July 15, 1928
The Circle is Born
The Circle Theatre opened with "Across the Atlantic" and quickly became a beloved neighborhood spot, drawing families and kids to see silent films, serials, and cartoons. Located on Lewis just south of Admiral, it originally sat along Route 66 through Tulsa until 1932.
WHO WE ARE
Creating Community Consciousness Through Film
Circle Cinema is Tulsa’s oldest movie theater. It first opened in 1928 as a silent movie house. Over the years, it showed all kinds of movies, had different owners, and was even closed for a while. In 2002, Clark Wiens and a group of supporters started the Circle Cinema Foundation to save the theater. They bought the building and reopened it in 2004 as a nonprofit movie theater. Since then, Circle has grown with more screens, a bigger lobby, and even brought back its original 1928 pipe organ. Today, Circle is open every day and shows movies from Tulsa and around the world. It also hosts programs that help people learn, connect, and explore new ideas and cultures.
1931
The Organ is Sold
As "talkies" ended the silent film era, the need for live organ accompaniment faded. The Circle’s Robert Morton theatre pipe organ was eventually sold to the Tulsa Scottish Rite organization.
1964
The First Change
The Circle closed for a week for its first major overhaul, adding a new screen, projectors, seating, and carpeting. It reopened with a new focus on “first-run, quality entertainment,” debuting "Dr. Strangelove" under the updated policy.
