Fort Sill Theatre

Stagehand354 on January 13, 2024 at 4:53 pm

Known as “Theater One,” this facility mostly served Army officers during and post-WW2, as it sat on the northern half of the base and immediately adjacent to a large segment of officer’s housing. As a kid and while my father was stationed at “Sill” from 1957 until 1960, I delivered movie schedules and was rewarded with a “free movies anytime” card, hand-typed on a manila file folder and signed by the base’s theater officer. Like almost all of the facilities on the north side of the huge base, the exterior was finished in a light-tan stucco and with red Terracota roof tiles. If you were to visit the base today, that same style is evident in most of the post’s original buildings including the Headquarters building, museum facilities, the Officer’s Club, officer housing etc.

During the time I lived there, there were actually three theaters that served the base. Theaters 2 and 3 stood on the south half of the sprawling base and served the enlisted ranks. As compared to Theater One, they were drab and uninviting spaces whose soul purposes were to present movies to draftees and voluntary enlistees. Theater One was the opposite and except underneath the seating areas, was thickly carpeted and tastefully furnished. The balcony, if it can even be called that, was a somewhat higher-elevated section of seating that divided the entire house in half and was immediately accessible by walking up about 4-5 steps. The balcony was more steeply sloped, as compared to the lower seating area.

The theater was also built to permit live events and a large set of dressing rooms immediately adjoined the stage on either side. However, there was no fly system or lighting battens installed onstage and I saw only one live event there, where the screen was rolled back to the upstage wall and the speaker clusters could be rolled aside for storage. On the south side of the building, the architect had included a large covered patio, which sheltered patrons if the weather was inclement, and that was connected via a covered walkway to the box office, which sat in the center of the lobby entryway. One somewhat unique feature was the concession stand, which was actually located about 3-4 feet below the lobby level and to the right of the space. The restrooms were also located on that level. The house was accessed by two aisles that adjoined the lobby from both sides but given the location of the concession stand, almost all patrons entered through the right aisle.

My lifelong interest in projection technology began in this theater where, as a 12-year old, I talked a kindly projectionist into allowing me to see the projection booth, which remains the second cleanest one I have visited. (The first being the Baker booth at the Cooper Cinerama Theater in Denver.) I can still recall the smell of projector oil. The booth was equipped with a pair of meticulously maintained Simplex X-L mechanisms that included both the lower standard sound heads and upper magnetic units. The screen was lit with Peerless Magnarc lamphouses.

Theater One was literally located right down the street from my family’s quarters at 620 Cureton Avenue and slightly west of the Ft. Sill Officer’s Open Mess or “Officer’s Club.” A highlight for us kids was a Saturday Morning “Free Movie,” which featured a weekly and ongoing B&W serial, 2-3 Three Stooges shorts and at least 4-5 Looney Tunes animated cartoons. Concession prices were also reduced on free movie mornings and included 10-cent popcorn and drinks and 15-cent packaged candy. In the days before color television, it was a popular event and the theater was always packed. When I saw “Old Yeller, there” they couldn’t accommodate all of the ticket buyers and I joined many of my pals watching the movie, while sitting on the steps of the aisles and in complete violation of today’s fire codes.

The theater was demolished sometime between 2008 and 2010, based on views in Google Earth, and the land is now occupied by the Flores Youth Center. As is the case each time a Cinema Treasure falls to the wrecking ball, a piece of movie history was lost. For me, Theater One kindled my lifelong interest in 35-mm projection technology and I was lucky to later work as an IATSE projectionist during my time in the Navy and as a part-time operator in the late 80’s. My motion picture machine operator work served as my gateway to becoming a union stagehand and I have remained active in stagecraft for over 50 years.

CSWalczak on November 19, 2012 at 10:14 pm

It looks like Fort Sill has had three theaters over the years; already listed here on CT are the Liberty Theater which would appear to pre-date this theater and the current Sheridan Theater.