A movie advertisement poster for the theater. Renee Fite | Westville Reporter

WESTVILLE, Oklahoma – A Northwest Arkansas man has built a reputation of turning dilapidated buildings into treasures, with his latest project an old theater in a town across the border in Northeast Oklahoma.

Bob Carlton started by revamping a historic hotel in Westville, Oklahoma, and now he’s taken on the theater, both downtown on main street. Asked why he does the work, he came back with a question of his own: “Why not?”

Both buildings represent important pieces of Westville history and are repaired to the point they will stand a few more decades. The investment in the community is more than structural; it brings vitality to the downtown area, which has almost as many vacant buildings as businesses that are open.

Carlton said he likes old stuff.

“I hate to see it sit here and run down. I wish somebody else would do something to get business in town,” said Carlton.

Originally a morgue, the building became a theater in 1938, burned in 1940, and was rebuilt. In 2020, Carlton started working on the building and spent six months or so bringing it back to its present condition.

He worked about two years on the hotel, replacing flooring and structural boards, cleaning up the place and making other repairs.

“There’s still a lot to do to it. I’m hoping someone will be interested in it. Both buildings are for sale,” he said.

When Carlton purchased the historic Sunset Theater, he found a number of original items.

“The original fountain drink machine from 1938-’40 was restored. We served Pepsi and popcorn at the last big car show,” said Carlton.

He found the Pepsi machine and ice machine backstage. His nephew, David, got them working. The projector upstairs is from 1938, and it works, too.

“There were about 100 films here when I bought the theater,” he said.

A lot of old equipment is still in the theater and in working condition, he said.

“The ceilings took a lot of work. I had to put up a lot of tiles and match one area,” he said.

One area near the top of the seating area had been turned into a bathroom. Gum packages and popcorn bags were found in the seats.

“Every seat in there had gum under it,” said Carlton.

He also found Upcoming Attraction posters.

The original outdoor neon sign was removed and restored by a sign company, which returned the sign marquee last summer to its original location atop the theater.

The neon lights in the theater are operational, and he repaired the floor lights by the 150 seats. He added 25 more seats, too.

Carlton has found interesting openings in the brick that were used when the building was a morgue.

He’s is always glad when others restore and rescue old homes and buildings.

“People are starting to buy these old houses and fixing them up,” he said.

He is also working on an older home in Westville that will be for sale soon.

“I like history for the sake of history. I don’t see tearing these old buildings down, when they can be restored,” Carlton said.