The Star of Tinley Park wrote on Aug. 22, 1963 that the “Hilltop” was celebrating its birthday Aug. 23-25. “Five years ago the theatre was transferred from the impersonal step-child operation of a large absentee theatre chain to the family style management of a neighbor.”
Owner manager Irwin S. Joseph said he was building a beach and showing the movie Beach Party that weekend.
On July 15, 2001, apparently not long before the abrupt closure, The Star returned to the “Hill-Top” with an affectionate look at one of the few remaining drive-ins. It was open Fridays through Sundays and often filled to its 500-car capacity on Saturday nights.
It may be that the Manistique has been quiet for a while now. The most recent event I could find was a scary triple feature on Oct. 28, 2018, as shown on the U.S. 2 unofficial Facebook page.
Two weeks later, a GoFundMe page launched with videos and a few details. “The Upper Peninsula Film Union with the help of mBank has been able to temporarily remove the drive-in from the market but we still need to raise funds to secure it permanently,” it said. “We really need funds soon to continue the work we have started, preserve and secure the the property and start getting ready for another fun season of drive-in events in 2019.”
There are still more details in the description of a short YouTube video that was posted in July 2018. “April and Jason Collins own the property on U.S. 2 and have allowed Don Erickson and Eric Sherbinow of the U.P. Film Union to produce movie events that bring back the bygone days of the drive in theater.”
Here’s hoping those U.P. folks can keep it going and eventually restore this drive-in.
The Sept. 24, 1949 issue of BoxOffice reported, “The Auto-Cine, said to be the first drive-in theatre in Mexico, was opened by Mayo Bros. near the Ninos Heroes park in East Juarez.”
TORRINGTON, WYO. – F. W. Chopping, Zube M. Chopping and Bob C. Otwell are operating the new Kar-Vue Drive-In Theatre recently opened here on the Van Tassel highway.
Opening notes from the Sept. 24, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
ALBUQUERQUE – In-car heaters are among features of the new 66 Drive-In recently opened here by Albuquerque Theatres. With a capacity of 550 cars, the new drive-in has a snack bar and an adjoining patio from which patrons may watch the picture on the screen. George Tucker is city manager for the operating company, and H. H. Schulze is manager of the drive-in.
The Sept. 17, 1949 issue of BoxOffice reported, “WINNER, S. D. – The Shoo-Fly Drive-In was opened here recently by owner Don King with Mrs. William Whitford as manager.”
The Sullivan opened on Friday, June 5, 1952, based on a note that day in The Decatur (IL) Daily Review. “The theater is owned and operated by Lee Norton, who also owns the Grand theater in Sullivan.”
On May 1, 1975, the Daily Review reported that George Kerasotes had purchased the Sullivan from Lee and Virginia Norton. Kerasotes said he would keep the place running.
Thomas G. Falk, head of Okay Drive-In Theater, Inc., told the Mattoon Journal Gazette on Feb. 6, 1952 that construction would “begin within a week”. It was on a 14-acre tract with room for expansion from its initial 300-car capacity. Other members of the corporation included Mrs. Eileen M. Falk, Jack Taylor and Mrs. Corma Jane Taylor.
From the Sept. 17, 1949 issue of BoxOffice: “CAMDENTON, MO. – A 150-car drive-in being constructed on Route 5 adjacent to the high school by E. E. Hopkins of Lebanon, Mo., was scheduled to open on Saturday (1).” That would be Sat., Oct. 1, 1949, if it happened.
An early inkling came in the Sept. 17, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
LINCOLN, ILL. – Steve Bennis, theatre operator at Lincoln and Freeport, Ill., and Gus Constan, operator at Decatur and Danville, will build new drive-ins here and in Freeport. Both situations will accommodate 400 cars with a hold-back area of 200 to 300 cars to be added later.
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice explained why the almost-complete drive-in didn’t open that year:
“ROLLA, MO. – Rowe Carney, head of R. E. Carney Theatres, Harry Blunt and associates have purchased ground between new Highway 66 and old 66 as the site for a 500-car drive-in. They hope to have it ready for operation early next spring.
“Previously, Carney contemplated locating the new drive-in on a site north of the Pennant hotel. Under the new arrangement, the firm will abandon the smaller drive-in, which was being constructed by Cecil and Roscoe Hopkins of the Hopkins Motor Sales Co., Lebanon, Mo., which they purchased a few weeks ago. Rolla thus will have only one drive-in, instead of two competing ones. The larger one planned by Carney and his associates will cost about $100,000.”
Then a front-page story in the Rolla Daily Herald on Aug. 18, 1950 helped explain why it didn’t open earlier that year:
“Recent heavy rains have slowed down the work on the new Rolla Drive-in Theater being constructed on Highway 66 between Rolla and Northwye by Rowe Carney.
“The drive-in, located on the south side of the highway in a natural amphitheatre, was smoothed down, and workmen were ready to apply gravel on the "floor,” but the rains made several ditches which will have to be filled before the gravel is spread."
Carney said he still expected to open the Rolla “shortly after Sept. 1.” The drive-in was to include “a big playpen for the kiddies” and chairs for patrons who didn’t want to sit in their cars.
Another note from the Sept. 3, 1949 BoxOffice, “Word comes from Lovington, Ill., that the drive-in planned for that community will operate with 16mm films. Sam Randall is said to be the owner. The little drive-in at Brussels also uses 16mm pictures.”
From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice, “Hurdis E. Boyd hopes to open his 500-car drive-in at Kennett, Mo., within the next two weeks. The theatre has been equipped by Joe Hornstein, Inc. Boyd also is owner of the local Coca-Cola Co.”
And then it happened, as written in the Sept. 10 issue. “The 500-car Tommie’s Drive-In at Kennett, operated by H. E. Boyd, opened.”
“September 8 (1949) was the opening date for the Quincy Drive-In at West Quincy, Mo. World Theatrical Enterprises of St. Louis is the owner.” – BoxOffice, Sept. 10, 1949
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice offered an unusually accurate prediction:
“A new drive-in is under construction at McAllen, and will be known as the Palmer (sic) Drive-In. It will accommodate 400 cars and Richard Bull, owner, formerly of Big Spring, plans to open the theatre September 15.”
ATLANTIC, IOWA—The Corral, Atlantic’s drive-in, constructed by the Pioneer Theatre Co. of Minneapolis, opened its gates recently with Mayor Robert Wilburn officiating. The mayor cut the tapes and purchased the first ticket. The Pioneer company also operates the Atlantic and Grand theatres here.
The theatre has a western motif with rustic gateway, sapling fences and buildings and furnishings of natural wood. Attendants wear jeans, boots, western shirts and hats. At the opening, the Atlantic Saddle club, guests of the theatre, paraded on horseback. After the parade, the horses were tethered at a log hitching rack. Admission charge to the Corral is 50 cents for adults: children free.
The Corral opening is the third participated in by Manager Art Farrell since he joined Pioneer in 1935. He built and managed two theatres for the company at Rock Rapids and came here as manager of the Atlantic and Grand in 1941. He started in the theatre business as an usher at the Paramount, Des Moines, in 1929. He became assistant manager of the Paramount and later managed the Strand in Des Moines and the Ottumwa in Ottumwa for Tri-States.
Truby Bell, manager of the Grand, is manager of the drive-in, under the general supervision of Farrell. Bell was employed by the Skelly Oil Co. before joining Pioneer in 1934.
OSKALOOSA, IOWA – An overflow crowd of 700 autos turned out for the opening of Oskaloosa’s new open-air theatre on the Pella road near here. Mayor Carl E. Johnson and G. Ralph Branton, general manager for Tri-States, were the speakers at the formal ceremony. Dick Wilson, former assistant manager of the Tri-States drive-in at Des Moines, in manager. There is space for 500 autos. Traffic control is in charge of John Norris, retired police captain from Miami, Fla.
We’ve got an opening date for the Starlite, Sept. 14, 1949.
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice wrote that it was being built “on Route 19 north of Chimney Town by Charles H. Brittan jr., Park Dobson jr., and Burdett Fitch.” and was to be known as the Starlight.
And that must have been what happened, since the May 27, 1950 issue of BoxOffice reported:
ALLIANCE, NEB. – The Starlite Drive-In has been opened here by Managers Park Dobson, Burdette Fitch and Charlie Brittan. The ozoner was built last summer and was open from September 14 until early December.
DUBUQUE, IOWA – The Dubuque Drive-In, just opened here, claims it will be the first open-air theatre to contain a balcony. The topography of the land at the theatre, on John Deere road north of Highway 52, makes it possible to have a “balcony,” according to Manager Robert Shelton. The theatre has space for more than 600 cars. Shelton began his career in Council Bluffs and later went to Des Moines and Sioux City. John Rigdon of Dubuque is assistant manager of the theatre.
MARSHALL, MO. – The first drive-in theatre in this area was opened this week by Robert M. Rogers who operates the Lyric Theatre in Buckner, Mo. There is no other drive-in within a radius of 35 miles.
Rogers, who has been in exhibition for three years, has built a 450-car theatre one mile east of Marshall on Highway 240. It is a nine-ramp layout with RCA in-car speakers and Century projection. It has a sloping screen tower, with a screen 37x50 feet.
The projection building also includes a large concessions area and various patron facilities.
“We plan to book only the family trade type of picture,” Rogers said. The opening picture was “Slave Girl.” Rogers intends to manage the theatre himself.
And the drive-in was flipped before it opened. The followup from the Sept. 3 BoxOffice: “The newly opened 350-car Park Side Drive-In has been purchased by J. T. Ghosen of the Highway 50 Drive-In Theatre Corp. Ghosen took over the project shortly before its completion.”
A note in the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice mentioned, “The 312-seat Haug Theatre has been operated (in Brussels) on a parttime basis for several years.”
An article in the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice provides different information, perhaps reflecting the difference between a preview (soft) opening and a grand opening:
GREEN BAY, WIS. – The new Starlite Outdoor Theatre was opened here with the officials of the county board, Mayor Dominic Olejniczak, association of commerce officials and others attending the ceremony.
The theatre will accommodate 800 cars. The screen tower is 73 feet high, with a 53-foot high neon sign back of it. Robert LeCoque, manager, says that width of the entrances was increased from 40 to 90 feet to avoid traffic congestion. Near the entrance, a picket fence was erected to designate the entrance point on the highway.
A feature of the drive-in is the pony ride to keep kids occupied. Opening show was “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid,” two color cartoons, a short feature and newsreel. Two shows are given each night.
I may have been wrong on labeling Pimes as a misspelling, because that’s the way it was again in the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
“EAST ST. LOUIS: The recently incorporated Jablonow-Komm Theatres, Inc., of St. Louis has closed a ten-year lease on the Mounds, a 1,000-car drive-in opened by the Pimes Co. July 1 on U.S. 40, the Collinsville road.”
The longer article included another reference to the Pimes company. No, I don’t know why it was called “Pimes,” but I presume it was someone’s name. And if you check the very nice Mounds photo under the Photos tab here on CT, you’ll read the story behind the apparent lake.
The Star of Tinley Park wrote on Aug. 22, 1963 that the “Hilltop” was celebrating its birthday Aug. 23-25. “Five years ago the theatre was transferred from the impersonal step-child operation of a large absentee theatre chain to the family style management of a neighbor.”
Owner manager Irwin S. Joseph said he was building a beach and showing the movie Beach Party that weekend.
On July 15, 2001, apparently not long before the abrupt closure, The Star returned to the “Hill-Top” with an affectionate look at one of the few remaining drive-ins. It was open Fridays through Sundays and often filled to its 500-car capacity on Saturday nights.
It may be that the Manistique has been quiet for a while now. The most recent event I could find was a scary triple feature on Oct. 28, 2018, as shown on the U.S. 2 unofficial Facebook page.
Two weeks later, a GoFundMe page launched with videos and a few details. “The Upper Peninsula Film Union with the help of mBank has been able to temporarily remove the drive-in from the market but we still need to raise funds to secure it permanently,” it said. “We really need funds soon to continue the work we have started, preserve and secure the the property and start getting ready for another fun season of drive-in events in 2019.”
There are still more details in the description of a short YouTube video that was posted in July 2018. “April and Jason Collins own the property on U.S. 2 and have allowed Don Erickson and Eric Sherbinow of the U.P. Film Union to produce movie events that bring back the bygone days of the drive in theater.”
Here’s hoping those U.P. folks can keep it going and eventually restore this drive-in.
The Sept. 24, 1949 issue of BoxOffice reported, “The Auto-Cine, said to be the first drive-in theatre in Mexico, was opened by Mayo Bros. near the Ninos Heroes park in East Juarez.”
From the Sept. 24, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
TORRINGTON, WYO. – F. W. Chopping, Zube M. Chopping and Bob C. Otwell are operating the new Kar-Vue Drive-In Theatre recently opened here on the Van Tassel highway.
Opening notes from the Sept. 24, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
ALBUQUERQUE – In-car heaters are among features of the new 66 Drive-In recently opened here by Albuquerque Theatres. With a capacity of 550 cars, the new drive-in has a snack bar and an adjoining patio from which patrons may watch the picture on the screen. George Tucker is city manager for the operating company, and H. H. Schulze is manager of the drive-in.
The Sept. 17, 1949 issue of BoxOffice reported, “WINNER, S. D. – The Shoo-Fly Drive-In was opened here recently by owner Don King with Mrs. William Whitford as manager.”
The Sullivan opened on Friday, June 5, 1952, based on a note that day in The Decatur (IL) Daily Review. “The theater is owned and operated by Lee Norton, who also owns the Grand theater in Sullivan.”
On May 1, 1975, the Daily Review reported that George Kerasotes had purchased the Sullivan from Lee and Virginia Norton. Kerasotes said he would keep the place running.
Thomas G. Falk, head of Okay Drive-In Theater, Inc., told the Mattoon Journal Gazette on Feb. 6, 1952 that construction would “begin within a week”. It was on a 14-acre tract with room for expansion from its initial 300-car capacity. Other members of the corporation included Mrs. Eileen M. Falk, Jack Taylor and Mrs. Corma Jane Taylor.
The 67 Drive-In Theatre was listed as one of the sponsors of the religion ad in the March 22, 1952 issue of The Daily Journal of Jacksonville IL.
From the Sept. 17, 1949 issue of BoxOffice: “CAMDENTON, MO. – A 150-car drive-in being constructed on Route 5 adjacent to the high school by E. E. Hopkins of Lebanon, Mo., was scheduled to open on Saturday (1).” That would be Sat., Oct. 1, 1949, if it happened.
An early inkling came in the Sept. 17, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
LINCOLN, ILL. – Steve Bennis, theatre operator at Lincoln and Freeport, Ill., and Gus Constan, operator at Decatur and Danville, will build new drive-ins here and in Freeport. Both situations will accommodate 400 cars with a hold-back area of 200 to 300 cars to be added later.
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice explained why the almost-complete drive-in didn’t open that year:
“ROLLA, MO. – Rowe Carney, head of R. E. Carney Theatres, Harry Blunt and associates have purchased ground between new Highway 66 and old 66 as the site for a 500-car drive-in. They hope to have it ready for operation early next spring.
“Previously, Carney contemplated locating the new drive-in on a site north of the Pennant hotel. Under the new arrangement, the firm will abandon the smaller drive-in, which was being constructed by Cecil and Roscoe Hopkins of the Hopkins Motor Sales Co., Lebanon, Mo., which they purchased a few weeks ago. Rolla thus will have only one drive-in, instead of two competing ones. The larger one planned by Carney and his associates will cost about $100,000.”
Then a front-page story in the Rolla Daily Herald on Aug. 18, 1950 helped explain why it didn’t open earlier that year:
“Recent heavy rains have slowed down the work on the new Rolla Drive-in Theater being constructed on Highway 66 between Rolla and Northwye by Rowe Carney.
“The drive-in, located on the south side of the highway in a natural amphitheatre, was smoothed down, and workmen were ready to apply gravel on the "floor,” but the rains made several ditches which will have to be filled before the gravel is spread."
Carney said he still expected to open the Rolla “shortly after Sept. 1.” The drive-in was to include “a big playpen for the kiddies” and chairs for patrons who didn’t want to sit in their cars.
Another note from the Sept. 3, 1949 BoxOffice, “Word comes from Lovington, Ill., that the drive-in planned for that community will operate with 16mm films. Sam Randall is said to be the owner. The little drive-in at Brussels also uses 16mm pictures.”
From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice, “Hurdis E. Boyd hopes to open his 500-car drive-in at Kennett, Mo., within the next two weeks. The theatre has been equipped by Joe Hornstein, Inc. Boyd also is owner of the local Coca-Cola Co.”
And then it happened, as written in the Sept. 10 issue. “The 500-car Tommie’s Drive-In at Kennett, operated by H. E. Boyd, opened.”
“September 8 (1949) was the opening date for the Quincy Drive-In at West Quincy, Mo. World Theatrical Enterprises of St. Louis is the owner.” – BoxOffice, Sept. 10, 1949
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice offered an unusually accurate prediction:
“A new drive-in is under construction at McAllen, and will be known as the Palmer (sic) Drive-In. It will accommodate 400 cars and Richard Bull, owner, formerly of Big Spring, plans to open the theatre September 15.”
From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
ATLANTIC, IOWA—The Corral, Atlantic’s drive-in, constructed by the Pioneer Theatre Co. of Minneapolis, opened its gates recently with Mayor Robert Wilburn officiating. The mayor cut the tapes and purchased the first ticket. The Pioneer company also operates the Atlantic and Grand theatres here.
The theatre has a western motif with rustic gateway, sapling fences and buildings and furnishings of natural wood. Attendants wear jeans, boots, western shirts and hats. At the opening, the Atlantic Saddle club, guests of the theatre, paraded on horseback. After the parade, the horses were tethered at a log hitching rack. Admission charge to the Corral is 50 cents for adults: children free.
The Corral opening is the third participated in by Manager Art Farrell since he joined Pioneer in 1935. He built and managed two theatres for the company at Rock Rapids and came here as manager of the Atlantic and Grand in 1941. He started in the theatre business as an usher at the Paramount, Des Moines, in 1929. He became assistant manager of the Paramount and later managed the Strand in Des Moines and the Ottumwa in Ottumwa for Tri-States.
Truby Bell, manager of the Grand, is manager of the drive-in, under the general supervision of Farrell. Bell was employed by the Skelly Oil Co. before joining Pioneer in 1934.
From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
OSKALOOSA, IOWA – An overflow crowd of 700 autos turned out for the opening of Oskaloosa’s new open-air theatre on the Pella road near here. Mayor Carl E. Johnson and G. Ralph Branton, general manager for Tri-States, were the speakers at the formal ceremony. Dick Wilson, former assistant manager of the Tri-States drive-in at Des Moines, in manager. There is space for 500 autos. Traffic control is in charge of John Norris, retired police captain from Miami, Fla.
We’ve got an opening date for the Starlite, Sept. 14, 1949.
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice wrote that it was being built “on Route 19 north of Chimney Town by Charles H. Brittan jr., Park Dobson jr., and Burdett Fitch.” and was to be known as the Starlight.
And that must have been what happened, since the May 27, 1950 issue of BoxOffice reported:
ALLIANCE, NEB. – The Starlite Drive-In has been opened here by Managers Park Dobson, Burdette Fitch and Charlie Brittan. The ozoner was built last summer and was open from September 14 until early December.
From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
DUBUQUE, IOWA – The Dubuque Drive-In, just opened here, claims it will be the first open-air theatre to contain a balcony. The topography of the land at the theatre, on John Deere road north of Highway 52, makes it possible to have a “balcony,” according to Manager Robert Shelton. The theatre has space for more than 600 cars. Shelton began his career in Council Bluffs and later went to Des Moines and Sioux City. John Rigdon of Dubuque is assistant manager of the theatre.
From the July 9, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
MARSHALL, MO. – The first drive-in theatre in this area was opened this week by Robert M. Rogers who operates the Lyric Theatre in Buckner, Mo. There is no other drive-in within a radius of 35 miles.
Rogers, who has been in exhibition for three years, has built a 450-car theatre one mile east of Marshall on Highway 240. It is a nine-ramp layout with RCA in-car speakers and Century projection. It has a sloping screen tower, with a screen 37x50 feet.
The projection building also includes a large concessions area and various patron facilities.
“We plan to book only the family trade type of picture,” Rogers said. The opening picture was “Slave Girl.” Rogers intends to manage the theatre himself.
And the drive-in was flipped before it opened. The followup from the Sept. 3 BoxOffice: “The newly opened 350-car Park Side Drive-In has been purchased by J. T. Ghosen of the Highway 50 Drive-In Theatre Corp. Ghosen took over the project shortly before its completion.”
The Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice noted, “The 300-car Limberlost Drive-In was opened August 19 by Clyde Nihiser, owner.”
A note in the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice mentioned, “The 312-seat Haug Theatre has been operated (in Brussels) on a parttime basis for several years.”
An article in the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice provides different information, perhaps reflecting the difference between a preview (soft) opening and a grand opening:
GREEN BAY, WIS. – The new Starlite Outdoor Theatre was opened here with the officials of the county board, Mayor Dominic Olejniczak, association of commerce officials and others attending the ceremony.
The theatre will accommodate 800 cars. The screen tower is 73 feet high, with a 53-foot high neon sign back of it. Robert LeCoque, manager, says that width of the entrances was increased from 40 to 90 feet to avoid traffic congestion. Near the entrance, a picket fence was erected to designate the entrance point on the highway.
A feature of the drive-in is the pony ride to keep kids occupied. Opening show was “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid,” two color cartoons, a short feature and newsreel. Two shows are given each night.
I may have been wrong on labeling Pimes as a misspelling, because that’s the way it was again in the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:
“EAST ST. LOUIS: The recently incorporated Jablonow-Komm Theatres, Inc., of St. Louis has closed a ten-year lease on the Mounds, a 1,000-car drive-in opened by the Pimes Co. July 1 on U.S. 40, the Collinsville road.”
The longer article included another reference to the Pimes company. No, I don’t know why it was called “Pimes,” but I presume it was someone’s name. And if you check the very nice Mounds photo under the Photos tab here on CT, you’ll read the story behind the apparent lake.