Black Theater of Ardmore - Ardmore, OK - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

"The Black Theater of Ardmore is a historic theater building in Ardmore, Oklahoma, United States. It was built in 1922 during a time of racial segregation, when Ardmore's community of more than 2,000 African American residents had its own business district and its own residential area. The theater provided entertainment for black residents who were excluded from patronizing white theaters. It is also a symbol to the once-thriving black business district of Ardmore. It functioned as a theater until 1944, when it was sold to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."

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While the National Register's Nomination Form goes into depth about the building's architecture, what really drew attention to it is its being a rarity. It continues: "The Black Theater Building is historically significant because: (1) it is the oldest all-black commercial structure of its type in Ardmore and one of the oldest still intact in Oklahoma, and (2) it is one of the few remaining all-black commercial buildings still standing in Ardmore which was associated with its black business district." After Emancipation, Indian Territory attracted its share of former slaves, and "During the early 1900s blacks from the rural areas had migrated to Ardmore seeking employment and a sizable black community of 1,628 population (18.9 percent of Ardmore 1 s total) had emerged by 1910. Associated with the growth of Ardmore's black population was the establishment of several black owned and operated.businesses. According to Franklin's 1982 history of blacks in Oklahoma, Ardmore was one of four towns outside Oklahoma City and Tulsa which developed its own black business district which included a barber shop, cafe, a grocery, a blacksmith shop, a rooming house, and a variety of other businesses. By 1920 Ardmore's black population had increased to 2,008, or roughly 14.2 percent of Ardmore's 14,181 total population.

To serve the social and entertainment needs of Ardmore's black community of more than 2,000, an all-black theater (movie-house) was built in ca. 1922. It was located in the 500 block of East Main in the area of other black businesses and near the black residential area.

Within the next twenty years, migration from the state, especially in the Depression era years of the 1930s, and movement to larger urban centers such as Oklahoma City took its toll on the all-black community of Ardmore, Most of the black businesses ceased operations and were either destroyed or allowed to stand vacant and deteriorate.

The All-Black Theater Building survived until ca. 1944 when it was purchased by one of the all-black churches, the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal.

For approximately twenty years, the Ardmore Black Theater served an important, role in the ethnic history of the community. During a period of racial separatism, the property provided a valuable service to those excluded from white establishments of similar function and it stands as a significant monument to the once-thriving black business district of Ardmore the only commercial building of its type which remains intact."

Something was bricked over on the east end of the northern façade. Whether it was an original cornerstone or something added later by one of the churches is unclear, as extant photos show either the bricks or poor lighting on the stone that was there.