Boxoffice, April 15, 1950: “PORTALES, N. M. – Theatre Enterprises opened the new Varsity Drive-In on Elinda (sic) Highway here Easter Sunday (April 9 that year). The theatre will accommodate 250 cars, according to Russell Ackley, manager. The drive-in was completed last fall, but no pictures were shown due to the lateness of the season.”
Elida NM is 25 miles southwest of Portales on US 70, so it must have been the drive-in on the southwest side of town.
An exact date! Boxoffice, April 15, 1950: “ARTESIA, N. M. – Ray Bartlett and his son Bill opened the new 350-car drive-in here on Easter Sunday (April 9 that year). The project includes a concessions stand, playground, in-car speakers and hard-surfaced ramps. It cost an approximate $75,000.”
Boxoffice, April 15, 1950: “OURAY, COLO. – N. J. Denstitt has leased the Ouray Theatre here from Charles Diller. Denstitt has been in the theatre business in Texas.”
Boxoffice, April 8, 1950: “Gus Daskalos and Steve Nitse reported capacity business at the opening of their Vegas Drive-In at Las Vegas, N. M. The new drive-in, with 350-car capacity, cost about $50,000.”
Boxoffice, March 18, 1950: “A new drive-in will open at Layton, Utah, this spring. Arthur W. Thomassen of Kaysville, Mrs. J. J. Bugger of Layton and her two sons J. A. and John J. are scheduled to operate an ozoner a mile and one-half north of Layton on Highway 91 within a few weeks”
Looks like the original “recently” date slipped. Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “OROVILLE, CALIF. – George B. Hickox has sold his half interest in the Mesa Drive-In to Frank S. Devincenzi of Santa Rosa. Newell C. Post, owner of a half interest in the theatre, and Devincenzi will be owners and operators. The theatre, built by Hickox, was opened last November 23.”
Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “Booking and buying for the Los Feliz Drive-In, new 600-car ozoner owned by Marvin Chesebrough, will be handled by Jim Finkler’s booking service. The operation is set for a March 15 opening with Tom Osa as manager.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 18, 1950: “Construction will be launched shortly on the new Starlite Drive-In, an 800-car operation in Rosemead, by B. E. Congdon and Ford and Carl Bratcher. They also operate the Mount Vernon Drive-In in San Bernardino and the Del Rio in Riverside.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 11, 1950: “One drive-in that will operate under a new owner this year is the Blackfoot Motor-Vu in Idaho, which was purchased by Albert Barrett, co-owner of the Roxy Theatre at Blackfoot, and Oscar Paisley, theatre operator of Couer d'Alene. They purchased it from the estate of the late Mayor Merrill C. Boyle.”
The Feb. 5, 1950 Boxoffice had a two-page story about the new Normandy, “a twin drive-in theatre with two identical screens and identical programs. One show starts 20 minutes after the other since one screen faces west and the other east”
On Jan. 7, 1950, Boxoffice reported: “Lem Lee, Paul Rothman, R. C. Otwell and Elden Menagh, all theatre men, are associated in a 400-car, $60,000 drive-in being built at Brighton, Colo.”
On Jan. 21, it listed all drive-ins, including projects, and had both the “Paul Rothman and Elden Menagh, 325” and the “Atlas Theatres, 400” for Brighton.
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1950: Faced with the choice of a new name for the Telenews, Ross McCausland hit on Welton, the name of the street on which the theatre is located. The new name required only one new letter in the sign. The theatre now is first run"
Boxoffice, Jan. 7, 1950: “The new Rancho Drive-In opened last week in Placerville. It is operated by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Freitas and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Freitas of San Juan Bautista and Mr. and Mrs. Victor Banta of Placerville.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 7, 1950: “CLAYTON, N. M. – Construction of a drive-in will be started here this spring by Hubbard & Murphy Theatres, Inc., which operates indoor houses here and in Raton and Alamosa, N. M., and Del Norte, Colo.”
The Motion Picture Almanacs, after a decade of mostly neglecting its drive-in lists, first listed the “Starlite” in 1977 with a capacity of 275. From then until the final MPA list in 1988, it said the owner was “J. Edmundson,” who was James Edmundson of Edmundson Theatres, who also owned the local indoor Cheyenne for a while.
Motion Picture Herald, April 18, 1953: “At Colby, Kansas, a sunrise service was held at the Colby drive-in theatre, Easter Sunday. This was the first service of this type in the area.”
In December, 1949, seven decades ago, the Cheyenne Theater celebrated its grand opening on main street in St. Francis. The 508 seat theater was built by J.B. and Vera Roshong. Vera was the daughter of E.W. Eggleston, an Atwood theater owner who established the first theater in St. Francis in 1914. Eggleston died in 1931, and the Roshong couple managed his original theater until the Cheyenne Theater was built.
At one time, there were more than twice as many people living in Cheyenne County as there are now, and there was virtually no television when Roshong’s built the new theater. So it is easy to imagine that the movie theater was both a powerful attraction and a great business.
One movie-goer recalls that in the mid-1950s, a child could attend the movie with 35 cents: a quarter for the ticket, and popcorn and a drink for a nickel each. (Even these prices might not be the lowest ever offered—click here to read a donor’s comment about this issue.)
In June, 1979, the Roshong’s sold the Cheyenne Theater to Mr. and Mrs. James Edmundson. (Transcriber’s note: This was probably the same James Edmunson who owned the Burlington (CO) Drive-In from 1976 to 1985.) They ran the theater for a number of years, but the Cheyenne Theater was then closed, probably in the mid-1980s.
In 1988, the grand old building was about to be sold to be converted into a warehouse. The thought of such an ignominious end to the local landmark spurred a local group, led by Jerry Renk, to mount a fund-raising campaign to save and renovate the Cheyenne Theater to its former grandeur.
The community of St. Francis responded brilliantly: over $37,000 was donated. Large numbers of people volunteered to help with the huge task of renovating the cavernous building which was in a sad state of neglect from the many years of disuse.
(For much more, including the latest updates of this renovation success story, check out the full history page.)
After soliciting requests for the types of movies patrons wanted to see, the Buckskin opened on April 10, 1955, showing “The Last Time I Saw Paris.” The screen was 85x40 feet, and the top the screen tower was 63 feet high.
The Ignacio Chieftain wrote, on April 8, 1955, “Following the purchase early last summer of four acres of land north of Ignacio from Rex Richmond by Glen Wittstruck and Hank Lieber of Meeker, the work has gone steadily forward … The Liebers are now living upstairs in the new apartment adjoining the projection room and can incidentally see the pictures from their own living room window, if they ever have time for such leisure.”
The Ignacio Chieftain, Jan. 28, 1955: “The Ute Theatre opening date is set for February 4, states Sam English, new leasee of the showhouse. … Mr. English and assistants have been busy since leasing the Ute Theatre a short time ago … from Everett Preston who gave up the movie business when he got the contract for the milk haul to Farmington.”
According to a later note, the Ute actually reopened on Saturday, April 9, 1955, one day before the Grand Opening of the Buckskin Drive-In in town.
A tiny note of Page 2 of the May 6, 1976 issue of the Burlington Record pointed out that “Burlington’s new Drive-In Theatre, owned and operated by Edmundson Theatres, is now open for business.” The drive-in’s ad, not mentioning a grand opening, listed the double feature of “The Killer Elite” and “The Wind and the Lion.”
I failed to find any mention of the drive-in in August-October 1975 issues of the Record, and May 6 was apparently the drive-in’s first ad.
On the other end, the Burlington’s final ad in the Record was Aug. 1, 1985, announcing that it would close for the season after Aug. 4, an unusually early closing. I couldn’t find any ads for it in summer 1986.
A front-page note in the Thursday, July 5, 1951 Brush News-Tribune: “Brush’s new drive-in theater was opened this week one mile east of town on Highway 6. Jake Bauer, owner of the new theater as well as Bauer’s Drive-In at Fort Morgan, announced programs would be changed three times a week … The current attraction at the new theater includes the Colorado Hillbillies in person on the stage and Mickey Rooney in ‘Big Wheel’”.
The Brush’s ad that issue indicated that it was the final day for that movie, suggesting that it had opened earlier.
At the other end of its life, the Brush closed for the season on Sept. 28, 1957. In a note on April 10, 1958 about the indoor Emerson opening under new management, the News-Tribune reported that “according to present plans the Brush Drive-In theater will be abandoned.”
After running grand opening ads set for the 18th all week in the Lamar Daily News, the Kar-Vu shifted the date to May 25, 1950. It met that opening, showing “Red River,” “Return of October,” and always a color cartoon.
As described in the Dec. 10, 1949 Showmen’s Trade Review, Lee’s innovation was to put the large concession stand in the “center of population” two-thirds of the way to the back of the drive-in, well away from the tiny projection booth.
Boxoffice, April 15, 1950: “PORTALES, N. M. – Theatre Enterprises opened the new Varsity Drive-In on Elinda (sic) Highway here Easter Sunday (April 9 that year). The theatre will accommodate 250 cars, according to Russell Ackley, manager. The drive-in was completed last fall, but no pictures were shown due to the lateness of the season.”
Elida NM is 25 miles southwest of Portales on US 70, so it must have been the drive-in on the southwest side of town.
An exact date! Boxoffice, April 15, 1950: “ARTESIA, N. M. – Ray Bartlett and his son Bill opened the new 350-car drive-in here on Easter Sunday (April 9 that year). The project includes a concessions stand, playground, in-car speakers and hard-surfaced ramps. It cost an approximate $75,000.”
Boxoffice, April 15, 1950: “OURAY, COLO. – N. J. Denstitt has leased the Ouray Theatre here from Charles Diller. Denstitt has been in the theatre business in Texas.”
Boxoffice, April 8, 1950: “Gus Daskalos and Steve Nitse reported capacity business at the opening of their Vegas Drive-In at Las Vegas, N. M. The new drive-in, with 350-car capacity, cost about $50,000.”
Boxoffice, March 18, 1950: “A new drive-in will open at Layton, Utah, this spring. Arthur W. Thomassen of Kaysville, Mrs. J. J. Bugger of Layton and her two sons J. A. and John J. are scheduled to operate an ozoner a mile and one-half north of Layton on Highway 91 within a few weeks”
Looks like the original “recently” date slipped. Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “OROVILLE, CALIF. – George B. Hickox has sold his half interest in the Mesa Drive-In to Frank S. Devincenzi of Santa Rosa. Newell C. Post, owner of a half interest in the theatre, and Devincenzi will be owners and operators. The theatre, built by Hickox, was opened last November 23.”
Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “Booking and buying for the Los Feliz Drive-In, new 600-car ozoner owned by Marvin Chesebrough, will be handled by Jim Finkler’s booking service. The operation is set for a March 15 opening with Tom Osa as manager.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 18, 1950: “Construction will be launched shortly on the new Starlite Drive-In, an 800-car operation in Rosemead, by B. E. Congdon and Ford and Carl Bratcher. They also operate the Mount Vernon Drive-In in San Bernardino and the Del Rio in Riverside.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 11, 1950: “One drive-in that will operate under a new owner this year is the Blackfoot Motor-Vu in Idaho, which was purchased by Albert Barrett, co-owner of the Roxy Theatre at Blackfoot, and Oscar Paisley, theatre operator of Couer d'Alene. They purchased it from the estate of the late Mayor Merrill C. Boyle.”
The Feb. 5, 1950 Boxoffice had a two-page story about the new Normandy, “a twin drive-in theatre with two identical screens and identical programs. One show starts 20 minutes after the other since one screen faces west and the other east”
The Feb. 4, 1950 Boxoffice wrote that several visitors from Denver attended “the opening of the Gila, Ed Ward’s new theatre in Silver City, N. M.”
On Jan. 7, 1950, Boxoffice reported: “Lem Lee, Paul Rothman, R. C. Otwell and Elden Menagh, all theatre men, are associated in a 400-car, $60,000 drive-in being built at Brighton, Colo.”
On Jan. 21, it listed all drive-ins, including projects, and had both the “Paul Rothman and Elden Menagh, 325” and the “Atlas Theatres, 400” for Brighton.
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1950: Faced with the choice of a new name for the Telenews, Ross McCausland hit on Welton, the name of the street on which the theatre is located. The new name required only one new letter in the sign. The theatre now is first run"
Boxoffice, Jan. 7, 1950: “The new Rancho Drive-In opened last week in Placerville. It is operated by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Freitas and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Freitas of San Juan Bautista and Mr. and Mrs. Victor Banta of Placerville.”
Billboard, Jan. 7, 1950: “Lem Lee, Paul Rothman, R. C. Otwell … have bought a site for a drive-in at Longmont, Colo.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 7, 1950: “CLAYTON, N. M. – Construction of a drive-in will be started here this spring by Hubbard & Murphy Theatres, Inc., which operates indoor houses here and in Raton and Alamosa, N. M., and Del Norte, Colo.”
The Motion Picture Almanacs, after a decade of mostly neglecting its drive-in lists, first listed the “Starlite” in 1977 with a capacity of 275. From then until the final MPA list in 1988, it said the owner was “J. Edmundson,” who was James Edmundson of Edmundson Theatres, who also owned the local indoor Cheyenne for a while.
Motion Picture Herald, April 18, 1953: “At Colby, Kansas, a sunrise service was held at the Colby drive-in theatre, Easter Sunday. This was the first service of this type in the area.”
From the Cheyenne Theater history page:
In December, 1949, seven decades ago, the Cheyenne Theater celebrated its grand opening on main street in St. Francis. The 508 seat theater was built by J.B. and Vera Roshong. Vera was the daughter of E.W. Eggleston, an Atwood theater owner who established the first theater in St. Francis in 1914. Eggleston died in 1931, and the Roshong couple managed his original theater until the Cheyenne Theater was built.
At one time, there were more than twice as many people living in Cheyenne County as there are now, and there was virtually no television when Roshong’s built the new theater. So it is easy to imagine that the movie theater was both a powerful attraction and a great business.
One movie-goer recalls that in the mid-1950s, a child could attend the movie with 35 cents: a quarter for the ticket, and popcorn and a drink for a nickel each. (Even these prices might not be the lowest ever offered—click here to read a donor’s comment about this issue.)
In June, 1979, the Roshong’s sold the Cheyenne Theater to Mr. and Mrs. James Edmundson. (Transcriber’s note: This was probably the same James Edmunson who owned the Burlington (CO) Drive-In from 1976 to 1985.) They ran the theater for a number of years, but the Cheyenne Theater was then closed, probably in the mid-1980s.
In 1988, the grand old building was about to be sold to be converted into a warehouse. The thought of such an ignominious end to the local landmark spurred a local group, led by Jerry Renk, to mount a fund-raising campaign to save and renovate the Cheyenne Theater to its former grandeur.
The community of St. Francis responded brilliantly: over $37,000 was donated. Large numbers of people volunteered to help with the huge task of renovating the cavernous building which was in a sad state of neglect from the many years of disuse.
(For much more, including the latest updates of this renovation success story, check out the full history page.)
After soliciting requests for the types of movies patrons wanted to see, the Buckskin opened on April 10, 1955, showing “The Last Time I Saw Paris.” The screen was 85x40 feet, and the top the screen tower was 63 feet high.
The Ignacio Chieftain wrote, on April 8, 1955, “Following the purchase early last summer of four acres of land north of Ignacio from Rex Richmond by Glen Wittstruck and Hank Lieber of Meeker, the work has gone steadily forward … The Liebers are now living upstairs in the new apartment adjoining the projection room and can incidentally see the pictures from their own living room window, if they ever have time for such leisure.”
The Ignacio Chieftain, Jan. 28, 1955: “The Ute Theatre opening date is set for February 4, states Sam English, new leasee of the showhouse. … Mr. English and assistants have been busy since leasing the Ute Theatre a short time ago … from Everett Preston who gave up the movie business when he got the contract for the milk haul to Farmington.”
According to a later note, the Ute actually reopened on Saturday, April 9, 1955, one day before the Grand Opening of the Buckskin Drive-In in town.
A tiny note of Page 2 of the May 6, 1976 issue of the Burlington Record pointed out that “Burlington’s new Drive-In Theatre, owned and operated by Edmundson Theatres, is now open for business.” The drive-in’s ad, not mentioning a grand opening, listed the double feature of “The Killer Elite” and “The Wind and the Lion.”
I failed to find any mention of the drive-in in August-October 1975 issues of the Record, and May 6 was apparently the drive-in’s first ad.
On the other end, the Burlington’s final ad in the Record was Aug. 1, 1985, announcing that it would close for the season after Aug. 4, an unusually early closing. I couldn’t find any ads for it in summer 1986.
A front-page note in the Thursday, July 5, 1951 Brush News-Tribune: “Brush’s new drive-in theater was opened this week one mile east of town on Highway 6. Jake Bauer, owner of the new theater as well as Bauer’s Drive-In at Fort Morgan, announced programs would be changed three times a week … The current attraction at the new theater includes the Colorado Hillbillies in person on the stage and Mickey Rooney in ‘Big Wheel’”.
The Brush’s ad that issue indicated that it was the final day for that movie, suggesting that it had opened earlier.
At the other end of its life, the Brush closed for the season on Sept. 28, 1957. In a note on April 10, 1958 about the indoor Emerson opening under new management, the News-Tribune reported that “according to present plans the Brush Drive-In theater will be abandoned.”
After running grand opening ads set for the 18th all week in the Lamar Daily News, the Kar-Vu shifted the date to May 25, 1950. It met that opening, showing “Red River,” “Return of October,” and always a color cartoon.
As described in the Dec. 10, 1949 Showmen’s Trade Review, Lee’s innovation was to put the large concession stand in the “center of population” two-thirds of the way to the back of the drive-in, well away from the tiny projection booth.