Constantine Theater
110 W. Main,
Pawhuska,
OK
74056
110 W. Main,
Pawhuska,
OK
74056
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Under new operators in 1927, the Constantine Theatre held a naming contest. Mrs. S.F. Shira took home the prize with “Ki-He-Kah” named for the nearby cross avenue and Indian for Chief. The operators did a major refresh at that time including a $10,000 new Robert Morton pipe organ. The theatre went with the tagline, “Where pictures and music meet.” The rebranded Ki-He-Kah Theatre opened May 15, 1927.
In December, the Ki-He-Kah hosted an auction on leases of Osage Indian lands in which 20,000 acres representing 125 tracts of land were auctioned off, another in the infamous auctions conducted by Colonel Ellsworth Walters in the Pawhuska area during the big oil era.
In 1929, the Ki-He-Kah joined the State Theatre in showing talking pictures. The third silent venue of that era in Pawhuska, the Mills Theatre, didn’t convert suffering a business-ending fire in January of 1930. In August of 1930, the venue switched to Western Electric sound-on-film technology and lost the dashes in the venue’s name becoming the Kihekah Theatre.
In 1950, the theater was damaged by fire and its bookings moved to the State and the State’s to the Circle A which had closed. When the theatre reopened, the dashes returned as the Ki-He-Kah Theatre - likely making Mrs. S.F. Shira happy. The dashes lasted into 1963 but it returned to dashless, Kihekah Theatre in name that year. The Kihekah was still advertising in 1977 playing movies five days a week.
Opened on December 12, 1914 with Annette Kellerman in “Neptune’s Daughter”. First managed by C.E. Parker.
The July 14, 1951 issue of Boxoffice reported that Video Independent Theatres had acquired full ownership of the Kihekah Theatre in Pawhuska, having purchased the half interest still held by Fred Pickrel, who had held an interest in the house since 1927. Video had acquired a half interest from Pickrel’s partner in 1950. Video Independent was still operating the Kihekah in 1963, when it was mentioned in the November 25 issue of Boxoffice.
Live performances were being presented at the Kihekah Theatre even before its name reverted to Constantine. A performance of the play “The Crucible” was mounted there in 1976, according to the June 27 issue of the Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman.
Mr. Constantine went bankrupt in 1926, and his theater changed hands. This item is from the September 11, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News:
The September 25 issue of the same journal had a follow-up item:The October 7, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News refers to Fred Pickrel’s “Hi-he-kat” Theatre in Pawhuska. Pickrel probably renamed the house the Kihekah not long after buying it. Motion Picture News had ongoing difficulty with the theater’s new name. As late as April 20, 1929, they called it the “Ki-he-kak” Theatre.Thanks Guys,nice history.
This is what the neighborhood around the Constantine Theater looks like nowadays,
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Fabuloous vintage and modern photos of the beautiful Constantine Theater can be seen on the Roadside Oklahoma site,
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/588
The photo that Chuck posted on 4/9/06 as been moved to a new site:
http://tinyurl.com/5amjaq
At one time or another this cinema must have been known as the Kihikah Theatre. Look at this 1963 snapshot and see what you think, type in word “kihikah”, then search …
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The Constantine is currently being used for a variety of community events. When I visited it this summer, it featured a Native American speaker and was to host a number of other events later in the season. According to an active community member, the Constantine doesn’t show movies at this time. In fact, Pawhuska doesn’t have a movie theatre. The citizens of Pawhuska should be quite pleased with the restoration efforts. The lobby boasts a gold and burgandy color scheme featuring a brass chandelier. The exterior also features the gold and burgandy colors and is quite eye catching. I have photos to post asap.