Film Exchange Historic District - Oklahoma City, OK - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Film Exchange Historic District was originally known as "Film Row." As the movie industry grew and theaters sprang up all over the country, there became a great need for distribution of the product. Hollywood contracted with 30 to 40 regional distributors. Oklahoma City was the distributor for Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. The explosive nitrate film was shipped here and kept in fireproof vaults, out of the sunlight. Some of these vaults are still present in some of the buildings.

At first, the many film distribution and supply companies were spread throughout the Oklahoma City area, but by the 1930s they had converged on the area currently known as the Film Exchange. The Film Exchange Building at 700-708 W. Sheridan was the epicenter for Film Row. Owners of theaters throughout the state would come to screen new releases, sign contracts, trade movies, and gather lobby cards, posters and other necessities for their theaters. There were suppliers of projectors, cameras, lenses, seats and popcorn vending machines.

There are nine contributing buildings to this Historic District. The architecture includes four Commercial, three Art Deco and two Art Moderne. The buildings were constructed between 1925 and 1949. All of the major motion picture companies had offices here, including Allied Films, Columbia Pictures, Loew's, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Bros. Many of the buildings are unusual and have bold architectural designs. At the intersection of Sheridan and Lee, a large star with film stripping has been painted on the street. This can be seen in the aerial photo in the photo gallery.

This area was a driving force in the motion pictures industry from the 1920s to the 1970s. As the industry changed, the area began to close down, and it stood in neglect and decay for decades. Shortly after the 21st Century arrived, there began a movement to revitalize the district into a multi-use area with businesses, restaurants and entertainment, and residential lofts. The District was placed on the Historic Register in 2007 and is growing into an active, vibrant business district. Buildings have been and are being restored, streets have been upgraded, street lighting has been improved, and the sky's the limit for the future. One plan on the drawing board is to have an Oklahoma Walk of Fame, with blocks along the sidewalk highlighting entertainment personalities from Oklahoma.

Today, there are architects, computer support, art galleries, coffee shops and offices springing up everywhere. We ate at Joey's Pizzaria currently in the Film Exchange Building, and had the best pizza and sub sandwich we've ever eaten. This area is fascinating now, and will only get better.

Street address: Jct. of W. Sheridan Avenue and Lee Avenue Oklahoma City, OK US 73102 County / Borough / Parish: Oklahoma Year listed: 2007 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1950-1974; 1925-1949 Historic function: Commerce/Trade Current function: Commerce/Trade, Vacant, Not in Use Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/06/2021 The Snowdog visited it