Mummers Theater / Stage Center
In 1970, the curtain rose on downtown Oklahoma City's Stage Center, sparking a new era in state theater history. Internationally acclaimed architect John Johansen designed the modern theater, with Seminoff Bowman & Bode as associate architects, and the innovative structure received the prestigious American Institute of Architects Honors Award for it idiosyncratic, "anti-geometric" design. Architects and students from around the world made the trek to Oklahoma City to tour the building, which was considered among the century's finest examples of modern architecture. Johansen's original model is on display in New York City's Museum of Modern Art.
The Mummers and other theater companies called Stage Center home until the building closed in 1986. One year later, the Arts Council of Oklahoma City purchased the facility and renovated it for $2 million. The rehabilitation work was done by Rand Elliott, FAIA of Elliott + Associates Architects and Stage Center reopened in 1992. In the 2000s, Stage Center operated as a multi-use facility for the arts and was home to Carpenter Square Theatre, Inner City Dance, and the Oklahoma Visual Artists Coalition.
A 2010 flood closed the building for good and it was demolished in 2014. Go here to read more about Stage Center.
1991 – Renovation plans by Elliott + Associates
Stage Center, 2013:
Being demolished:
