The Woodward Arts Theatre: A vital part of history remains an important piece of Woodward’s arts and cultural future
Today, the rich history of this theater that began in 1929 is living on due to the love and care of many throughout the community and beyond.
The History (from Excerpt from Content: Oklahoma’s Urban Frontier)
The Woodward Arts Theatre building, both an entertainment venue and commercial rental property was built in 1929 as a joint entrepreneurial project by rancher-financier J.O. Selman and local entertainment moguls Dwight Vance Terry and Ben Terry. The Terry brothers had been eminent in the entertainment business in Woodward for several years when they decided to open a theater to run the new “talkies.”
To begin their venture into talking movies, Woodward Theaters, Inc. was capitalized at $75,000 with Selman, the Terry Brothers, and partners L.N. Sewalls, L.L. Lance, and A.B. Whitman, of Texas. The owners hired Oklahoma City architect Leonard H. Baily to design the theater, which he did in an example of the Renaissance style. They also selected Oklahoma building pioneer, L.S. Fisher to construct the building.
The theater’s interior design made it unusual among other movie houses. Rather than having a shallow stage and no anterior rooms, the theater boasted a deep stage with numerous proscenia. Dressing rooms were behind the stage and in the basement. The stage area also included an orchestra pit, balcony and fly loft for large props. The auditorium was designed for vaudeville, as well as movies, because financier Selman, didn’t think “talkies” would last.
The theater opened in November 1929, with the feature movie, Illusion, starring Buddy Rogers and Nancy Carroll.
In April 1947, a tragic occurrence happened as a deadly tornado flattened 200 square blocks of the town and killed more than 100 citizens. During the storm, the theater became a haven to many trying to find protection from the storm.
In December of 1980, a group of patrons and volunteers organized the Woodward Arts Theatre under the auspices of the Woodward Arts Council. Their primary purpose was to promote the arts in the area and to purchase and restore the landmark Woodward Arts Theatre.
Through a strong community effort, the group was able to raise the $50,000 needed to purchase the building, along with another $70,000 for renovations in only six months. In May 1981, the group took possession from the Terry bothers and volunteers began the task of restoring the theater to its original glory.
On November 11, 1981, the renovated Woodward Arts Theatre was re-opened, featuring the Tom Maguire’s New American Ragtime Ensemble. The beautifully restored Woodward Arts Theatre glowed into the night and when the 80’s brought the oil crash to NW Oklahoma, the theater continued to grow.
On December 4, 2008, the Woodward Arts Theatre took its proper place on the National Register of Historic places. The theater is also listed on the Oklahoma State Register of Historic places.
Today
The theater remains an amazing architectural delight today, as it serves as not only the home to the local arts council but is the only arts council within a hundred miles. The theater offers a full schedule of professional and community performances, children’s camps and workshops throughout the year.
In addition, the theater is home to the annual Twister Film Festival, which attracts both international and U.S. film makers each spring.
Director Laurie Steenbergen stated that if not for the progressive city leadership that recognizes the arts and other cultural and historic assets of the community, there would not be support for the theater. Woodward Arts & Theatre Council President Woody Leonard emphasizes that without the respect and cultural development of the community, none of the focus on the theater would be possible.
Institute of Quality Community (IQC) and Woodward Arts Theatre partnership
The IQC is a community engagement program at the University of Oklahoma. The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture offers conceptual design and planning assistance to selected communities in order to support experiential learning for students in the program. OML provides up to $10,000 of the funding requested by the communities whose projects are selected by the IQC.
Over the past several years, OML and IQC have collaborated on several community projects throughout the state. Typically, the common subjects submitted for grant consideration include land use, urban design, public spaces, historic preservation, streetscapes, and cultural facilities. One of the projects that was selected by the IQC in the 2019 grant cycle was the Woodward Arts Theatre.
The purpose of the grant request was to make conceptual recommendations for interior finishes, including materials, furniture, lighting, and minimal accessibility issues for the theater. Typically, students from the IQC conduct the community projects. However, with the focus of this project being on the interior design elements of the theater, Ronald H. Frantz, Environmental Design Program Coordinator along with Shane Hampton, Director, Institute for Quality Communities, for the first time, enlisted the assistance of the students in the Interior Design Division of the college to assist.
Under the leadership of Elizabeth Pober, Director and Associate Professor, Division of Interior Design and Rick Skaggs, Lecturer in the Interior Design Division, twenty-two 3rd-year students enrolled in the Interior Design Studio V were tapped to carry out the mission of the project, which was to provide recommended conceptual interior finishes, materials, furnishings, lighting, and minimal accessibility issues for the theater.
According to Skaggs, one of the primary goals of the project was to recreate the original spirit of the theater. Skaggs added that in a four (4) week time period, the students were tasked with conducting a study of the 1929 era design, conduct a site analysis, develop the renovation planning, present drawings depicting the plan, and create design boards showing selected materials and finishes.
Director Pober said that projects like this are invaluable to the educational experience of their students. She added that being able to work with a ‘real’ client and have hands-on collaboration gives the students a first look into how it might be after completing their degrees as an interior designer.
In total, there were five (5) teams of students who participated in the project, each presenting their final design boards and recommendations. We had the opportunity to talk with three members of the teams to get their impressions of working on the project:
Hailey Boyd, Moore, OK.: Ms. Boyd worked on all elements of the project – theater building, material, colors and the final presentation. She said that the benefit of the project to her was that she had never before been involved in a renovation. She learned that you use what the project gives you and to stay true to the original design and update.
Madison Cooper, Pine Hurst, N.C.: Ms. Cooper worked on the theater, lobby, reception and alcove areas. In her concept, Ms. Cooper used the original stained glass in the building as inspiration to other design elements throughout the theater. Her biggest take-away was to respect the history of the building and consider that in the new design concepts.
Claire Alexander, Ft. Worth, TX.: Ms. Alexander focused on concept development and material selection. Her inspiration was from the Great Gatsby era, which used elements of gold and feathers. One of Ms. Alexander’s important lessons learned was to respect the heritage and importance of the history of the building and to stay true to that.
“I am so grateful to Ron, Rick, and Shane along with all of the OML and IQC staff who made this project possible. To be able to have 22 young people from all over the world examine our nearly 100-year-old building and see it with fresh eyes is an invaluable service,” said Steenbergen.
Both the City of Woodward and the Woodward Arts Council agreed that this project provided tremendous vision into what the theatre could be for the future, all the while maintaining its historic integrity.
“I thought that I had considered every possibility for this building and couldn’t love it more than I already do, however, seeing through the eyes of these brilliant students made me reconsider many areas in terms of rehabilitation and usage. This was an amazing experience and I know it will impact our theater for years to come,” said Michelle Murray, Board President, Woodward Arts & Theatre Council, Inc.
Woodward City Manager, Alan Riffel said that the partnership with OML and the IQC has had tremendous benefits for the community and the theater, specifically. “This project provides us new perspectives of our beautiful facility that we would otherwise have missed. After nearly 100 years, we can become complacent in our local views of it. I look forward to seeing the excitement the project generates and the resulting impact derived,” Riffel stated.
Next Steps for the Woodward Arts Theatre
Steenbergen said that because the students’ proposals have created so much enthusiasm for the renovation efforts of the theater, a focused endowment campaign will begin soon. “We are so excited for the next steps for our theater and so thankful for the vision of the students that has ignited a new fire for all of us that love the arts and want to see the tradition of the Woodward Arts Theatre continue for generations to come,” Steenbergen said.
“You know my dream is that over the next 10 years to save this theater for the next 100. This place gives the people in this area dreams and I want to keep it! Next week I will have 100 children doing Missoula Children’s Theatre. Last year I had a football player drive from Arnett every day to pursue his interest – nowhere to express it in northwest Oklahoma but here for him! Monday, I have a 14-year-old African American boy living at a group home coming here for a workshop. Like it is a building, but it is a building with an important life-giving purpose, as well as its beauty,” said Laurie Steenbergen.
To view a few of the presentations, please see below.
