Park Theater Report

THE HISTORIC PARK THEATER REPORT The University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities DesignWorks Team Visit

Ardmore, Oklahoma May 17-18, 2012

About DesignWorks DesignWorks is a unique program that brings together community residents and design professionals to address the image of Oklahoma towns. Each town has special characteristics and issues and challenges. Each team, through a two-day design charrette, approaches these design issues through a fast-paces, creative process.

The interactive design process not only lets community citizens understand the design profession but also lets them be part of the decision process. The recommendations in this report have one goal: Improving the Image of Their Town. All text and drawings documenting this DesignWorks Team Visit were prepared by members of the Team.

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History of DesignWorks In 1990, the State Arts Council of Oklahoma (now the Oklahoma Arts Council) brought together a number of state agencies to discuss the arts and design professions in Oklahoma. At the time, Oklahoma continued to languish in an almost decade-old oil bust cycle that had left many thinking that any and all things to do with the arts were simply frivolous matters.

Some 200 people attended the conference. From this energy of “finding others out there who were concerned, too,” about two dozen people from state agencies, private firms, and individual studios stepped forward to further discuss the arts needs in the state. From surveys, meetings, and conversations, the group learned that rural Oklahoma needed access to design professionals and resources.

Three tools focused on delivering design assistance: a DesignWorks video, a DesignWorks Community DesignBook, and DesignWorks Team Visits. By the summer of 1993, the video and book were available. The first three team visits went to Grove, Chandler, and Shidler, Oklahoma. The groups that contributed to these design tools included: • State Arts Council of Oklahoma (now Oklahoma Arts Council) • Oklahoma Department of Commerce/Oklahoma Main Street Program (now Oklahoma Main Street Center)

• Oklahoma State University/Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service • Oklahoma Foundation for Architecture

Originally, the Oklahoma Arts Council was the home for the DesignWorks program. About ten years later, the program shifted to the Oklahoma Main Street Center. In the Fall of 2011, the program transferred to the Institute for Quality Communities at the College of Architecture, The University of Oklahoma.

As of the Fall of 2011, sixty-one DesignWorks Team Visits worked in communities throughout Oklahoma.

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DesignWorks Itinerary Thursday, May 17, 2012 8:00am

Leave Norman, Oklahoma

10:00am

Arrive in Ardmore, Oklahoma Meet with representatives from Noble Energy, Ardmore Beautification Council, Ardmore Main Street, City of Ardmore, Oklahoma Main Street or other representatives and tour the historic Park Theater, 115 West Main Street, Ardmore, Oklahoma

11:30am Lunch with Park Theater owners, community members, and concerned citizens Casa Romo, 120 West Main Street 1:00pm

Walking tour of Ardmore’s Main Street beginning at the Tivoli Theater Stops include Charles Milor Law Office, Tin Star Pizza, Main Street Wine Depot, East Nine, and Paradise Alley ending at the Santa Fe Depot and Ardmore Main Street office

3:00pm

Meeting with Park Theater owners and community leaders Noble Energy Headquarters, 110 West Broadway Street

4:00pm

Alternate meeting with Park Theater owners and community leaders Noble Energy Headquarters, 110 West Broadway Street

5:00pm

Return site visit to historic Park Theater 115 West Main Street, compile measurements, take photographs, discuss potential uses

6:00pm

Check into hotel Spring Hill Suites, 2501 Centennial Drive North, Ardmore, Oklahoma

6:30pm

Working team supper Two Frogs Grill, 2646 West Broadway Street, Ardmore, Oklahoma

8:00pm

Team discussions, proposed solutions, conceptual designs meeting Spring Hill Suites Conference Room

10:00pm

Adjourn

Friday, May 18, 2012 8:00am

Breakfast Spring Hill Suites, 2501 Centennial Drive North

9:00am

Team meeting and presentation preparation Spring Hill Suites Conference Room

12:00pm

Working team lunch Ten Star Pizza, 109 East Main Street, Ardmore, Oklahoma

1:30pm

Finalize design recommendations and public presentation Noble Energy Headquarters, 110 West Broadway Street

3:00pm

Public Presentation For all involved parties: Noble Energy, Ardmore Beautification Council, Ardmore Main Street, City of Ardmore, Oklahoma Main Street Representatives Noble Energy Headquarters, 110 West Broadway Street

4:30pm

Team returns to Norman, Oklahoma

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Design Team Focus Historic Use: Operating in 1928 as the Ritz Theater, the Park Theater, as it most recently known as, is located mid-block in one of the key blocks along Ardmore’s Main Street which is the 100 Block of West Main Street. Once an opulent theater, much was removed during a renovation that converted it to a new use. The theater is just across the street from Casa Romo, a recently relocated and expanded popular restaurant that is a rehabilitation of a former furniture store using the historic tax credits.

Current Conditions: Movie theaters are the “peacocks” of the block—and maybe of the entire downtown. “Lights, camera, action” is incorporated into the architectural design of these buildings. To keep up with the evolving times and the changing tastes, owners of many movie theaters remodeled these structures many times over—including new ticket booths, redesigned entries, updated flanking storefronts, and new marquees. Sometimes, as in the case of the Park Theater, there are layers of changes, materials, and options as to how to restore the façade of the building.

The last picture show for the Park played around 1987 when this was converted to a three level mini-mall. The interior has major changes. What remains of the Park Theater include the original ramped entry that leads up to the location of the concessions counter and the two small commercial spaces flanking the ramped entry. Above the commercial spaces, entry, and concessions stand remain the unique projection booth, a historic air chase (now enclosed), management offices and large storage spaces. The original theater space, proscenium, and stage are drastically altered. Instead, the space is now divided into small booth spaces on three layers. The entire space is done with rough cedar columns, railings, stairs, and partitions.

The interesting all-wood truss roof has significant structural issues with some of the trusses’ being broken. A skylight remains partially in place.

With serious structural issues and few architectural details intact, the restoration or reconstruction of the space as a historic movie theater poses a major challenge. The DesignWorks Team focused on encouraging the retention and the restoration of the Main Street façade.

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Potential Use: With a long-term commitment to staying downtown, the current owner, Noble Energy, has been a good steward of this property for many years. They have de-cluttered the interior, maintained the exterior, and mothballed the building for a new use. Having invested a lot of money in expanding and improving their headquarters just across the alley and to the north of the Park Theater on West Broadway Street, the company needs a quality storage space that is convenient for their operations. The site of the Park Theater meets that need.

Potential uses have included demolishing the Park Theater for parking or for an outdoor community garden and event space. Also, there has been discussion about returning this to an operating space for a community theater group.

There are concerns about tearing down a historic theater, creating a hole in one of the most intact blocks of Ardmore’s National Historic District, and developing a storage facility in the heart of a commercial district that has many rehabilitations underway.

After many discussions, the proposal comes back to the need for a storage facility for Noble Energy and how to sensitively incorporate this into the shell of a historic theater. The preferred use includes a records facility, a small conference or meeting room, and an exercise facility for employees with a total square footage of around 7,500 square feet.

Additionally, representatives of the owner requested that the exterior remain low key and the interior become a matter-of-fact design. With this, the team looked at the various historic facades of the theater to determine which may be the lowest key design of them all.

The combination of local partners includes: • A community sensitive private sector business and property owner (Noble Energy) • • • •

A dedicated community organization (Ardmore Beautification Council) An active downtown organization (Ardmore Main Street) A resourceful city partner (Ardmore city staff) A locally-based architectural firm (Nelson + Morgan Architects)

The Ardmore DesignWorks Team’s role is to facilitate discussion about the potential project that will meet the needs and preferences for all parties.

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Exterior Views

This is a current view of the Park Theater, 115 West Main in Ardmore.

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These historic views show the Ritz Theater in 1936 (left) and again after a renovation in 1941 (right). The Ritz Theater was later known as the Park Theater.

Photos from the Oklahoma Historical Society.

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Representatives of the current owner, Noble Energy, expressed a desire for a low-key exterior design for the building.

The team, working from historic photographs, completed this sketch based on what is thought to be intact from behind layers of changes.

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Interior Views

The 1940 interior of the Ritz Theater, now known as the Park Theater, had limited ornamentation while being extremely functional.

Photo from the Oklahoma Historical Society.

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In 1987, the Antique Peddler, a mini-mall, became the new business and use for the building. Three levels of rough cedar stairs, railings, and booths filled the once open movie theater space.

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Originally a free-span space with massive, built-on-site wood trusses, the volumetric interior of the theater no longer exists as there are three levels of booths.

Severe structural issues with the trusses and new columns further break the once large space into smaller sections.

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The Design Team conceived these floorplans for the first, second, and third floors of the building.

Features of the design include records storage and processing facilities, a conference room, offices, restrooms, and fitness center with locker rooms.

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Features of the design include records storage and processing facilities, a conference room, offices, restrooms, and fitness center with locker rooms.

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Acknowledgements Design Team

The University of Oklahoma, College of Architecture, Institute for Quality Communities Norman, Oklahoma Ron Frantz Hope Mander The University of Oklahoma, College of Architecture, Interior Design Division Norman, Oklahoma Christina Hoehn The University of Oklahoma, College of Architecture, Architecture Division Norman, Oklahoma Hunter Read, 5th Year Senior Peter Mall, 5th Year Senior Oklahoma Main Street Center, Oklahoma Department of Commerce Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Larry Lucas, Design Consultant

Team Coordinator Ron Frantz Town Coordinator Terry Kallister Lodging

Spring Hill Suites, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Meeting Space

Noble Energy Headquarters, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Resources

The University of Oklahoma Ardmore Beautification Council Ardmore Main Street Authority City of Ardmore Nelson + Morgan Architects

Ardmore Participants Noble Energy (Owners) Terry Kallister Cara Aycox Angela Buckner Ardmore Beautification Council Regina Turrentine Kay Watson Norma-Lynne Paschall Casa Romo Daniel Romo

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Ardmore Main Street Authority Julie Patterson Bill Dolman Tim Longest Maria Wilkinson City of Ardmore Laura Griggs Nelson + Morgan Architects, Inc. Allen Nelson Kelly Morgan

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Endnote The DesignWorks Team Visit for the Historic Park Theater was a little different from many of our previous visits over the years. This was a very focused project, one that is in the middle of one of the most significant blocks of Ardmore’s National Register Historic District. The project is privately owned

by Noble Energy. However, it holds a high degree of public sentiment as it was the Ritz Theater, or more commonly known, the Park Theater. A number of parties, groups, and organizations feel they have a stake in this potential project as it will impact the center of Ardmore’s Main Street district.

In a very low key manner, the team met with many people representing a variety of Ardmore organizations as a way to discuss the potential use for this former theater that meets the needs for the owners and the desires of concerned citizens.

Special thanks go to Terry Kallister of Noble Energy who worked hard to bring everyone together at the same time and set the tone for all the discussions.

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Copyright Š 2012 The University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities 830 Van Vleet Oval, Gould Hall, Room 165 Norman, Oklahoma 73019 405.445.4477 iqc@ou.edu iqc.ou.edu