This could have been another “pop-up” temporary drive-in, as aerial photos and topo maps from the 1950s and 1960s show no evidence of drive-in remnants in the vicinity.
jwmovies, do you have an aerial photo showing the outline of the drive-in? I could not find any evidence of a drive-in at the location you provided.
I did find an advertisement for the drive-in in a 1953 high school yearbook which provides location information for Cruise-In Theater as “1 mile north of Lillington on 15-A.”
There were no physical remnants of the drive-in on aerial photos of that area which I examined, which leads me to believe that this was probably a temporary “pop-up” type of drive-in, with no ramps or permanent structures.
The above address will map accurately to the approximate location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by a soccer complex. Aerial photo has been uploaded.
The above address would be more precise. There is now an Advance Auto Parts store where the drive-in used to be. The 205 address is where the K-Mart is, but that is 750 feet too far west from where the drive-in was located.
I think the orientation of the aerial photo is off by 45 degrees clockwise. Hwy 501 runs from southeast to northwest, and the drive-in was on the northeast side of the road.
Sometimes the mapping ability on different web mapping sites is misaligned, and the correct address does not go where it is supposed to be. In those instances, intersections are probably more useful than road numbers. GPS coordinates and aerial photos are best for long-term documentation, since road numbers and road names can change over time.
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which was across Carolina Beach Road from the Star Way Drive-In, also in Wilmington.
There is a gas station where the entrance used to be, and the location of the drive-in is now a medical complex with a large drainage pond.
Found a few clues o the location of this drive-in after reading an article in the Gastonia Gazette from November 27, 1947, page 7, about the construction of a new drive-in on Gastonia-Kings Mountain Road, probably in reference to the Diane Drive-in, aka US 29 Diane Drive-In.
The article mentions the name of the owner of the new drive-in which was under construction as P. B. Grigg of Lincolnton, and that he “also was operating the Friendly Drive-in Theatre in Lincolnton” which was the main clue to the location of the drive-in, which was previously indicated to be on US 321 in Gastonia. It was located much further north on what is now US 321 Business, or North Aspen Street. I found the drive-in using a 1951 aerial photo on HistoricAerial.com.
Lincolnton is roughly 15 miles north of Gastonia, but they probably advertised heavily in the Gastonia Gazette, as it was a much larger town with a wider circulation.
The address of the drive-in is:
2220 N Aspen St
Lincolnton, NC 28092
The site is currently occuped by Carmike Cinema 8.
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in. The address provided by jwmovies is for the Hickory Drive-In, which was in a different location.
The Thunderbird Drive-In was also on Springs Rd, but was located ½ mile the the west.
Nighthawk’s location for the drive-in is off by roughly 8/10 of a mile to the north.
The drive-in is under the northwest cloverleaf at the intersection of Wilmington Hwy and NC-24.
For mapping and address purposes, Wilmington Hwy at Yopp Rd will map accurately to the former location of the drive-in. An aerial photo from 1974 has been uploaded to this CT page.
No trace of the drive-in remains today, as it was completely wiped out when the Wilmington Hwy at NC-24 interchange was built.
Forest Drive-In is also showing the same address, either this was aka or something is mixed up. Does anyone have access to newspaper ads, or is familiar enough with the area to provide accurate address information?
This could have been another “pop-up” temporary drive-in, as aerial photos and topo maps from the 1950s and 1960s show no evidence of drive-in remnants in the vicinity.
jwmovies, do you have an aerial photo showing the outline of the drive-in? I could not find any evidence of a drive-in at the location you provided.
I did find an advertisement for the drive-in in a 1953 high school yearbook which provides location information for Cruise-In Theater as “1 mile north of Lillington on 15-A.”
There were no physical remnants of the drive-in on aerial photos of that area which I examined, which leads me to believe that this was probably a temporary “pop-up” type of drive-in, with no ramps or permanent structures.
3308 Bragg Blvd is the Boulevard Drive-In.
3506 Bragg Blvd is the Midway Drive-In.
4216 Bragg Blvd is the Fort Drive-In.
4701 Bragg Blvd is the Fox Drive-In.
There was another drive-in between Biscoe and Candor on the east side of 220 ALT near Ball Park Road. Does anyone know what it was named?
Is this aka 74 West Drive-In?
4479 Main Street
South Brunswick, NC 28470
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by a used car dealer and a beauty salon.
100 Greenlee Ford Road
Morganton, NC 28655
The above address will map accurately to the approximate location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by a soccer complex. Aerial photo has been uploaded.
305 N Berkeley Blvd. Goldsboro NC 27534
The above address would be more precise. There is now an Advance Auto Parts store where the drive-in used to be. The 205 address is where the K-Mart is, but that is 750 feet too far west from where the drive-in was located.
310 Faith Rd
Salisbury, NC 28146
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is currently occupied by Tire Kingdom.
I think the orientation of the aerial photo is off by 45 degrees clockwise. Hwy 501 runs from southeast to northwest, and the drive-in was on the northeast side of the road.
Sometimes the mapping ability on different web mapping sites is misaligned, and the correct address does not go where it is supposed to be. In those instances, intersections are probably more useful than road numbers. GPS coordinates and aerial photos are best for long-term documentation, since road numbers and road names can change over time.
River Rd, .2 mile east of Park View Dr
Washington, NC 27889
There’s a drive-in there, visible on Google Earth 1993 imagery.
545 Concord Pkwy N
Concord, NC 28027
The site of the drive-in is now a K-Mart.
3604 Market St
Wilmington, NC 28403
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by Super 8 Motel.
Market Street is also US 17 Business, and is located in the north part of town.
Does anyone know if this was aka Wilmington Drive-In?
2395 Carolina Beach Rd, Wilmington, NC 28401
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which was across Carolina Beach Road from the Star Way Drive-In, also in Wilmington.
There is a gas station where the entrance used to be, and the location of the drive-in is now a medical complex with a large drainage pond.
Found a few clues o the location of this drive-in after reading an article in the Gastonia Gazette from November 27, 1947, page 7, about the construction of a new drive-in on Gastonia-Kings Mountain Road, probably in reference to the Diane Drive-in, aka US 29 Diane Drive-In.
The article mentions the name of the owner of the new drive-in which was under construction as P. B. Grigg of Lincolnton, and that he “also was operating the Friendly Drive-in Theatre in Lincolnton” which was the main clue to the location of the drive-in, which was previously indicated to be on US 321 in Gastonia. It was located much further north on what is now US 321 Business, or North Aspen Street. I found the drive-in using a 1951 aerial photo on HistoricAerial.com.
Lincolnton is roughly 15 miles north of Gastonia, but they probably advertised heavily in the Gastonia Gazette, as it was a much larger town with a wider circulation.
The address of the drive-in is:
2220 N Aspen St Lincolnton, NC 28092
The site is currently occuped by Carmike Cinema 8.
Does anyone know about a Statesville Drive-In, probably open in the late 1940s or early 1950s?
Springs Rd NE at Jeffrey Ln Conover, NC 28613
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in. The address provided by jwmovies is for the Hickory Drive-In, which was in a different location.
The Thunderbird Drive-In was also on Springs Rd, but was located ½ mile the the west.
5933 Brookshire Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28216
Old Greensboro Rd at E 5th St
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which was on Old Greensboro Road at the intersection of E 5th St.
Nighthawk’s location for the drive-in is off by roughly 8/10 of a mile to the north.
The drive-in is under the northwest cloverleaf at the intersection of Wilmington Hwy and NC-24.
For mapping and address purposes, Wilmington Hwy at Yopp Rd will map accurately to the former location of the drive-in. An aerial photo from 1974 has been uploaded to this CT page.
No trace of the drive-in remains today, as it was completely wiped out when the Wilmington Hwy at NC-24 interchange was built.
Forest Drive-In is also showing the same address, either this was aka or something is mixed up. Does anyone have access to newspaper ads, or is familiar enough with the area to provide accurate address information?
3420 Holloway St
Durham, NC 27703
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by Durham Ridge Assisted Living.
4733 Boston Rd
Roxboro, NC 27574
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by Craig Ford Auto Repair.
3619 Ramsey St
Fayetteville, NC 28311
The above address will map accurately to the locatiob of the drive-in, which is now the site of Laser Car Wash and Sonic Drive-In.