Granada Theatre

The building of Oxford’s City Auditorium was funded by subscriptions as opera houses had been previously all around Nebraska. The Auditorium Theatre launched on June 16, 1917 with an operetta, “The Rose Garden” and a film, “Susie Snowflake”, starring Ann Pennington. As opera houses and city auditoriums quickly found out, the films would become the top draw.

C.G. Gupton was in charge of the programming and the Auditorium Theatre moved from a mix of films with live stage entertainment and sporadic wrestling events to full-time film. It would get competition from another movie theatre from 1928 to 1932 in the Everybody/Gem Theatre.

In February of 1932, the Auditorium Theatre received a major refresh becoming the Granada Theatre with a Spanish style interior and exterior. A DeForest sound system was installed in time for the opening on February 28, 1932 with Jackie Coogan and Wallace Beery in “The Champ”.

A refresh in 1946 improved sound and a 1951 refresh added a cry room. The theatre experimented with 3D films in 1953 and then installed a panoramic screen to present CinemaScope films beginning with “Shane” on October 16, 1953. The theatre made it to the end of its 60-year lease but was damaged in 1992. It was razed and replaced with a new-build facility that has its own Cinema Treasure page.

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