The 1931 OKLA Theater is planned for an eventual grand re-opening thanks to a group of McAlester preservationists committed to resurrecting the once-grand venue.

The seven people putting the lights, camera, and action needed to bring movies and people back to the theater make up the OKLA Theater Preservation Society.

WATCH: 'There's nothing like it': McAlester theater closed for decades plans 2026 reopening:

"I was here when I was a kid watching Jaws, watching E.T.," Treasurer Leigh Ann Rubertus said.

Declining business closed the curtain of the 800-seat cinema in 1989, when Uncle Buck was still in theaters. Since then, events have been few and far between while the interior and marquee fell into disrepair.

Last year, the preservation society became the fourth tenant of the building s

See Full Page