husband, wife & son team of Allen Theatre Management who were contracted to reopen the cinema. The Allen team (Bob, Emilie & Tim) plan to make it a ‘Family Friendly Theatre’, and according to General Manager Bob, “The community response has been overwhelming”. The Gentry Cinema re-opened on December 13, 2013, and will still be running on film. It operates nightly, with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday. It was closed in 2014. New operator took over in 2017 and a digital projector was installed in February 2018. New screens and digital audio system have been installed as well a new rocking seats. It reopened March 16, 2018 but closed again in December 2021..
Contributed by
Lauren Grubb, Robert Allen
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Recent comments (view all 23 comments)
I see this is still for sale. Have you thought about doing a lease on it?
Yes. I have considered leasing the theater. Those who are interested in leasing should contact me using the e-mail address on the www.gentrycinema.com website.
The Gentry will re-open December 13th under new management. The theatre is still owned by Richard Coleman and managed by the Allen Theatre Management team of Bob and Emilie Allen and their son Tim.
The Gentry closed in 2014, soon after “re-opening”.
Gentry Cinema is up for auction on May 19, 2017. Visit the auction site for details: https://www.williamsauction.com/property-auctions/214-w-gentry-ave-checotah-ok-74426/346942
This theater could easily operate again if digital projection and sound equipment were added. This would provide a much greater chance of success than what the previous operator had. Without digital equipment, there is almost no availability of movies to show.
Hi everyone the Gentry Cinema is coming back to life we have installed digital projectors / audio / screens / and seating my wife ( the BOSS ) and I have repainted cleaned and cleaned and cleaned We’ve worked for months to bring this historic building back to life We hope to open this march Nathan
Opened march 16 Showing movies
he Majestic appears to have launched February 2, 1912 with the Bison film, “The Missionary’s Gratitude.” The Majestic went out of business in 1917 when Trevor Faulkner created the new Cozy Theatre. The location became the W.I. Cook Hardware store from 1917 to 1940. Vera King took on the location and converted it back to a movie theater called the Gentry Theatre. Its first day was on May 15, 1941, appropriately opened with Bob Wills in “Take Me Back to Oklahoma.”
2021, open Fri Sat & Sundays according to their facebook page
Theater closed in December 2021:
Checotah, OK: Gentry Cinema Closed [Jan 5, 2022]