Not sure whether this is the right drive-in, the one that opened was listed as the “Open Air” in the Motion Picture Almanacs of the day.
From Billboard, April 24, 1954: “Groton Open Air Theater, Inc., headed by J. Lawrence Peters, New London, Conn., has started construction of a 850-car capacity drive-in at Groton, Conn., with completion slated for late May. The corporation has applied to the Connecticut State Police Commissioner, Hartford, for certificate of approval to operate the theater. Other officers are: Vice-president, Isadore Fishbone: secretary, Harry Picazio Jr. and treasurer, Anthony Albino. The land is held by Fapp Realty, Inc., and will be leased to the theater corporation.”
This photo is identical to a 1979 photo by John Margolies. That photo is in the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive at the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
Back then, the drive-in was on Wyoming Avenue, barely within the Albuquerque city limits. The adjacent, co-owned Terrace Drive-In was barely outside the city, which might be why it was a separate drive-in.
Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Wyoming with a capacity of 1000 cars. Its final show was on Sept. 18, 1978.
This photo is identical to a 1977 photo by John Margolies. That photo is now in the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive at the Library of Congress and is effectively in the public domain.
Indeed, this drive-in site is in Sappington, but that’s just an unincorporated census-designated place in St. Louis County. As jwmovies pointed out, the current indoor Ronnie’s Cinema near the site lists a St. Louis mailing address.
Aha! I finally found the remains of the old Lincoln, intact except for the screen, in a 1956 USGS photo. At some point they reworked the intersections near there, but the site is the large open field south of 1311 South Beason Road (AKA County Road 1500 N), so that makes a better address.
This drive-in’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book’s list wasn’t until 1951 (as the Car-Vue Drive-In). That’s not conclusive, but it’s another data point suggesting that the drive-in opened in 1950.
The Hi-Way, capacity 400, owners Paul Kerrigan, first appeared in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog. The Catalog, along with all other contemporary drive-in lists, included the drive-in under Frackville because it was about two miles west of that town.
Early Motion Picture Almanacs listed it as the Hiway, capacity 300, owner Highway Drive-In, Inc. In 1962 the owner changed to M. L. Heinback. The 1977-82 MPA editions raised the drive-in’s capacity to 500. The Hiway’s owner changed to H. Crisswell in 1985, and that’s how it stayed through the last MPA list in 1988.
The Hiway was still intact in a 1992 aerial photo, but the screen was gone by 1999. Google Maps lists the location with an Ashland PA address although Ashland is significantly farther away than Frackville.
Billboard, March 20, 1954: “First drive-in for Bethlehem, Pa., has a May opening planned. It will be located near the Butztown city line. Harold Hirshberg, who operates the Palace Theater, Bethlehem, said the operation sponsored by a group of his associates will be built at a cost of $175,000 and will accommodate 900 cars. The drive-in will be erected on a 20-acre site purchased by the newly formed company, Bethlehem Amusement Corporation, of which Hirshberg is secretary. He said the local project will be the first outdoor theater in the country built exclusively for CinemaScope. Acreage will permit construction of long driveways, all modern equipment, a playground for children and a nursery.”
This is the first I’ve heard of this brand of shenanigans. Did this really happen elsewhere, or was it a Fort Worth thing?
Billboard, March 6, 1954: “A new menace has come to plague Texas drive-in operators. Its still the teen-agers who before made off with speakers. Now, according to Earl Powell, manager of Parkaire Drive-In, Fort Worth, the vogue is for youngsters to form a motorcade of about 20 cars and make a lightning-like charge on the drive-in. Just after the last show starts and theater personnel have left their posts, the motorcade pounces down on the drive-in and to speed around the theater, driving bumper-to-bumper, and spraying gravel into the windshields of cars viewing the film while keeping their horns blowing.”
Billboard, Jan. 30, 1954: “Jenson and Wilkerson, owners-operators of the Rhea Theater, Denver City, Tex., have purchased land on which they plan to construct a new drive-in theater.”
If that was a bluff, it looks like it worked.
Billboard, Feb, 27, 1954: “Bill Jenson and Reese Wilkerson have purchased the Mustang Drive-In, Denver City. Tex. Jenson owns the Rhea Theater there with Wilkerson as city manager.”
Billboard, Jan. 2, 1954: “Col. H. A. Cole has closed his drive-in for the season at Bonham, Tex., but has reopened the Elie (sic?) after a remodeling program.”
Outstanding catch, Kris4077! I just uploaded a 1950 USGS aerial for that spot which confirms it, south of 21st St about halfway between Fairlawn and Wanamaker.
The drive-in was still intact enough on Feb. 4, 2006 that a murdered woman was found in a storage building there. YourCentralValley.com wrote yesterday that the culprit had just been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
In the July 22, 1988 article announcing that Salina’s 81 Drive-In would not reopen, the Hutchinson News wrote that Dickinson also owned a drive-in in Pittsburg that had closed. Perhaps the 69’s final shows were in 1987 as were the 81’s.
And yes, I would happily pay $5 for a good photo of this drive-in’s sign. :)
The Trails End was one of the few drive-ins that were in every Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list from the first in the 1950-51 edition to the last in 1988. Its first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book’s lists was 1951, so my guess would be a 1950 opening.
The closing date is even fuzzier. The drive-in looked operational in a 1981 aerial photo, and it was still included in a 1983 topo map, but the screen was gone in a 1991 aerial.
Boxoffice noted on Oct. 29, 1962 that 38-year-old Calvin A. Strowig was running as a Republican for the state House of Representatives. “Strowig and his brother Bob are partners in several theatres including the Plaza and Trail’s End Drive-In at Abilene and other houses in Oklahoma and Iowa.”
The April 6, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, AKA the 1966 Theatre Catalog, had a full page on the Westgate. The photos have already been uploaded, and here’s some of the text:
The new 2,000 car Westgate Drive-In, a show place for drive-in entertainment in New Orleans, boasts a 135 ft. wide screen, distinctive sign, and six-lane boxoffice which allows easy traffic flow and spacious drives leading to well lighted lamp entrances. …
Illuminated aisles show the way to the impressive concession area, which uses colorful formica counters, wood paneling and wrought iron railings to create an attractive, French quarter mood.
Ballantyne’s Ed Nelson drew plans for the Westgate for Mrs. Stella Landaiche, owner. Local contractor was James Hoffa.
The April 6, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, AKA the 1966 Theatre Catalog, gave the new Thunderbird a full page. The photos have already been posted here, and here’s some of the text:
Fox West Coast Theatres' new Thunderbird Drive-In represents an investment of approximately $600,000 in land and structures. Architext Gale Santocono of San Francisco drew the plans for the 1,182 car drive-in, located on Folson Boulevard at Sunrise Avenue, east of Rancho Cordova.
Its 74-ft. high screen tower has a special corrugated facing which curbs distortion at extreme side viewing angles. A chain link fence, with redwood fillers, is 22 ft. high to mask auto lights on the Boulevard. The entire ramp field, including driveways, is surfaced in asphalt paving meeting roadway standards.
More Starling hijinks reported by the March 29, 1950 issue of the Odessa (TX) American:
SAN ANGELO – (AP) Attorneys for a drive-in theater today appealed to county court two fines of $25 each imposed in corporation court Tuesday on charges of showing “Stromboli,” the film starring Ingrid Bergman.
A jury fined R. S. Starling, owner of the Starlite drive-in, $25 a day for the two days the picture was shown. He was fined for not having a censor board permit to show the film. Ava Smith, county probation officers and a censor board member, ruled the film was not to be shown.
Not sure whether this is the right drive-in, the one that opened was listed as the “Open Air” in the Motion Picture Almanacs of the day.
From Billboard, April 24, 1954: “Groton Open Air Theater, Inc., headed by J. Lawrence Peters, New London, Conn., has started construction of a 850-car capacity drive-in at Groton, Conn., with completion slated for late May. The corporation has applied to the Connecticut State Police Commissioner, Hartford, for certificate of approval to operate the theater. Other officers are: Vice-president, Isadore Fishbone: secretary, Harry Picazio Jr. and treasurer, Anthony Albino. The land is held by Fapp Realty, Inc., and will be leased to the theater corporation.”
This photo is identical to a 1979 photo by John Margolies. That photo is in the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive at the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
Back then, the drive-in was on Wyoming Avenue, barely within the Albuquerque city limits. The adjacent, co-owned Terrace Drive-In was barely outside the city, which might be why it was a separate drive-in.
Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Wyoming with a capacity of 1000 cars. Its final show was on Sept. 18, 1978.
This photo is identical to a 1977 photo by John Margolies. That photo is now in the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive at the Library of Congress and is effectively in the public domain.
Indeed, this drive-in site is in Sappington, but that’s just an unincorporated census-designated place in St. Louis County. As jwmovies pointed out, the current indoor Ronnie’s Cinema near the site lists a St. Louis mailing address.
Aha! I finally found the remains of the old Lincoln, intact except for the screen, in a 1956 USGS photo. At some point they reworked the intersections near there, but the site is the large open field south of 1311 South Beason Road (AKA County Road 1500 N), so that makes a better address.
This drive-in’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book’s list wasn’t until 1951 (as the Car-Vue Drive-In). That’s not conclusive, but it’s another data point suggesting that the drive-in opened in 1950.
The Hi-Way, capacity 400, owners Paul Kerrigan, first appeared in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog. The Catalog, along with all other contemporary drive-in lists, included the drive-in under Frackville because it was about two miles west of that town.
Early Motion Picture Almanacs listed it as the Hiway, capacity 300, owner Highway Drive-In, Inc. In 1962 the owner changed to M. L. Heinback. The 1977-82 MPA editions raised the drive-in’s capacity to 500. The Hiway’s owner changed to H. Crisswell in 1985, and that’s how it stayed through the last MPA list in 1988.
The Hiway was still intact in a 1992 aerial photo, but the screen was gone by 1999. Google Maps lists the location with an Ashland PA address although Ashland is significantly farther away than Frackville.
Billboard, April 10, 1954: “Michael Delfino, co-owner of the Maple Drive-In, Carbondale, Pa., took as his bride Gwen Calibro, also of Carbondale.”
Billboard, April 10, 1954: “The Smith Drive-In Theater has been opened at Carthage. Tex., by Seth and Wilton Smith. co-owners.”
Billboard, March 20, 1954: “First drive-in for Bethlehem, Pa., has a May opening planned. It will be located near the Butztown city line. Harold Hirshberg, who operates the Palace Theater, Bethlehem, said the operation sponsored by a group of his associates will be built at a cost of $175,000 and will accommodate 900 cars. The drive-in will be erected on a 20-acre site purchased by the newly formed company, Bethlehem Amusement Corporation, of which Hirshberg is secretary. He said the local project will be the first outdoor theater in the country built exclusively for CinemaScope. Acreage will permit construction of long driveways, all modern equipment, a playground for children and a nursery.”
This is the first I’ve heard of this brand of shenanigans. Did this really happen elsewhere, or was it a Fort Worth thing?
Billboard, March 6, 1954: “A new menace has come to plague Texas drive-in operators. Its still the teen-agers who before made off with speakers. Now, according to Earl Powell, manager of Parkaire Drive-In, Fort Worth, the vogue is for youngsters to form a motorcade of about 20 cars and make a lightning-like charge on the drive-in. Just after the last show starts and theater personnel have left their posts, the motorcade pounces down on the drive-in and to speed around the theater, driving bumper-to-bumper, and spraying gravel into the windshields of cars viewing the film while keeping their horns blowing.”
Billboard, Jan. 30, 1954: “Jenson and Wilkerson, owners-operators of the Rhea Theater, Denver City, Tex., have purchased land on which they plan to construct a new drive-in theater.”
If that was a bluff, it looks like it worked.
Billboard, Feb, 27, 1954: “Bill Jenson and Reese Wilkerson have purchased the Mustang Drive-In, Denver City. Tex. Jenson owns the Rhea Theater there with Wilkerson as city manager.”
Billboard, Jan. 30, 1954: “Humberto Gonzales has opened a drive-in theater at Zapata, Tex.”
Sounds like the Elite reopened for a while.
Billboard, Jan. 2, 1954: “Col. H. A. Cole has closed his drive-in for the season at Bonham, Tex., but has reopened the Elie (sic?) after a remodeling program.”
Billboard, Jan. 2, 1954: “Gene Nelson is manager of the new Albany (Tex.) Drive-In.”
Outstanding catch, Kris4077! I just uploaded a 1950 USGS aerial for that spot which confirms it, south of 21st St about halfway between Fairlawn and Wanamaker.
The drive-in was still intact enough on Feb. 4, 2006 that a murdered woman was found in a storage building there. YourCentralValley.com wrote yesterday that the culprit had just been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
In the July 22, 1988 article announcing that Salina’s 81 Drive-In would not reopen, the Hutchinson News wrote that Dickinson also owned a drive-in in Pittsburg that had closed. Perhaps the 69’s final shows were in 1987 as were the 81’s.
And yes, I would happily pay $5 for a good photo of this drive-in’s sign. :)
In the July 22, 1988 article announcing that the 81 would not reopen, the Hutchinson News wrote that the drive-in “first opened in the late 1940s”.
The Trails End was one of the few drive-ins that were in every Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list from the first in the 1950-51 edition to the last in 1988. Its first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book’s lists was 1951, so my guess would be a 1950 opening.
The closing date is even fuzzier. The drive-in looked operational in a 1981 aerial photo, and it was still included in a 1983 topo map, but the screen was gone in a 1991 aerial.
Boxoffice noted on Oct. 29, 1962 that 38-year-old Calvin A. Strowig was running as a Republican for the state House of Representatives. “Strowig and his brother Bob are partners in several theatres including the Plaza and Trail’s End Drive-In at Abilene and other houses in Oklahoma and Iowa.”
The April 6, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, AKA the 1966 Theatre Catalog, had a full page on the Westgate. The photos have already been uploaded, and here’s some of the text:
The new 2,000 car Westgate Drive-In, a show place for drive-in entertainment in New Orleans, boasts a 135 ft. wide screen, distinctive sign, and six-lane boxoffice which allows easy traffic flow and spacious drives leading to well lighted lamp entrances. …
Illuminated aisles show the way to the impressive concession area, which uses colorful formica counters, wood paneling and wrought iron railings to create an attractive, French quarter mood.
Ballantyne’s Ed Nelson drew plans for the Westgate for Mrs. Stella Landaiche, owner. Local contractor was James Hoffa.
The April 6, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, AKA the 1966 Theatre Catalog, gave the new Thunderbird a full page. The photos have already been posted here, and here’s some of the text:
Fox West Coast Theatres' new Thunderbird Drive-In represents an investment of approximately $600,000 in land and structures. Architext Gale Santocono of San Francisco drew the plans for the 1,182 car drive-in, located on Folson Boulevard at Sunrise Avenue, east of Rancho Cordova.
Its 74-ft. high screen tower has a special corrugated facing which curbs distortion at extreme side viewing angles. A chain link fence, with redwood fillers, is 22 ft. high to mask auto lights on the Boulevard. The entire ramp field, including driveways, is surfaced in asphalt paving meeting roadway standards.
Billboard, June 7, 1952: “New Hi Ho Drive-In Theater has been opened at Spur, Tex., by J. D. McCain.”
More Starling hijinks reported by the March 29, 1950 issue of the Odessa (TX) American:
SAN ANGELO – (AP) Attorneys for a drive-in theater today appealed to county court two fines of $25 each imposed in corporation court Tuesday on charges of showing “Stromboli,” the film starring Ingrid Bergman.
A jury fined R. S. Starling, owner of the Starlite drive-in, $25 a day for the two days the picture was shown. He was fined for not having a censor board permit to show the film. Ava Smith, county probation officers and a censor board member, ruled the film was not to be shown.