Sometimes, the effectiveness of a project like the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame’s renovation isn’t determined solely by the technological improvements, the upgraded spiffiness of the surroundings, the new attractions assembled for visitors. It can also be measured by something not as tangible, but every bit as important.
Just ask Tony Corbell, executive director of the Muskogee-based OMHF.
“I think the buzz around town is, really, the most satisfying part for me,” he says. “It’s the smile on everybody’s face when I go into a restaurant or stop to get gas. They’ll come up and say, ‘Oh, I’ll bet you’re excited. I know you can’t wait.’ Everybody’s on board with it. Nobody’s saying, ‘What a waste of money.’ They’re all saying, ‘This is a great thing.’”
Established in 1997, the OMHF moved to Muskogee’s former Frisco Freight Depot in the early 2000s. Utilizing space in both the old building and a vintage caboose, the hall was able to showcase its dozens of inductees and their memorabilia, making the site a bona fide tourist attraction. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should say here that, in 2003, I was honored to become the first writer inducted into the hall.) It’s also been used for a number of musical and other events.
But as popular as it’s been, there’s still plenty of room for it to grow – especially in the public consciousness. That’s according to Corbell, who remembers why the refurbishing effort got started in the first place.
“Our former mayor, Marlon Coleman, was talking one day with Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, and they got around to the topic of Muskogee, and how it’s such a music town, with the hall of fame and its building, and the lieutenant governor came out of that conversation saying, ‘You guys have one of the best-kept secrets in the state. You’re dedicated to honoring all these incredible musicians, and the building you’ve got is old. It’s never had an update. It’s never had a facelift. It’s a 1903 building – that still looks like a 1903 building.’” Corbell laughs.
“He said, ‘I want to help make Muskogee one of the top tourist destinations in the state, right next to Tulsa and Oklahoma City. And you guys can do it. You’ve got the right group of people that you’re honoring every day.’
“So they set about putting together this deal. Initially, I think it was something like $2.6 million that the state was going to invest in the building. And then there was a little bit more to help with marketing and things. One day he made the comment, “Every highway on the way to Muskogee needs to have a billboard with you guys on it. We’re going to make sure that we don’t forget you once we get this building finished. We’re going to continue to help.’”
While Corbell gives grateful credit to Pinnell and the state of Oklahoma for the project, he also notes that the city of Muskogee and its leaders helped out as well.
“They put on a brand-new roof and redid all of the HVAC for the building, so we’ve got five or six very large units on the roof for our heat and air. And, of course, the city owns the building. We’re in there kind of rent-free, I think.” He laughs again. “I understand that the rent’s supposed to be a dollar a year – but they’ve never collected.
“The city has been very, very supportive of us. They give us a partnership grant every year to help fund some of our operations. So they have an investment in the building as well, and I know they’re awfully proud of it.”
The city government also set Corbell up with an office in the Muskogee Civic Center, where, he says, “we took a lot of our collections of things that inducted members have donated to the hall. We’ve got 20 or 30 signed guitars. We’ve got some of Wanda Jackson’s stage clothing and Ronnie Dunn’s boots.”
That memorabilia has been on display at the civic center since early 2025, when the remodeling began at the depot.
By Sept. 26, the scheduled time for the hall to reopen – Corbell calls it “the day of our open house” – the renovations will have taken the better part of two years. Among the new features will be an improved and enlarged stage, a new studio for podcasting and recording, a catering kitchen, and digital kiosks spotlighting Oklahoma artists – including eight in the caboose that feature artists talking about their favorite songs, with printed lyrics and the recordings themselves readily accessible. There’s even an AI component that can interact with people, asking them about their moods and what musical genre they like best, and then creating a virtual album cover that can be emailed to the visitor’s computer or phone.
“I’ve been playing with it a little bit,” he admits with a chuckle. “It’s pretty amazing what it can do. And that’ll be a free gift from the hall of fame, included in your visit.”
While all these cutting-edge components were being added to the hall, Corbell wanted to make sure that the classic parts of the buildings weren’t lost.
“The floor was put down in 1907, same year as Oklahoma statehood, and we wanted to leave it just as it was,” he explains. “So I said, ‘Don’t sand it. Don’t even mop it. Just leave the floor alone. It’ll be fine.’ And, ‘Don’t touch our bricks, those exposed bricks along the walls.’ So when you walk in, you’ll still see all of that. And you’ll see our 150-year-old, or more, loading-dock doors still hanging.
“After that,” he adds, “everything is new.”
Corbell says that the big Sept. 26 open house will feature bands throughout the day, playing on the venue’s outdoor stage, along with free tours of the hall of fame. Fittingly enough, a ribbon-cutting with Lieutenant Governor Pinnell “and whatever stars can get us on their calendars” is set for the afternoon, followed by an evening concert by the Swon Brothers, two Muskogeans who’ve gone on to make a name for themselves on the national country-music scene.
“You know, those boys, when they were kids, worked with [the hall’s late former director] Jim Paul Blair, helping to clean up and mop the hall,” says Corbell. “They had an afternoon off last week and came by to see the changes, and when they left, they said, ‘Man, we can’t wait to get on that new stage.’”
The Swon Brothers are just a couple of the latest Oklahomans to make a name for themselves in the entertainment business, which leads to a question I always like to ask people like Tony Corbell – that is, those who are in a position to know. Is there really something so special about this state and the musical figures who’ve come out of it over the years, or are we just kidding ourselves and inflating the importance of Oklahoma artists?
“When I was 13, 14, years old, living in South Texas, I was a rock ‘n’ roll drummer,” he replies.
“I did that for a while, and then my photographic career kicked in and I spent 30 years in San Diego. I’ve been around a lot of music in my life. But I’ve never been around such a concentration of great singers, songwriters, and sidemen. I’ve never seen anything like it in Los Angeles, Texas – anywhere. It’s pretty overwhelming.”
He feels that the renovations will leave patrons with that same feeling.
“It’s really spectacular what they’ve done,” he says. “The energy around this – I can’t even begin to tell you how exciting it is.”
