The story
The Aldridge opened on February 2, 1920, with Sam De Grasse in Blind Husbands. It was an African-American theatre with about 900 seats that presented vaudeville and movies. It belonged to the TOBA circuit and was operated by the Bijou Amusement Company. Gonzelle White and her band, which included Count Basie, played there in the late 1920s. Zelia Breaux bought a controlling interest in 1915 according to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, which says it became the main venue for high school operettas and prestigious traveling shows. Sources disagree on the opening date.
From the 1940s through the 1950s it showed only movies. Its last program, on June 6, 1964, was a double feature of Jason and the Argonauts and The River's Edge. Cinema Treasures lists it as demolished with no date, and a 2011 commenter says an apartment complex now stands on the site.
What's There Now
A commenter in 2011 reported an apartment complex on the site; this is unverified.
Everything that was here
- 1920–1964
Aldridge TheatreTheater
Deep Deuce's Black-owned vaudeville and movie house where Count Basie played in the late 1920s. It showed its last double feature in 1964.
See the map in 1921 →
Did you know?
Nearby history
Urban Roots
Skirvin Hotel
Hotel Lawrence
Oklahoma Publishing Company Building (Daily Oklahoman Building)
Santa Fe Depot
Huckins Hotel
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