Owners Plan To Revive Historic Jewel Theatre In NE OKC

Owners plan to revive historic jewel theatre in northeast OKC

Northeast Fourth Street holds a special place in Oklahoma City's Black history. One gem is the Jewel Theatre, the only black theatre in Oklahoma City still standing.

Arthur Hurst owns the theatre.

“Frankenstein, the Wolfman and Dracula. I would love to see the horror movies. They were sort of funny, but still scary at the time,” Hurst said.

He said he was a regular at the theatre in its heyday.

“The Jewel Theatre originally had 320 seats in it. It didn't have a balcony, but it had 320 seats in the theatre,” Hurst said.

The theatre opened in the 30s and closed in the 60s.

“We hope to show movies again. We intend to have some live entertainment in there and hopefully get an opportunity to get in there and introduce young kids to plays and to stage and what have you,” Hurst said.

To help bring his dream to life Hurst is working with a nonprofit group called Congress for the New Urbanism

“The ultimate goal of these legacy projects is to provide forward momentum for projects that would otherwise be neglected and get community input to basis that momentum,” Ben Crowther said.

Northeast residents shared their memories of the eastside and proposed new ideas for what programs they would like to see. They also gave input on an art installation project for the building.

“Black cultural spaces from that period are disappearing quickly and there's few that are left. If you drive by it right now it looks like another abandoned building and that really does a disservice to its history,” Crowther said.

Congress for the new urbanism will host their annual conference in OKC this year from March 23-26. The Jewel Theatre will be there. This conference could help to create strategies to secure funding.