The Ritz Theater - Britton

[Pete]

That's an interesting thought Metro but I double-checked and it's definitely in the OKC city limits.

[NoOkie]

I drive Britton frequently and have seen scaffolding up a few times over the last couple of years. Never any work being done that I can see, though.

I really wish that little downtown stretch could be revitalized. It would be nice. As it stands, it's just an annoying minor snarl in the traffic.

[Bellaboo]

I grew up at 88th and Classen for the first 9 years. I went to that theatre in the late '50's.....Five cents for the saturday afternoon show. It was Britton at the time, at least we thought it was.

[LuccaBrasi]

I'm not for certain, but I think the scaffolding was recently added just to hold up the sign.......probably until someone can figure out how to keep it from falling without spending too much money.

[NoOkie]

I'm not for certain, but I think the scaffolding was recently added just to hold up the sign.......probably until someone can figure out how to keep it from falling without spending too much money.

I drove by it this morning and it looks like the sign was taken down, though they may have just taken the marquee off and left the base of the sign there. Couldn't tell with how traffic was moving. I'll try and get a picture or two when I go to lunch and the light is better.

[warreng88]

An article from the Journal Record showing Jesse and his son, Andrew Hwang, purchased the property on Britton just east of Western. They purchased the building at 1 NW 10th Street late last year with plans for a brewery and are thinking the same thing for this one:

New owners take over Ritz Theater in old Britton

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record March 24, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY – A former attraction in a nearly forgotten town has a new owner.

Andrew Hwang and his father, Jesse Hwang, purchased the 9,526-square-foot former Ritz Theater for $110,000 Monday. Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort retail broker Danny Ojeda handled the transaction. The previous owner, French “Doc” Hickman, purchased the building in 2008 for $130,000.

Ojeda said he originally listed the building at 912 W. Britton Rd. for $200,000 and lowered the price to $170,000. It’s been on the market for slightly longer than a year. He said he had two possible buyers under contract, but the other party left the deal before the closing.

“The building needs so much work that $110,000 made sense,” he said. “I had a lot of interest in the building. Most of the potential buyers that came there were intimidated by the amount of work that needed to be done.”

Andrew Hwang said he and his dad’s first priority is replacing the roof. He said the roof has four different layers of material, so all of it must be removed and a new one installed with insulation.

He said he doesn’t have any specific plans. Built in 1946, the building once had a large marquee that stretched from side door to side door. Photos show that a smaller marquee was in place until at least 2010.

“There’s no seating inside,” he said. “It’s just a concrete floor with a bunch of dead pigeons.”

The theater was an entertainment attraction in the old town of Britton. The town center was near Western Avenue and W. Britton Road. It was founded a few days after the 1889 Land Run. It was named for railroad attorney Alexander Britton, who helped bring the railroad to the town. In 1950, the town voted to be annexed into Oklahoma City.

But some of the town’s Main Street buildings remain, including The Ritz.

Oklahoma City developer Chip Fudge has previously said he thinks the area could be the next district in the city, as there are several buildings with similar architecture styles located along Britton Road.

Hwang said he is interested in buying more property near the theater.

“It seems like it could be a very thriving district if the right owners and developers were involved,” he said. “The location is stellar; it’s between downtown and The Village. It definitely has a lot of potential.”

He said the building could be a good location for a brewery. He owns the 1 NW 10th St. facility that is being renovated into the Twisted Spike Brewery. But the theater building faces one big challenge, Hwang said.

“There is no parking,” he said. “There’s a great alleyway on the south side. It looks like at some point someone put in a mezzanine. We honestly don’t have any plans for it at the moment.”

[zefferoni]

I used to drive by there every day, and always thought that little "downtown" stretch could be pretty cool.

[HOT ROD]

OKC's 2nd Plaza District or Asian District/Chinatown #2?

Love the ORGANIC, renaissance of Oklahoma City - so many good bones to work with just need visionaries like Hwang hopefully will become, to take a chance.

[Bellaboo]

I used to drive by there every day, and always thought that little "downtown" stretch could be pretty cool.

I used to go to the Ritz as a little kid in the 50's.

[PhiAlpha]

I've driven by this area a lot over the last decade and have always thought it would make a great district. I think it probably has more challenges than the plaza and most of our other districts, but being situated between the classen curve/NH Plaza/North Western Ave and Chisolm creek makes the location better than it appears.

[HOT ROD]

great points,

Yes it does have potential to tie into the existing/developing urban nodes nicely; creating more or less continual urban fabric from downtown to plaza to uptown/asian district to NHP/Classen Curve to N Western to HERE to Chisolm Creek.

LOVE IT and wish them success as they create the new BRITTON district.

[Pete]

[PaddyShack]

Oh how I hope this area gets going... As I work just to the east along Britton, it would be nice to have a little "town center" close by. However, the surrounding housing area doesn't give me the confidence that anything will happen fast.

[turnpup]

We drive by there almost every day and I've begun to notice improvements to several of the storefronts over the past few months.

[sooner88]

There's the brand new Variety Care near here too... only a matter of time before this area sees a turn around.

[shawnw]

Is the stucco original or added later? If later I hope they remove it during refurb.

[rezman]

I haven’t got the the old VTX out in a while as I’ve had a lot of projects going, so last night was perfect to go for a little night time ride. My daughter wanted to hop on with me, so as I have many times before, we took a cruise from our Edmond suburban confines, south on Western, skirting the eastern edge of Chislom Creek, to Britton, then Nichols Hills & Classen Curve. Then on through Crown Heights, down to 30th, then east through Paseo, south on Walker through Uptown, to the Plaza district and 10th St. Then over to Broadway & on to Bricktown, and from there made some loops and then we had to make our way back.

My daughter commented multiple times how cool it was to see so many people out and about walking and how vibrant these areas were.

I told her about the many times in the years past that when I made that ride, especially in the downtown area, it was like a ghost town.

So in that vein, yes it would be cool to see Britton come alive as another link in a line of unique cool spots around town.
Almost in linear fashion. Litterally a line of destinations from the far northside to Capitol Hill. Something for everyone.

[Pete]

[jedicurt]

i hope the top is the after and not the before....

[Plutonic Panda]

Honestly not the biggest fan of it and I wish they would have kept the marquee.

[Jeepnokc]

Honestly not the biggest fan of it and I wish they would have kept the marquee.

this

[HangryHippo]

Honestly not the biggest fan of it and I wish they would have kept the marquee.

Same.