The Jones Family has seen a lot in the last 106 years of operating theaters in the Shawnee, OK area. Now, that includes a global pandemic shutdown and reopening.

Jake Jones immigrated to America from Lebanon in 1888. He made his way to Shawnee and opened the Cozy Theater on Main Street in 1914. He expanded his empire to include the Savoy/State and the Odeon/Jake theaters. The Cozy became the still existing live entertainment theater, The Ritz.

When he died in 1947, his son Johnny Jones, Sr purchased two theaters in Stillwater, the Hornbeck of downtown Shawnee, and the drive-in theaters in Shawnee and Tecumseh, the next community south.

In 1972, the current owner, Ronny Jones took over management. One of his first tasks was to split the enormous Hornbeck Theater into the art-deco Hornbeck/Penthouse Twin that we see today. Ronny Jones saw the transition from the drive-in Starlight to the current Cinema 8 and eventually took over the mall's Movies 6, too. He oversaw upgrades to stadium seating and the latest sound and screen advances.

Jones Theaters have reopened with enhanced cleaning and mask requirement. Concessions are also available for take-out. Who's missed that movie theater popcorn? Me!!

While visiting Shawnee, visit one of the one of Shawnee's state-of-the-art theaters or our architectural classic, Twin.