In-Town Auto Theatre

3651 E. Main Street,
Columbus, OH 43213

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In-Town Auto Theatre

The grand opening of this newly built drive-in theater was announced for Wednesday evening at 7 o'clock on May 18, 1955 with James Dean in “East of Eden” & Barton MacLane in “Captain Scarface”. The “Columbus Dispatch” advertisement stated it to be “central Ohio’s largest outdoor theatre, spaciously located on Route 40 in an attractive outlying acreage (14 acres) just five miles from Broad Street & High Street”.

Movies were projected on a screen measuring 60 by 110 feet, accommodating the then new CinemaScope and VistaVision films. Sound was heard with individual car speakers and electric heaters allowed a year-round operation.

The concession stand was centrally located and had a large patio in the front for patrons who wished to sit outside of their cars.

The In-Town Auto Theatre closed on September 15, 1965.

Contributed by Dow Ellis

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

Drive-In 54
Drive-In 54 on May 4, 2012 at 7:11 am

The In-Town on the left and Eastside to the right. You can see why the In-Town did not last long.

Mark_L
Mark_L on May 4, 2012 at 7:55 am

The In-Town closed on 9/15/1975.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on January 23, 2013 at 1:28 pm

Are you sure about the closing date? I lived in Columbus from 1968-75, and what I remember at this address is a Zayre department store, a SupeRx drugstore, and various smaller shops clustered around a big parking lot.

Mark_L
Mark_L on January 23, 2013 at 1:51 pm

Thanks for catching my typing error, Ron. Should be 9/15/1965.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on January 23, 2013 at 2:44 pm

This location is now a Wal-Mart.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on January 3, 2022 at 5:49 am

Opened on 18th May 1955 with “East of Eden” and “Captain Scarface”.

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