Yale Theatre
7 S. Main Street,
Sapulpa,
OK
74066
7 S. Main Street,
Sapulpa,
OK
74066
No one has favorited this theater yet
Originally designed in rugged Gothic styling, the Yale Theatre was later redesigned into a harsh monolith that erased all trace of good taste. It was opened in 1907 and was destroyed by fire July 27, 1954.
A cultural center now stands on the site.
Contributed by
cinematique
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Vintage and modern exterior/interior photos can be seen on Roadside Oklahoma site.
Looks as if the Yale Theatre was installed inside an existing 1901 bulding. Was that boxoffice lobby atmospheric?
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/624
I watched this theater burn-down. If someone knows the date I would be interested to know when. I’m thinking that it would be between 1952-1955
I was told that the date the yale burned was July 27, 1954.
Address for the Yale Theatre is 7 S. Main, St.
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/624
From google maps, street view, comes this image of the former Yale Theatre, 7 S. Main St., Sapulpa, OK
View link
To view vintage exterior/interior photos of the Yale Theatre, go to below link and type in
“Yale Theatre Sapulpa”,
View link
July 2024 link with full history and additional photos.
https://sapulpatimes.com/this-week-in-sapulpa-history-yale-theatre/
The Yale Theatre building appears on the February, 1909 Sanborn map of Sapulpa, designated only as “Motion Pictures.” The house is still there on the April, 1911 Sanborn, but has been joined by two other moving picture houses on the same block, one at 1 S. Main, southeast corner of Dewey, and one at 17 S. Main. The latter was a house called the Lyric, which featured a small stage and a balcony. The small theater on the corner of Dewey was merely a storefront nickelodeon, and I haven’t found a name for it.
The biggest change comes with the August, 1915 Sanborn. The house that will be the Yale has been expanded into the storefront next door at 9 S. Main, and has acquired a stage. The name Yale is not listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, but two Main Street houses are listed as the Scenic Theatre and the Thompson Theatre. There is also a house called the Grand Theatre with no location given. One of those three names must have been an aka for the Yale. The Lyric is gone, the Sanborn marking its site with the notation “Fire ruins burned June 1915.”
The 1915 Sanborn also shows a new theater that did not appear on the 1911 map, at 14-16 S. Main, across the street from the Lyric’s site. This was a house that was called the Empress during the 1920s, though it too might have opened under a different name, if it opened before the AMPD went to press.