Guided Tour
Live Performance or Screening
Attend a production, concert, or film screening in the 589-seat Greek Revival hall, restored by a citizens' preservation group after the building sat closed for over a decade.
- Duration:
- 2 hr
No photograph
on file
Est. 1911on file
HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
- 01Backstage apparition and light footsteps first reported during 1980s restoration
- 02Unexplained sighs picked up on a switched-off microphone
- 03Repeated identical door sounds with no one present
- 04A child's voice heard by multiple witnesses
+ 1 further entry on record
Theater / Performance Venue
Constantine Theater
An 1880s hotel turned 1914 Greek Revival opera house on Pawhuska's Main Street, said to be haunted by the owner's daughter, Sappho Constantine.
110 W Main St, Pawhuska, OK 74056
Wheelchair Accessible
Research-Backed · 6 sources
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by production; see website for current schedule and pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor historic theater; downtown Main Street storefront.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1911 · 1880s hotel converted to a Greek Revival opera house by C.C. Constantine in 1911 · Official 1914 grand opening with a touring Broadway production · Operated as Pawhuska's last indoor movie house (as the Kihekah Theatre) until 1974 · Restored 1984-1986 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The building at 110 W Main Street in Pawhuska began as the Pawhuska House hotel in the 1880s, when the town was the seat of the Osage Nation's newly designated county. In 1911, C.C. Constantine took over the property and had it remodeled into an opera house, with a terracotta proscenium and pressed tin ceiling done in Greek Revival style. The theater held an informal opening in 1914 with a silent film screening of Neptune's Daughter, and an official grand opening that December 22 featuring a live touring production of the Broadway musical The Prince of Pilsen.
As cinema displaced vaudeville, the venue was renamed the Kihekah Theatre around 1926 and operated as Pawhuska's last indoor movie house for decades. It closed in 1974 amid declining downtown attendance. The building sat vacant for a decade until 1984, when local residents formed the Pawhuska Downtown Revitalization and Preservation Association to restore it to its historical appearance.
That restoration effort succeeded in listing the theater on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, along with membership in the National League of Historic Theatres. Today the 589-seat hall is managed by a volunteer board, the Constantine Arts Council Trust Authority, and hosts live theater, concerts, and film screenings.
The building's two eras — hotel and theater — both left a documented mark on Osage County history. Two deaths in the building's hotel years, one from pneumonia in 1895 and one from typhoid fever in 1905, are cited by local researchers as the origin point for reports of unexplained activity that predate the 1914 theater conversion by years.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Theater
- https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.1746
- https://ktul.com/news/investigations/haunted-oklahoma-someone-or-something-still-performing-at-historic-theater
- https://constantinetheater.com/history
- https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/13043
- https://www.ghosttheory.com/2009/07/02/constantine-theater-investigation
Backstage apparition and light footsteps first reported during 1980s restorationUnexplained sighs picked up on a switched-off microphoneRepeated identical door sounds with no one presentA child's voice heard by multiple witnessesSounds attributed to a phantom brawl tied to the building's hotel era
The theater's central ghost story centers on Sappho Constantine, described in local accounts as the daughter of the theater's namesake owner. According to the Pawhuska preservation community, workmen restoring the building in the 1980s were the first to report her presence, describing light footsteps and an apparition backstage. A 1987 Tulsa World article carried the story to a wider audience, and it has circulated in Pawhuska ever since, including a mention in Ellen Robson and Dianne Halicki's 1999 book Haunted Highway: The Spirits of Route 66.
A 2016 KTUL investigative segment interviewed several people connected to the building, including members of the Constantine Arts Council Trust Authority. Vanessa Rouse described a general sense of presence in the space; volunteer Serena Jeffers reported hearing sighs through a microphone that had been switched off; then-president Garrett Hartness described hearing the same door sound repeat three times; and Laurie O'Driscoll said three people in her group heard what sounded like a child's voice. A visiting paranormal investigator, Jeremy Koscelny of Nowata Bartlesville Paranormal Investigators, cautioned that unexplained is not the same as paranormal.
Separately, some local tellings connect sounds of a phantom brawl to the building's earlier decades as the Pawhuska House hotel, and a handful of visitors have speculated that early 1900s opera singer Enrico Caruso's spirit lingers from the venue's vaudeville era, though that claim has no documented tie to an actual Caruso appearance at the theater and should be treated as folklore rather than history.
Notable Entities
Sappho Constantine (daughter of the theater's namesake owner, per local tradition)
Media Appearances
- Haunted Highway: The Spirits of Route 66 (book, 1999)
- Haunted Oklahoma: Someone (or something) still performing at historic theater (KTUL news investigation, 2016)
Plan Your Visit
2 ways to experience Self-Guided Visit
Historic Main Street Exterior
View the theater's Main Street facade, one of the anchors of Pawhuska's National Register-listed downtown, and check the History page for the building's run as a hotel, opera house, and movie house.
- Duration:
- 20 min
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Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
- 1.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Theater
- 2.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.1746
- 3.ktul.com/news/investigations/haunted-oklahoma-someone-or-something-still-performing-at-historic-theater
- 4.constantinetheater.com/history
- 5.cinematreasures.org/theaters/13043
- 6.ghosttheory.com/2009/07/02/constantine-theater-investigation
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Constantine Theater family-friendly?
A working community theater with family-appropriate programming; the ghost lore is atmospheric rather than intense. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Constantine Theater?
Ticket prices vary by production; see website for current schedule and pricing.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Constantine Theater wheelchair accessible?
Yes, Constantine Theater is wheelchair accessible. Terrain: Ground-floor historic theater; downtown Main Street storefront..