EASTSIDE AESTHETIC
What’s old is new again inside former Douglass High School
While some will spend Friday waiting in lines at area stores, another “Black Friday” will celebrate the arts and the rebirth of the Auditorium at Douglass.
The auditorium, closed off to the public for decades, will open its doors with “Black Friday” starting at 7 p.m. with an array of films, live music and poetry readings as its operators prepare to show off what they hope will be a leading community venue for the predominantly black northeast Oklahoma City.
“We’ve done so much to this room, so many have put so much into this room, and we want to show the community what has been done,” said Jabee Williams, who is overseeing bookings for the auditorium. “We want different events, whether it’s music, art or plays. We want to open it up to see what we can do
here with the lights, the sound and the stage.”
The auditorium is part of a redevelopment of the former Page Woodson school, which in the 1950s was home to Douglass High School. The school building itself, at 600 N High Ave., reopened earlier this year as housing after having been abandoned for a quarter century.
The auditorium, meanwhile, was renovated by developers Ron and Jason Bradshaw, but the task of raising money to equip the auditorium to be a community event center was taken up by Progress OKC.
Neila Crank-Clements, executive director of Progress OKC, said the community development corporation was started two years ago to take on projects like the auditorium — projects that can help revitalize struggling communities in Oklahoma City.
“The purpose is to strengthen
and preserve the social economic fabric of so many communities that have been disenfranchised in our city,” Crank-Clements said. “We started here in northeast Oklahoma City because of the decades of disinvestment. Our first project has been working with the development of Page Woodson, starting with the Auditorium at the Douglass.”
Over the past year, Progress OKC has raised $250,000 and is working to attract another $180,000 to finish the job.
The campaign includes sponsoring of some of the original seats that for $500 can be dedicated with a plaque to a beloved teacher or community leader.
“Originally the auditorium had over 900 seats, but they were smaller,” Crank-Clements said. “The auditorium was added in 1933 and was not original to the building, which was built in 1910. The developer came in and added some new seats that are more comfortable. We’re at 715 seats total capacity, which fills a niche in our community that has not been met.”
Williams, a popular rapper
and partner in the Tower Theatre along Uptown NW 23, was hired by Progress OKC to promote the Auditorium at Douglass as its community space coordinator. The auditorium already has attracted interest from Douglass High School alums wishing to book it for their 1958 reunion, as well as for sorority fundraisers.
“People are always coming in here, talking to us about how they went to school here,” Williams said. “Douglass itself is a staple on the east side. The school is the east side. It was a black school, and that’s important. It’s awesome to see something that has so much history being brought back to life.”
Williams believes the Auditorium at Douglass can give a boost to eastside arts groups and performers who have needed a stage to elevate their work.
“I got involved because I felt like this should become a cultural hub for the east side,” Williams said. “This room should be a place for the community and for all that the east side does have to offer. It’s just so important that we let people in and be a part of that.”