Kemp Theatre
104 Dewey Avenue,
Poteau,
OK
74953
104 Dewey Avenue,
Poteau,
OK
74953
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Originally set to be named K&H Theatre, but it opened as the Kemp Theatre on September 1, 1937 with Jack Oakie in “Super Sleuth”. The Kemp Theatre was destroyed by fire on September 17, 1943. It was rebuilt and closed as a movie theatre on the first week of January 1952. It was subsequently used for church services & special events, finally closing in 1954. The Kemp Theatre is now a furniture store.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
I’ve been unable to find anything about any of Poteau’s theaters in Boxoffice, but a Mr. O.K. Kemp of Poteau is mentioned twice in 1954. In June he visited Film Row in Oklahoma City, and in December he was re-elected as a director of the Theatre Owners of Oklahoma.
A snippet of a 1940 Motion Picture Herald item from Google Books mentions a W.O. Kemp in connection with the Victory Theatre at Poteau.
This theater had a very interesting start. The Kemp Theatre’s original name was the K&H Theatre but immediately changed to the Kemp Theatre before opening its doors on September 1, 1937 with Jack Oakie in “Super Sleuth”. W.O. Kemp, former Victory Theatre operator, named the theater after himself.
Right when the 1950s rolled along, the Kemp Theatre was starting to fall apart on films. Films completely ended at the Kemp Theatre during the first week of 1952 and the Kemp started to shift gears towards special events and church services until ultimately closing in 1954. After sitting abandoned for three years, the building was placed for sale in June 1957.
On September 17, 1943, the Kemp Theatre was destroyed by a fire causing an estimate $11,000 in damages. The theater was then rebuilt.