The Twin Lakes Drive-In first appeared in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog with a capacity of 500, owners Oral Pierson and F. B. Youndblood (sic). The 1952 Catalog listed the owner as J. Vestal. By the 1955-56 Catalog, the name had changed to Ronnie’s Drive-In, owners Leon Jarodsky and E. L. Staup.
Thank goodness for a July 8, 1970 clipping from the Decatur Herald, which said in part, “the name of the outdoor theatre, Ronnie, has been changed to the Twin Lakes Drive-In, according to Bill Hoffman, manager”. At the time it was part of “the Kerasotes-Frisina chain.” Because the Motion Picture Almanac got really confused.
Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list mentions of Paris IL:
1950-53: Twin Lakes, 400, Youngblood & Pearson
1953-55: Twin Lakes, 400, E. L. Staup
1956-59: Twin Lakes, 400, E. L. Staup & Ronnie's, 500, Jarodsky & Staup
1960-66: Ronnie's, 500, Jarodky & Staup
1969-70: Ronnie's, 500
1972-76: Ronnie's, 500 & Twin Lakes*, 500
1977-82: The Twin Lake Drive In, 400, Kerasotes
1983-88: Twin Lake, 1 screen, no owner info
In the 1972-76 MPAs, Kerasotes' holdings included the Twin Lakes.
This drive-in opened after 1946, when an aerial photo of the site shows a vacant field. Based on its first appearance in the Theatre Catalog, it probably opened in 1949. It was closed by 1988, when another aerial photo shows the screen missing.
The Waukegan Outdoor Drive-In was first listed in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog at Route 41 & Washington, capacity 1250, owner F. Ryan. The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs showed it with capacity 772, owner Henry C. Rhyan.
The Kay was open by 1951, run by Merle Stewartson (or Stewardson). By 1999, the site was replaced by what is now a truck repair shop at 2090 IL-16, Shelbyville, IL.
Based on its first appearances in the Theatre Catalog and Film Daily Year Book, the Gordon probably opened in 1949. It still looked active in a nice 1978 photo at VintageAerial.com.
There’s a nice 1974 photo at VintageAerial.com showing mobile homes in place on those pads to the northwest of the drive-in. Sure looks like a prime restoration candidate.
There’s a 1985 photo of the Sky Vue, apparently still active, at VintageAerial.com. That site also has a 1990 photo showing the Sky Vue closed but the screen still up.
I found a drive-in in a 1958 aerial at the present-day address of 2001 Glenbrook Meadows Drive in Garland on the north side. (The only other known Garland drive-in at the time, the Garland Road, was south of town.) Back then it was the middle of an empty field north of town with entry/exit paths from Buckingham Road and Glenbrook Drive.
The drive-in continued to be shown on topo maps through at least 1969, but a 1968 aerial shows the screen gone.
Historic Aerials' photo of the site in 1955 shows it still unimproved.
In August 1957, Variety reported that the Towne Twin Drive-In had signed a three-year deal with the projectors' union. “Ozoner was formerly known as the San Antonio Twin Drive-In Theatre.”
Although the Wagon Wheel was open by July 1956, its first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac series was the 1960 edition. It was listed under Show Low AZ, capacity 400, owner Harry L. Nace. The Wagon Wheel’s mentions in the MPA stayed that way through 1976. The 1977-85 MPA lists had the capacity at 300, the owner as Rawlings. The Wagon Wheel fell off the 1986 list.
Historic Aerials has a nice photo from 1967 and a shot of the Wagon Wheel ramps in 1997. By 2005, the outline of the ramps was gone. On the other hand, topo maps showed the drive-in from at least 1963 through 2000.
Just got back from Holbrook, where I spent a few hours in the local library trying to untangle this story.
First, it turns out that the 66 was the one on the west side of the highway. The Western Star’s location was mentioned a couple of different ways as east of the highway, which leaves the only other position for the 66.
Second, the 66 had its grand opening on April 17, 1955 according to the local paper. It survived until at least the opening of the 1957 drive-in season, based on ads in that paper.
Please update the address to 1989 Navajo Boulevard, Holbrook, AZ 86025.
Just got back from Holbrook where I spent a few hours at the local library trying to nail this down.
First and foremost, I was wrong about which drive-in was which. The Western Star was on the east side of 66, as indicated by its grand opening ad, which I’ve uploaded here. (If I had been smart, I would have noticed the Arizona Republic’s mention of the Mesa Bonita neighborhood on the east side of the road.) Also, the Western Star opened on March 19, 1955.
Please update the address to 714 Elkdom Avenue, Holbrook, AZ 86025.
Per Kawartha Now, the Havelock is permanently closed. On March 25, 2019, owner Gordon Henderson announced he had sold the place and the drive-in would not reopen.
On its Facebook page, a May 23, 2018 post read: “As of June 1st, 2018, the Hilltop Drive In will be under new ownership. More details will follow when available.” As of this writing, that’s the most recent post on that page. Is it still open?
The Bridgton folks wrote April 20 on their Facebook page that “this will be our 20th season (19 full seasons) with the second screen. Its maiden showing was Friday July 7th, 2000 with CHICKEN RUN and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2.”
The drive-in reopened as the Twilight 280 in October 2016. It showed Christmas movies that December, which is the latest info I can find, so it’s probably closed again.
The Twin Lakes Drive-In first appeared in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog with a capacity of 500, owners Oral Pierson and F. B. Youndblood (sic). The 1952 Catalog listed the owner as J. Vestal. By the 1955-56 Catalog, the name had changed to Ronnie’s Drive-In, owners Leon Jarodsky and E. L. Staup.
Thank goodness for a July 8, 1970 clipping from the Decatur Herald, which said in part, “the name of the outdoor theatre, Ronnie, has been changed to the Twin Lakes Drive-In, according to Bill Hoffman, manager”. At the time it was part of “the Kerasotes-Frisina chain.” Because the Motion Picture Almanac got really confused.
Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list mentions of Paris IL:
There are nice aerial photos of the 34 from 1965 and 1970 at VintageAerial.com
This ad is for the Morton Grove Drive-In at the southeast corner of Waukegan and Golf. Please move it to that listing.
This drive-in opened after 1946, when an aerial photo of the site shows a vacant field. Based on its first appearance in the Theatre Catalog, it probably opened in 1949. It was closed by 1988, when another aerial photo shows the screen missing.
The Waukegan Outdoor Drive-In was first listed in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog at Route 41 & Washington, capacity 1250, owner F. Ryan. The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs showed it with capacity 772, owner Henry C. Rhyan.
Motion Picture Almanac mentions:
It was still active in 1981, as shown in a nice photo at VintageAerial.com.
There’s a nice 1966 photo of the Kay at VintageAerial.com.
The Kay was open by 1951, run by Merle Stewartson (or Stewardson). By 1999, the site was replaced by what is now a truck repair shop at 2090 IL-16, Shelbyville, IL.
Based on its first appearances in the Theatre Catalog and Film Daily Year Book, the Gordon probably opened in 1949. It still looked active in a nice 1978 photo at VintageAerial.com.
A crisper version of this photo (same angle, cars in same positions) is apparently on VintageAerial.com, where it’s labelled as a 1981 photo.
There’s a nice 1974 photo at VintageAerial.com showing mobile homes in place on those pads to the northwest of the drive-in. Sure looks like a prime restoration candidate.
There’s a 1977 photo of the Sunset at VintageAerial.com.
There are Starlite photos from 1992 and 1997 at VintageAerial.com.
There’s a 1985 photo of the Sky Vue, apparently still active, at VintageAerial.com. That site also has a 1990 photo showing the Sky Vue closed but the screen still up.
There’s a 1975 photo of the Delta at VintageAerial.com.
There’s a nice 1968 photo of the Augusta at VintageAerial.com.
There’s a nice 1979 photo of the Hillcrest at VintageAerial.com.
I found a drive-in in a 1958 aerial at the present-day address of 2001 Glenbrook Meadows Drive in Garland on the north side. (The only other known Garland drive-in at the time, the Garland Road, was south of town.) Back then it was the middle of an empty field north of town with entry/exit paths from Buckingham Road and Glenbrook Drive.
The drive-in continued to be shown on topo maps through at least 1969, but a 1968 aerial shows the screen gone.
Historic Aerials' photo of the site in 1955 shows it still unimproved.
In August 1957, Variety reported that the Towne Twin Drive-In had signed a three-year deal with the projectors' union. “Ozoner was formerly known as the San Antonio Twin Drive-In Theatre.”
Although the Wagon Wheel was open by July 1956, its first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac series was the 1960 edition. It was listed under Show Low AZ, capacity 400, owner Harry L. Nace. The Wagon Wheel’s mentions in the MPA stayed that way through 1976. The 1977-85 MPA lists had the capacity at 300, the owner as Rawlings. The Wagon Wheel fell off the 1986 list.
Historic Aerials has a nice photo from 1967 and a shot of the Wagon Wheel ramps in 1997. By 2005, the outline of the ramps was gone. On the other hand, topo maps showed the drive-in from at least 1963 through 2000.
Just got back from Holbrook, where I spent a few hours in the local library trying to untangle this story.
First, it turns out that the 66 was the one on the west side of the highway. The Western Star’s location was mentioned a couple of different ways as east of the highway, which leaves the only other position for the 66.
Second, the 66 had its grand opening on April 17, 1955 according to the local paper. It survived until at least the opening of the 1957 drive-in season, based on ads in that paper.
Please update the address to 1989 Navajo Boulevard, Holbrook, AZ 86025.
Just got back from Holbrook where I spent a few hours at the local library trying to nail this down.
First and foremost, I was wrong about which drive-in was which. The Western Star was on the east side of 66, as indicated by its grand opening ad, which I’ve uploaded here. (If I had been smart, I would have noticed the Arizona Republic’s mention of the Mesa Bonita neighborhood on the east side of the road.) Also, the Western Star opened on March 19, 1955.
Please update the address to 714 Elkdom Avenue, Holbrook, AZ 86025.
Perhaps this was a promo image, but note that it’s just a doctored photo of the 66 Drive-In in Carthage, MO.
Per Kawartha Now, the Havelock is permanently closed. On March 25, 2019, owner Gordon Henderson announced he had sold the place and the drive-in would not reopen.
On its Facebook page, a May 23, 2018 post read: “As of June 1st, 2018, the Hilltop Drive In will be under new ownership. More details will follow when available.” As of this writing, that’s the most recent post on that page. Is it still open?
The Bridgton folks wrote April 20 on their Facebook page that “this will be our 20th season (19 full seasons) with the second screen. Its maiden showing was Friday July 7th, 2000 with CHICKEN RUN and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2.”
The drive-in reopened as the Twilight 280 in October 2016. It showed Christmas movies that December, which is the latest info I can find, so it’s probably closed again.