ANADARKO – Demolition of the now-defunct Miller Theater is sad, but expected, for some longtime residents.
Betty Bell, Polly Grider and Bob Hines remembered the theater’s construction and its opening in 1947 as the finest movie house in Anadarko, although there were three smaller theaters in business at the time.
Bell, who still lives in Anadarko, recalled the first movie to play at the Miller Theater was It’s a Wonderful Life, with an admission price of 40¢. The single-screen theater was adorned with colorful murals, could seat more than 600 people and included a balcony where Black moviegoers were forced to sit. White patrons could sit in seats on the lower level.
“The Miller was really uptown,” Bell said. “It was much different than the others. We thought everything was so plush and fabulous. We went to the movies often. At that time, the entertainment was movies and driving up and down the main drag. Movies were the big things in the ’40s and ’50s.”
The Miller Theater, 202 W. Main, shut its doors in the early to mid-1980s.
According to Bell, it was time for the old theater to come down.
“It’s been a danger and eyesore for years,” she said. “But it was sad to see it deteriorate from what it once was.”
Anadarko, with the help of a $200,000 grant from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, will begin demolition work Jan. 13, City Manager Kenneth Corn said.
The City intends to repurpose the property with a large amphitheater for public events such as concerts and movies. Plans are being developed and will be presented to the city council this month. The plans include a historic design and the Miller Theater sign, Corn said.
City officials condemned the theater as a public nuisance with the Environmental Protection Agency and DEQ following with orders to demolish because the building was filled with asbestos, which was a common construction material in the 1940s.
Polly Grider, 87, said she was excited when the Miller Theater was being built in 1947.
“It was a pretty building,” she recalled. “I think it was 25¢togetin,10¢forabag of popcorn and 5¢ for candy.
It makes me sad it’s coming down, but it has to be torn down. I have a lot of memories of that place. I remember thinking at the time that I’d get to see the movies at a brand new theater.”
Some of the top movies shown at the Miller Theater included Ben-Hur, Bridge on the River Kwai, The Quiet Man, High Noon, From Here to Eternity, Roman Holiday, Rear Window and Vertigo.
Bob Hines, 88, was a classmate of Grider’s at Anadarko High School. He recalled the enthusiasm local residents displayed when the Miller opened.
“It was a big deal. People couldn’t hardly wait,” he said.
But like most people, Hines, who now lives in Norman, understands why the old theater is being demolished.
“The theater is like the whole town,” he said. “It’s diminished so much, but I was born there and went to school there. It was a great place growing up.”