Verden Theatre
Main Street,
Verden,
OK
73092
Main Street,
Verden,
OK
73092
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The small town of Verden, Oklahoma with just around 500 residents used to have a movie theatre in its downtown area. The venue appears to have started with a short run as the Verdonian Theatre, a live event house in 1910. With the Verden Opera House already in operation, this seemed to be a strange business model for such a diminutive community. However, it soon was relaunched as the Verden Theatre by H.J. Lampton and J.F. Drummond as a movie house on November 4, 1910. It was open three nights a week. It alternatively went by the name Verden Picture Show.
The theatre was wired for sound and by the end of World War II was running six nights a week. The neighboring Verden Pharmacy served as a de facto snack bar for treats prior to and after the show. But after the War, the theatre scuffled. In a period from 1946 to 1947, the theatre had at least four different owners. It was sold to Mr. and Mrs. H.D. Sample in February of 1946 before being sold onto Burl Jacobs and to Joel Johnson and to Mr. and Mrs. L. R. Iker.
Yet new operators in 1949 were on board and renamed it as the Den Theatre. On July 30, 1954, W.E. Nicholson took over the venue and restored it to the original moniker of a the Verden Theatre. The Verden Pharmacy was destroyed by fire just two days later on August 1, 1954 threatening the movie house. The Verden Theatre was impacted with smoke damage but was back in operation just days later. The theatre ceased operations following an April 2, 1955 showing of “Beast of 2000 Fathoms” starring Paul Christian with effects by Ray Harryhausen.
Nicholson sold of the Verden Theatre at a fixture and salvage sale beginning on April 15, 1955 and gutted it. The days of small town movie theatres were coming to an end in similar sized towns all over the state and country. The Lions Club purchased the popcorn machine. A second-hand furniture store occupied the space next.
Contributed by
dallasmovietheaters
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