Dixie Theatre

120 N. Greenwood Avenue,
Tulsa, OK 74120

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Dixie Theatre

The Dixie Theater was a white-owned theatre in the Greenwood Business District (an African-American district) of Tulsa. In the 1920’s, the Dixie Theatre was the second largest theatre in Tulsa with a seating capacity of 1,000.

When the Race Riot broke out in April 1921, African-American Tulsans were enjoying a play at the theatre when it was burned. It was rebuilt with a reduced seating capacity of 500-seats, reopening by 1931 and was still open in 1940, but had closed by 1941. Today there is a façade (which may or maybe not be the façade) of the Dixie Theatre, which provides as entrance to Oneok Field.

Contributed by Lauren Grubb

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on July 23, 2005 at 9:40 pm

I have references made that the Dixie Theatre is listed in Film Daily Yearbook’s 1931-1933 and 1940 as a Negro theatre.

Okie
Okie on March 16, 2006 at 10:49 pm

Sorry to disagree, but during the 1920s the Dixie could not have possibly been the second largest theatre in Tulsa.
During the 20s the (1906) Grand Opera House had a seating capacity of 1200, (1912) Brady Theatre had a capacity of 4200,(1917, 4th St) Orpheum Theatre could seat 1400, (1922) Akdar Theatre held 1800, and (1926) Ritz Theatre opened with 2000 seats. Didn’t the (1907) Rialto seat well over 1000?

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 20, 2008 at 10:42 pm

The building in the middle of the Google photo is Tee’s Barber Shop, 120 N. Greenwood. I don’t know if this is the original theater building.
http://tinyurl.com/8u2ubf

seymourcox
seymourcox on July 21, 2010 at 7:45 pm

Roadside Oklahoma site provides modern snapshots of the former Dixie Theatre.
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/722

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on January 3, 2023 at 6:24 pm

The information in the Dixie Theater synopsis above is simply not correct. You should disregard the information.

SethG
SethG on January 4, 2023 at 3:57 am

Three copies of the same photo, none of which can possibly be a theater destroyed in 1921, as all the vehicles are from the mid-‘20s to late '30s.

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