Broncho Theater and Hospital

The Broncho Theater

 By 1929, the age of the "talkies" arrived and older theaters had gone out of business in Edmond. A two-story building on the corner of Main and Broadway, built in 1935 by W.Z. "Willie" Spearman eventually became the home of the Broncho Theater. In its hey-day, the Broncho featured carpeted aisles, draperies, rest rooms and two projection booths with synchronized sound.

The Broncho's first showing was on January 10, 1936. The Gem Theater continued to operate until the 1950's. The Broncho was eventually sold to R.R. McCoy, and the theater operated on and off into the 1970's.

Edmond Hospital

Edmond Hospital was originally located on the second floor of the same Spearman building, just above the Broncho Theater downtown. It was a chilly day in February of 1947, just three days before the official opening of Edmond Memorial Hospital, when a young woman in labor would become the very first patient of a highly anticipated new medical center in downtown Edmond. Located above the Broncho Theater on the southwest corner of Broadway and Main, the small hospital was founded and built by a group of community business leaders and physicians determined to provide Edmond's citizens with a quality hospital in their own community. At the time, Edmond was a small town separated from Oklahoma City by miles of open farmland. However, strong community support was immediately evident as local townspeople began donating sheets, towels, pots, and pans to the hospital.

The hospital continued to flourish until 1967 when the a new 35 bed hospital opened its doors on the northwest corner of Second Street and Bryant.

An old poster from April 1940, when a ticket to the movies at Broncho Theater cost 20 cents until 6:00pm, after 6:00, prices increased to 25 cents.

Photograph of Broncho Theater & Hospital, Edmond Historical Society Collections.

Crowder, James, Historic Edmond: An Illustrated History, Lammert Publications, San Antonio, 2000.