Orpheum Theatre
210 W. Seventh Street,
Okmulgee,
OK
74447
210 W. Seventh Street,
Okmulgee,
OK
74447
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Carmike Cinemas, Griffith Amusement Company, Mann Theatres, Martin Theatres, Martin Theatres
Architects: Leon B. Senter
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Spanish Baroque
Previous Names: Cook Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
918.756.2270
Nearby Theaters
Built by L.H.D. Cook, the 1,200-seat Cook Theatre opened on August 23, 1920 with Clara Kimball Young in “Eyes of Youth”. It was equipped with an Austin theatre pipe organ. It became the Orpheum Theatre on August 19, 1921 screening Frank Sheridan in “The Rider of the King Log”. In February 1974, the former balcony was converted into a second auditorium.
Contributed by
Todd Scott
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
Symco; If you really want to see exactly what the frosted glass sidelight fixtures looked like inside the Orpheum auditorium, then go to this site and type in word “Dixie”. Auditorium views for the Holdenville Dixie Theatre show the exact same sidewall fixtures. These fixtures were more fancy than those found inside the Art Theatre, Champaign, IL.
View link
Several sources have told me about an Orpheum doorman, named Jeff Chapman, who was the crush of all local junior high girls during the late 1960’s.
After college Jeff was house manager of the Sooner Theater in Norman, OK, where his charm earned him the same admiration as he had enjoyed in Okmulgee.
As mentioned above, originally the Orpheum Theatre had an Austin pipe organ. Hear a couple of those instruments on this site –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV5NwBNtamY
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdOhGK1xxk
Sharp vintage interior/exteriors images of the Orpheum Theatre can be found on this nice web site,
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/581
photos including ornate lobby here http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethgaines/page4/
Grand opening ad as Cook on August 22nd, 1920.
Cook Theatre opening Sun, Aug 22, 1920 – 4 · Okmulgee Daily Times (Okmulgee, Oklahoma) · Newspapers.com
This became the Orpheum theatre on August 19th, 1921.
Orpheum theatre Fri, Aug 19, 1921 – 2 · Okmulgee Daily Times (Okmulgee, Oklahoma) · Newspapers.com
Once operated by Martin Theatres, and later Carmike.
Reopened with two screens in February 1974. Grand opening ad posted.
This notice about the proposed Cook Theatre appeared in Moving Picture World for August 16, 1919: “A new theatre, to be known as the Cook, will be erected in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. It will be of brick with stone and terra cotta trimmings. The seating will accommodate 1,500 persons.”
As the opening ad calls the house the Cook Theatre and the name Cook Theatre is on the terra cotta parapet of the building, I suspect that the aka Cook Opera House was just some sort of rumor that became established over the years. There was a Cook (or Cook’s) Opera House in Rochester, New York, but I’ve found no historic references to this house in Okmulgee as anything other than the Cook Theatre, and then the Orpheum. The aka on this page should consequently be changed to match those known facts.