What exactly IS - The Film District?

[writerranger]

Could someone fill me, and others, in on what 'The Film District' is?

1) Why is it called that?
2) Where is it geographically?
3) What are the plans for this area?

I keep hearing about 'The Film District' but don't have a clue at to what it is.

Thanks in advance!

[Urban Pioneer]

I'm sure others can elaborate... But basically the film district is an area around the Sheridan/Reno/and west of Walker area downtown that once hosted a variety of film producers, distributors, and theater suppliers. Paramount Pictures and others had studios in this area. There were a great many independent theaters in those days and some have theorized that because of its central location, OKC was an ideal distribution point. There is a great deal more to it in terms of acting, studios, and films that were created here.

The district was quite overlooked by MAPS and lies in a area highly populated by homeless people. Current plans call for its resurrection with restaurants, shops, some film office relocations, and downtown living. I have heard that there is a meeting by the people involved open to the public this Thursday. They hope to come up with design concepts that will help identify the area.

I hope this helps. There are plenty of people on here that know more about it than I do.

[BDP]

Here's the best Oklahoman article I could fine that is not archived:

http://newsok.com/article/1768137/

Readers remember city's Film Exchange

Recent coverage of efforts to redevelop downtown Oklahoma City's former "Film Row" prompted several readers to contact The Oklahoman with their memories of the city's own little Hollywood.
During the heyday of downtown movie palaces, theater owners screened movies and bought supplies and equipment in the Film Exchange district, centered at Sheridan and Lee. The last vestige of that era, Oklahoma Theatre Supply, opened in 1930 and operated until shortly before owner Maxine Peek died in 2004.

An assortment of filmmakers and developers are organizing to redevelop the area, and the Oklahoma Film Society and Oklahoma Casting recently declared themselves urban pioneers by moving into the former Paramount Building, 701 W Sheridan.

Hollywood's biggest studios all had a presence on the strip. Some readers recalled Film Exchange executives setting them up with visits to studios in Hollywood, where they got to mix with stars such as Peter Lawford and Clark Gable. Others praised efforts by the Oklahoma Film Society to establish a historical exhibit.

Peek's daughter, Dolly Foster, was among those interested in seeing the area's history preserved.

"Mother and Daddy (Eldon Peek) worked many, many hard hours keeping the theatres in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle running smoothly," Foster wrote. "I can remember Daddy getting up in the night to go to Woodward or Purcell or many other places to remedy their 'breakdown.' I truly believe my parents loved their business and the people they associated with."

For Shane York, the redevelopment effort is another opportunity for him to compile more family history on his grand-uncle, Samuel Carr Scott, who operated Monogram Film Co. along the 700 block of W Grand, now known as Sheridan Avenue.

York said he grew up listening to tales of how his uncle started out as a Vaudeville entertainer and then owned a string of theaters in Texas before setting up shop in Oklahoma City's Film Exchange district.

Scott was a promoter of "B" westerns, York said, and shared stories of hosting legends such as Tom Mix. But when Scott and his wife, Lois, died, much of their history was lost when a trunk of memorabilia from their Film Exchange business was trashed by people who bought their home.

Bill Hunter, who worked at the exchanges between 1946 and 1962, is offering to help fill in some of those gaps. He worked in the shipping room of Warner Bros. after the end of World War II then moved to neighboring MGM, where he eventually was promoted to booking films.

"They had a screening room at Fox and Paramount, and that's where employees would get to look at films when they first got there," Hunter said. "It's also where they would fly in prize-fight films the morning after the matches."

Hunter estimates about 300 people worked in the film exchanges during their heyday of the 1930s through 1950s. They were a community, he said, who would often gather at one of the area's restaurants or coffee shops. The district's demise, he said, began in the early 1960s with the growing popularity of television.

"I left in 1962," Hunter said. "TV was getting so strong, business was getting bad and everybody was having trouble. I decided to get out. ... I felt like the business was going to downhill fast."

Hunter's instincts were right. By the mid-1960s, the studios began to consolidate their exchanges in Dallas, and Hollywood's Oklahoma City outpost was reduced to a memory by the 1970s.

At a recent open house, the Oklahoma Film Society showed off their new home in the former Paramount Building. The screening room is still intact, and society President Bradley Wynn reported a closed theater may donate seating that can be installed on the cinema's floor.

Meanwhile, owner Ron Smith discussed leases with some local independent filmmakers. Other society members could be overheard exchanging script ideas. In this once forgotten stretch of urban wasteland, memories and dreams were coming together.

You may also want to check out the Oklahoma Film Society website. There may be some history there if you dig:

http://www.okfs.org/default2.htm

As Urban Pioneer pointed out, it's roots were as a regional film distribution point for major studios. I believe films were screened for exhibitors so they could determine what movies to show in their theaters.

[Patrick]

Urban Pioneer nailed the location.

[metro]

go to www.okfs.com for more info

[metro]

The Film Exchange Row group just snatched up another piece of property at Shartel Ave. and California. Good news in the progress of the film district!!