Ritz Theatre
S. 9th Street,
Frederick,
OK
73542
S. 9th Street,
Frederick,
OK
73542
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Griffith Amusement Company
Functions: Restaurant
Previous Names: Gem Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Opened as the Gem Theatre on December 21, 1910. It was renamed Ritz Theatre on June 6, 1934 when it screened Janet Gaynor in “Change of Heart”. In April 1939 it was taken over by Griffith Amusement Company. A small town cinema built as a comfortable place to watch a movie at a low admission charge, the Ritz Theatre fulfilled its purpose beautifully until it closed in the 1950’s.
Contributed by
Budgie Greenbird
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Vintage interior and exterior images of this cinema can be seen by typing in name “Ritz”,
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Following information comes courtesy of roadsideoklahoma link;
“Ritz Theater began life as the Gem Theater and was operated by Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Greever. The Gem featured a stage in front of the screen and featured interesting acts such as man vs. kangaroo boxing matches, a veteran of the Great War that had been gassed by the Germans, and entertainment legends such as Gene Autry and Smily Burnett. The theater featured both piano and organ music and delighted children with Lassie, Hopalong Cassidy, and Roy Rogers. On a more comical note, the Ritz was known for its very poor bathroom facility. Between serials, patrons would dash out of the theater to the nearby Sinclair gas station for relief. The Ritz was also kept exceptionally dark to help the brightness of the picture on the screen. The Ritz closed in the 1950s.”
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/381
The Gem Theatre located on South 9th Street opened its doors in mid-December 1910. It was renamed the Ritz Theatre on June 6, 1934, reopening with Janet Gaynor in “Change Of Heart” along with an unnamed Little Rascals short, a Vitaphone musical specialty, and an unnamed cartoon.
The Gem theatre opened on December 21st, 1910 and reopened on June 6th, 1934. Grand opening ad and article posted.
Listings ended in 1957 for the Ritz theatre.
One problem we are going to have with locating this house is that neither the 1916 nor the 1924 Sanborn maps show any theaters on S. 9th Street other than the Amusu, predecessor of the Ramona at 114. However, both maps do show an unidentified movie theater at 111 N. Main Street. The only other houses on the 1916 map are at 112 and 117 W. Grand Avenue, one of which had to have been the Peoples Theatre. 117 W. Grand is still a theater on the 1924 map, but 112 is a store, while the Amusu Theatre has appeared at 114 S. 9th Street.
I’m wondering if we might have the wrong street for the Ritz, as it seems very unlikely that Sanborn would have overlooked its existence. The only other thing I can think is that the Gem closed and vacated its premises in both 1916 and 1924, then reopened after Sanborn’s researchers had gone away, and that also seems very unlikely.