Step Into History: Tulsa Spotlight Theater Seeks Volunteers For Cleanup, Repairs

An iconic Tulsa building is in need of a little tender loving care. 

A volunteer day is planned for Saturday, September 16th at the Tulsa Spotlight Theater from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The public is invited to help deep clean the building and participate in an indoor yard sale and mixer.

Tulsa Spotlight Theater was designed by architect Bruce Goff in 1928. Board President John Beasley said some aspects of the building have stood the test of time, like a light fixture just inside the front door.

"This is, to my knowledge, the only original light fixture that we still have in the building," he added.

Other parts could use some work, but even as it shows its age, the theater stands out as one of the only buildings designed to resemble a piano.

"There is a lot of rectangles that you will see throughout the building which are like piano keys," Beasley continued saying, "In the fall and winter, when the sun is setting, it actually casts the light up the stairs, and you can see the dark and light patterns, again, reference to the black and white keys on the piano."

All of this has earned the theater a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, but restoration of the old building is long overdue.

"I have not seen this floor," Beasley said as he opened the door to a prop room. "I do not know if anybody has been in that corner over there in decades."

That is where the need for volunteers comes in, so the show can go on for another hundred years.

"As we look to restore the building, I need these areas cleared so that we can get in and look at the electric, look at the plumbing, all the things that need to be replaced," Beasley added.

Anything uncovered in the cleanout will go into the yard sale, with all proceeds being put toward taking the theater into the next century.

To learn more about the volunteer day, visit the Facebook event page HERE.