The Tower Theatre

[Prunepicker]

... the first time I had my shoes shine down in the basement (bathroom) of
the bus station the shine boy (that's what they were called) put and extra
heavy amount of paste on my Shoes (Allen Edmonds)... name dropping they
cost $16.99... and then he poured alcohol on them and dropped a match on
top... I went into a total panic... He was so cool he said "I'm melting the wax
boy be calm"... best shine ever... cost $1.00...

I never had them shined at the bus station. Just at Ray's Barber shop and
which ever place dad thought was worth it.

[papaOU]

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KEVINPATE:....It wasn't that it was just the thing to do. You tried to look your very best when you went to pick up your date. Your shoes were shined (if Shinable) or, if you had on white sneakers they were washed and bleached as white as possible. And, your belt was not a fashion statement it was just a statement. There were NO T-Shirts with any kind of sayings on them and if you could afford them ($3.99) you wore an Izod/Lacoste shirt...They call them "Alligator" shirts today.
If you didn't look half way presentable you got the opportunity to be able to talk to your date via the telephone......Daddy said "NO" not with that boy.
You were NOT allowed to wear "cut-Offs" in the Swimming pool ...only swim trunks.....Absolutely NO shorts of any kind could be worn to school and when I graduated from High school most of the girls always wore a dress or skirt. Now......you know that old lady down the street (in her early 60's)?....She was quite a fox in her day....believe it or not....ask your dad if your mom was babe or not.....remember, you'll be old and walking slow someday......My wife is in her early 60's and she still turns a lot of heads....she is still the Babe I dated 45 years ago.....

If you look at photos taken in the 1930's and even before, you will find people wearing coat and ties, camping, fishing...........

You want to return to that?

Heck! If I could find them I would still be wearing bell bottoms. Maybe even tie dyed tank tops.............

[Prunepicker]

Heck! If I could find them I would still be wearing bell bottoms. Maybe even
tie dyed tank tops...

Bell bottoms? I used to buy them from the Army surplus. Te Navy bell
bottoms were big enough to hide people in.

Why don't you tie dye your own shirts? It's easy! We used to use RIT dye,
hot water and our dorm trash cans when we were in high school.

[papaOU]

There was a very interesting short film/news reel on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) sunday night/monday morning (3:00 am). Put together by the film industry it purpose was to inform the public in an attempt to get the Federal Entertainment Tax, which only the movie theaters paid, repealed.

What was interesting was that according to the film the demise of the local movie theaters began in 1946. Why? It seems that was and still is a mystery. Of course television helped in the late 50's and after. From 1946 to 1951 the profit margin dropped from $15 million to a little over $10 million.

Interviews were conducted with the theater managers and owners. A woman who owned a theater in Lindsey had to use her husbands life insurance money to keep open. Another in Nebraska had to reduced his salary from $6,000 a year to $850 a year. These were blamed on the fed. tax. Even though attendance was dropping like a rock the tax was still in place and killing these guys. The movie industry was the only entity that had such a tax.

The business owners that were around the theaters were experiencing heavy losses because of the closing. One supermarket owner said, "Mama comes to town and drops the kids off at the movie and then does her shopping. No movie theater, Mama does not come to town anymore. She goes to another town?" Nobody window shopping at the other business while going to or from the theater.

I just find it strange that the movie theaters were a dying breed begining in 1946. We know t.v. was the later culprit but what happened prior to.

[USG '60]

I don't get it. Please explain. Or, better yet, let the shoe-shiner and tie-wearer explain.

OK then, I will. Station Wagons were rolling beds. Hee hee, my Silver Hawk made into a red leather bed but most people didn't realize that so I was WAY ahead of the game. opps, wrong icon. I mean

[ddavidson8]

I've never heard of that tax, but it's not surprising. Taxes=less spending (indirectly in this case). I don't think that killed off these theatres, but I'm sure it didn't help.

[Steve]

papaou, that's a very interesting bit of history you're bringing up. Any answer is probably going to be no better than anything guessed in a parlor game. But I like playing parlor games, so here's my best bet...
Consider that "talkies" got their real start with 1927's "The Jazz Singer." So you have a big popular phenomenon breaking out on the eve of the Great Depression. Consider also that movies proved to be a popular, affordable means of escape during the Depression and through the war. So what happened in 1946? We know the war ended the year before. And the country also entered into a period of economic expansion. With no further rationing of fuel, we know that Americans also hit the road and enjoyed some overdue road trips.
I wasn't alive during this time, but I've got to wonder if the hit the theaters took in 1946 was simply a matter of competing diversions.
Now, all of this being said, I need some really, really old people to tell me if my theories are close to being on target. Where's the general and Doug?

[kevinpate]

> Where's the general and Doug?

Off drinking away the sting of being called out as really, really old people?

[Generals64]

papaou, that's a very interesting bit of history you're bringing up. Any answer is probably going to be no better than anything guessed in a parlor game. But I like playing parlor games, so here's my best bet...
Consider that "talkies" got their real start with 1927's "The Jazz Singer." So you have a big popular phenomenon breaking out on the eve of the Great Depression. Consider also that movies proved to be a popular, affordable means of escape during the Depression and through the war. So what happened in 1946? We know the war ended the year before. And the country also entered into a period of economic expansion. With no further rationing of fuel, we know that Americans also hit the road and enjoyed some overdue road trips.
I wasn't alive during this time, but I've got to wonder if the hit the theaters took in 1946 was simply a matter of competing diversions.
Now, all of this being said, I need some really, really old people to tell me if my theories are close to being on target. Where's the general and Doug?

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hey:..........I was born in 1946 and Kevin....I am old....I think????don't know about Doug but he is really old...How about you????

[USG '60]

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hey:..........I was born in 1946 and Kevin....I am old....I think????don't know about Doug but he is really old...How about you????

Regardless the causes, they were bailed out by becoming the first type of business to use air conditioning. In thousands of cases the theater would have the only air conditioner in an entire town, homes incluced. People would go JUST to cool off awhile. The flik would be a bonus.

Oh ... and Steve, I'm the old toot in the southside gang (USG '60 means I was born in '42). My problem with some issues regarding OKC history is that we didn't move here until '54, so ol' '64, Prune, and maybe a couple of others have an edge on me regarding the early '50s. But I CAN tell you some about Norman in the '40s.

[Doug Loudenback]

> Where's the general and Doug?

Off drinking away the sting of being called out as really, really old people?

Can't speak for the general (he's a youngster) but you've got me nailed!

I've been diligently working on finishing up the Tower article, and I'm glad to say that it is now done (aside from the inevitable tweaks which will occur). Here's the link: Doug Dawgz Blog: The Tower Theatre

Now that that's done, it's time for me to start looking for the missing quart of strawberries and maybe some whiskey, too ... they must, and will, be found.

[Doug Loudenback]

papaou, that's a very interesting bit of history you're bringing up. Any answer is probably going to be no better than anything guessed in a parlor game. But I like playing parlor games, so here's my best bet...
Consider that "talkies" got their real start with 1927's "The Jazz Singer." So you have a big popular phenomenon breaking out on the eve of the Great Depression. Consider also that movies proved to be a popular, affordable means of escape during the Depression and through the war. So what happened in 1946? We know the war ended the year before. And the country also entered into a period of economic expansion. With no further rationing of fuel, we know that Americans also hit the road and enjoyed some overdue road trips.
I wasn't alive during this time, but I've got to wonder if the hit the theaters took in 1946 was simply a matter of competing diversions.
Now, all of this being said, I need some really, really old people to tell me if my theories are close to being on target. Where's the general and Doug?

At 66, I'm not that old. Ask the Old Downtown Guy ... he'll know. He's really old.

[Doug Loudenback]

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hey:..........I was born in 1946 and Kevin....I am old....I think????don't know about Doug but he is really old...How about you????

I am NOT REALLY OLD. It's just that my body parts aren't as young as my mind wants them to be.

[papaOU]

Regardless the causes, they were bailed out by becoming the first type of business to use air conditioning. In thousands of cases the theater would have the only air conditioner in an entire town, homes incluced. People would go JUST to cool off awhile. The flik would be a bonus.

Oh ... and Steve, I'm the old toot in the southside gang (USG '60 means I was born in '42). My problem with some issues regarding OKC history is that we didn't move here until '54, so ol' '64, Prune, and maybe a couple of others have an edge on me regarding the early '50s. But I CAN tell you some about Norman in the '40s.

They had air conditioned theaters during the depression and into the 40's. They were not bailed-out because the numbers of theaters closing into the 50's and 60's still escalated.