The Delman is a movie theatre in Tulsa I love but I sadly never got to see a film in this Art Deco gem. Heartache. I vaguely even remember the place as it sat empty and ignored into the mid 1980s before it was noticed (and deemed too troublesome to fix up) and was met full on by the wrecking ball. More heartache.Built in 1938, the Streamline Art Deco 1,138 seat, single screen with balcony Delman Theatre saw its glory days in the 1940s and 1950s. Like many single screens, it went the way of porn in the 1970s, was bought by the Loew's chain and used for movies and events, and gradually went downhill until it was closed for good in the 1980s. A generic Walgreen's sits on its lot now. That's progress of the sickening kind.
I fell in love with the Delman when I caught a glimpse of the photo in this post. 1948. Claudette Colbert on the marquee. Noir-like. Wet streets. Neon. The sensual streamline curves in the black and white night. This photo tugs at my heart with a full fledged assault of romantic nostalgia (something I'm always susceptible of). I can only imagine what joy it must have been to by a ticket out on Cherry Street and see a film at the Delman.
***Photo courtesy of the Tulsa Historical Society***
2 comments:
man, it would have been cool to hang out on cherry street, have dinner at panera bread, and then go see a movie at the delman!
I'd be there all the time. The Circle marquee is nice but look at the Art Deco lines of the Delman. Magical.
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