“Save theCrystal” Theatre is a project of the Okemah Community Improvement Association. It is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to improve the quality of life in Okemah, Oklahoma through restoration and preservation.
Past
- Historical perspective as vaudeville theatre and movie house
- Connection with Woody Guthrie
The Crystal Theatre was a known local haunt for Woody Guthrie, who is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. His best-known song is This Land Is Your Land, which is regularly sung in American schools. Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress.
In the song booklet Woody and Lefty Lou’s Favorite Collection: Old Time Hill Country Songs (circa 1938), in reference to “Midnight Special” Woody wrote:
“At the Crystal Theatre (sic) down in Okemah, Oklahoma, I heard Otto Gray’s Cowboy Band play this old song. I just barely could hear above the rattle of them pop-corn sacks, so I had to add the last three verses myself. Nobody knows where it got started, I don’t guess. I don’t even know what a midnight special is…”
- Created memories for generations of people – first run movies, silver dollar give aways, dynamite drinks (coke and pickle juice) other comments off face book.
Present
- One of the Mainstage venues for the Woody Guthrie Festival
- Purchased by the Community Improvement Association, local non-profit, to renovate and restore.The Crystal Theatre has been creating memories for all ages in Okemah OK since 1921, and the Okemah Community Improvement Association, a local non-profit, wants to ensure these memories continue to be part of our future.
- Fundraising goal of $165,000 for note payment, new roof, doors, heat and air, and interior repairs.
- Donations are tax-deductable. Today, the Crystal Theatre needs your help to remain an Okemah landmark. Your tax-deductible donation helps ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy this theater for years to come.
Future
- Preserve a historic landmark and create a cultural destination providing entertainment: movies, live entertainment, concerts and community events for generations to come
History
The Crystal Theatre, was built in 1921 by J.E. Burke as vaudeville theatre to provide entertainment in Okemah a prospering oil boom town. Burke built the theatre for $75,000 and opened with a free show to a full house of 1,000.
Ten years later, with advent of talking pictures Burke sold the theatre to the Auton Slepka who remodeled the theatre in the Atmospheric style with floating clouds, twinkling stars, stained glass lights and cut-velvet upholstered seats.
Crystal continued as a movie house for four decades under the management of Bill Slepka and then into the twenty first century when it closed.
