This week, The Better Life Blog goes to the movies – locally. If you know where to look, you’ll find movie buffs, interesting and indie shows, and film history throughout the metro.
Let’s start with the Film Exchange District, aka “Film Row,” an area of Oklahoma City that has a colorful past – and a promising future. Located between Classen Boulevard and Walker Avenue along Sheridan Avenue, Film Row in recent years has undergone a renaissance bringing some of that history to light – along with new businesses and new life.
For more than 65 years, Oklahoma City was one of the nation’s distribution hubs for the films by major motion picture studios, beginning in the early part of the 20th century. Eventually, nine buildings related to the film distribution business sprung up in the area, a centralized location that allowed film screenings and the sale of products related to them. “Film Row” in Oklahoma City was one of 37 of the film exchange districts nationwide.
Today, it’s home to several businesses and some sites of architectural interest, like the Hart Building, as well as a new monthly, family-friendly street festival, PremiereOKC, which offers film screenings, live music, food trucks, art and shopping. It’s also home to Oklahoma City’s popular deadCENTER Film Festival – one of the 20 “Coolest Festivals in the World” -- which is coming up from June 11-15. More on deadCENTER in a later post.
Other businesses, artists and event spaces in the Film Exchange District include art gallery Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) Gallery, Oddfab Design Lab, event spaces DC on Film Row and The Exchange OKC, restaurant Joey’s Pizzeria, investment group VentureSpur, The Parmount OKC, Slice Magazine, radio station KOSU Film Row and a shop featuring local artisans known as The Hub OKC.
[Photos courtesy of Patrick W. Moore]
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