MCALESTER, Okla. — The 1931 OKLA Theater is planned for an eventual grand re-opening thanks to a group of McAlester preservationists committed to resurrecting the once-grand venue.
The seven people putting the lights, camera, and action needed to bring movies and people back to the theater make up the OKLA Theater Preservation Society.
WATCH: 'There's nothing like it': McAlester theater closed for decades plans 2026 reopening:
"I was here when I was a kid watching Jaws, watching E.T.," Treasurer Leigh Ann Rubertus said.
Declining business closed the curtain of the 800-seat cinema in 1989, when Uncle Buck was still in theaters. Since then, events have been few and far between while the interior and marquee fell into disrepair.
Last year, the preservation society became the fourth tenant of the building since it closed. Past owners had planned to reopen the theater in some capacity and accomplished some work, like removing asbestos and lead paint, but those ambitions never saw completion.
Now, Rubertus believes OKLA is mere months from opening in a new beginning.
"We're just going to be open to suggestions from our public what they want, what they would love to see...for our community," Rubertus said.
The 501(c) non-profit found the building in need of at least a couple million dollars' worth in repairs at the start of its labor. However, with the help of donors, countless supplies poured in, along with a donated HVAC system and free architectural design.
"Next thing you know, we've got someone saying, 'Oh man, I miss going to the Okla Theater. You know what, I'll help you out,'" secretary Brandy Jeffreys said.
A million-dollar corporate grant is also in the works for general restoration, Jeffreys added. All this with the support of the city as well.
"It's amazing how much the community remembers and has that nostalgia for the OKLA Theater," McAlester mayor Justin Few told 2 News. Mayor Few said he has also volunteered time to raise money for replacing the theater's marquee to display LED lighting.
"We want to bring it back and not let it sit vacant," the mayor said. "Like you know, try to remove the blight from your downtown. And when you restore things you get that energy and all your businesses flourish."
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The Roaring '20s brought the demand of the theater to McAlester. The preservation group believes this century's '20s can restore it.
If all goes according to plan, Jeffreys said, hundreds of seats, including some donated by nearby Apex Cinema, could be installed and ready by February.
Jeffreys said the theater could even mirror the success of others in Green Country, like The Roxy or Circle Cinema.
"To take what they've done and, you know, make it ours as well. And over time it will be our own wheel," Jeffreys said. "It has to (succeed). We won't let it not."
"There's nothing like it," Rubertus said while speaking with 2 News reporter Samson Tamijani in the upper deck of the theater. "This is part of our history. It just takes your breath away."
OKLA-Fest IV hosts a benefit concert in downtown McAlester on Oct. 18 with all proceeds going toward finishing the needed work at the theater.
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