On August 1, 1941, the bright lights hit downtown Chickasha when the brand new Washita Theatre opened its doors for the first time. The Washita was one of a kind at that time, equipped with the newest and most modern equipment throughout.

In the weeks before it opened, the “Chickasha Star” newspaper had large ads calling it “The southwest’s finest”.

An eager audience showed up on opening night to see “Tom, Dick and Harry”, beginning a long tradition for the Theatre and also for the town of Chickasha.

The biggest attraction the Washita had to offer was the spectacular lights that lit the building up. Neon lights once rotated around the facade which spells out “WASHITA”.

“It was really neat,” said Thome Cook, who grew going to movies at the Theatre.

Cook is also part of the Chickasha Community Theatre, which now owns the building.

“To me, I think the lights are what drew people in.” said Cook. “They were flashy and they really sold the place.”

For almost 60 years, the lights shined on the downtown area in the evenings, offering residents with popular movies on a nightly basis.

But as time went on, the building began to show its age and finally closed down in April of 2001, a few months before its 60th anniversary.

In December of 2001, the Chickasha Community Theatre purchased the building with plans to renovate the it for live productions.

The group has divided the project into three phases and is already in the middle of renovating it.

The first phase involved the purchase of the Theatre and the building directly to west of it. The two buildings totaled $170,000 and was paid off in the Spring of 2004.

Cook said they bought the building next to it because the Theatre was originally built as a movie Theatre and there was not enough room for a backstage and dressing rooms.

“After talking to the architects about the building, it was going to cost so much money to build a backstage,” he said. “Then that other building became available and then it was a no-brainer.”

“We got the building at such a great price and it was right next door to the Theatre so we can have access for dressing room space and a place to build props.”