Another data point about inaccuracies in the International Motion Picture Almanac series: That Carthage Press article states definitively that the Dickinson theater chain closed the 66 in 1985, but the 1987 IMPA still lists it.
According to the Sunset web site, it was first owned and operated by Ralph Hough Sr. and family, then sold in 1966 to Jesse, Cecil and Clyde Ruble. In 1977, David Marks bought the Sunset from the Rubles.
Fire struck the old wooden screen in 1979; it was replaced with a steel screen for the opening of the 1980 season. Over the years the drive-in has enlarged from 200 to 325 cars. The Sunset upgraded to FM sound in 2001.
I found a great article in the Houston Herald from September 2011. Lots of nice photos, and these timeline clues:
It changed hands “several times over the years”.
Jaretta Lankford owned the drive-in and adjacent indoor theater “for most of the 90s.” The original screen blew down “in the mid-1990s” and was replaced with the screen that endures to at least 2011. That was also when it upgraded to FM sound, keeping a few car speakers too.
It was purchased in February 2010 from someone who “only had it less than a year”.
As of the article, Samantha Thomas owned the Phoenix and ran it with her parents, Richard and Hillary Thomas, and sister Noel.
The 1955 Theatre Catalog and 1959 IMPA list it in Garwood MO (3 miles east of the drive-in) instead of Van Buren (9 miles southwest), but the 21’s Facebook page claims Van Buren. The 1972 IMPA puts the 21 in Ellington (17 miles north).
The 1959 IMPA lists capacity at 250, and the 1955 Catalog had it at 210. By the 1972 IMPA, it’s down to 200. In the 1982 IMPA, it jumps to 800. But when I look at the satellite view, I just don’t see how even 700 cars could fit.
Also, the 21 was still listed (in Ellington!) in the 1987 IMPA, so any closure probably came after that.
The owner of Muni Storage purchased the former Grand-Vu Drive-In Theater and demolished the concessions building earlier this year. On Monday, Gregg Olsen will ask the City Council to annex and rezone the property so he can expand his storage and U-Haul rental business just south of it.
Uh-oh! Sounds like we need to change this one’s status to Closed. From its Facebook post on March 5, 2017:
“I have talked with David Baker on March 4th to ask if the drive in will be opening this year. He informed me that it will not be open this year. He is so sorry to see it not open but just there was just not enough interest in it to keep it going.”
According to an excellent timeline posted on Flickr along with the Grand Opening newspaper ad:
The Watertown opened June 30, 1955, but a flood on Aug. 18 destroyed everything but the screen. It rebuilt and reopened July 1, 1956.
The original owners, Fred Sirica and John Quatrano, sold the Watertown to Jade Theaters in 1973. The LaFlamme family bought it in 1976 and ran it until it closed in 1984. They had added two smaller screens in 1979.
The concession stand was torn down in 2002, and the screens followed in 2004. As of 2006, the State of Connecticut owned the property.
There are many more details in Charlie Crowell’s timeline, so you really should go read it. I’ll close with the last two sentences of that post:
With the exception of a 1965 aerial view, there are no known photographs of the drive-in during its years of operation.
The Davis Drive-In (as it was known then) was listed in the 1952 Theatre Catalog as owned by H. C. Davis and a capacity of 200 cars.
The 1959 through 1976 IMPAs list the Davis at 250 cars. The 1982 IMPA lists the Stanford at 300 cars. I don’t have any other references to the New-Lynn; great find rivest266!
Its Nov. 3 2016 Facebook post reads in part, “We started this venture this year not knowing what to expect with a lot to learn. … We are looking forward to opening in the spring for our second season with bigger and better ideas.”
So it re-reopened in 2016? Or maybe it just changed hands? Good news is it says it’ll start the 2017 season in April.
The New Castle News had a story about the Skyline in 2013. It said the Warren family owned it from 1949-77. They “sold the Skyline in 1977 to Cinemette Theaters, which operated it for its final few seasons.”
Was this the Family Drive-In? That’s the only one listed for Somerset in the 1952 Theatre Catalog and the IMPAs from at least 1959 through at least 1976.
Weird that the Macon wasn’t in the 1952 Theatre Catalog, but it’s there in 1955. It’s currently for sale ($295k), and that listing says it was built in 1965, which can’t be right.
CinemaTour says the 31W was built “in the 1960s by Joe Rhoton” and later sold when his health declined.
The 1955 Theatre Catalog shows no drive-ins in Franklin. Neither do the 1959 through 1969 IMPAs. The 1972 (my first after ‘69) shows the 31-W with a capacity of 312. By the 1982 IMPA, the listing changed to 31 West, J. C. Rhoton, and that’s how it stayed through the end of the IMPA lists.
OTOH, Movie-Theater.org (PDF) says that the Franklin Drive-In at this address was owned by “Jones, G. C.” from 1950-64. That’s a very specific note! Then again, the page also says that another drive-in, the 31-W, operated from about 1975-85, and that matches the possible dates for the old Franklin Drive-In on Russellville Road. Confusing!
In my incomplete set of reference books, the Franklin is listed only once. The 1982 IMPA has it with “Holiday Amu.” above “31 West, J. C. Rhoton”. It’s not in the 1976 or 1984 IMPA, which are my two closest to ‘82.
Wilson Living Magazine said the Sumner closed at the end of the 1999 season, and that two of the patrons in the audience were inspired to build their own drive-in, which became the Stardust in Watertown.
The Sparta has converted to digital. The Sparta web site’s gallery page says the old projector was “last seen in 2013,” and its Facebook page shows the arrival of the digital projector in February 2014.
That gallery page also shows how they can fit more than 200 cars – they use the open field behind the graded rows. The Theatre Catalogs listed it at 200. The IMPAs listed it at 196 until it jumped to 625 in 1982.
As Drive-In 54 suggested, that gallery page also shows very extensive renovation in 2002. DriveInMovies.com wrote (around 2003 or so) that “For years, the only feature visible here had been the often seen Ravages of Neglect.” So we know for sure that it had closed, but I still can’t tell when.
How old is it? In 2013, (then-?)owner Tommy Brown told ABC News that the Sparta was built in 1943, so that’s probably it. The 1952 Theatre Catalog lists the Sparta, yet earlier Catalogs showed the Park-A-Way in Sparta but not the Sparta Drive-In. (The IMPAs listed both for a while, so it’s probably not a name change.)
The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists the Park-A-Way, Sparta-Cookeville Hwy., Exec: Jack Mitchell. 12-month, 7-day schedule, single features changing 4 times a week, 300 car capacity. Ditto the 1949-50 Catalog.
It’s gone by the 1952 Catalog. Weird!
The 1959 IMPA lists the Parkaway at 200 cars. It was still listed in the 1976 IMPA but gone by the 1982 edition.
Another data point about inaccuracies in the International Motion Picture Almanac series: That Carthage Press article states definitively that the Dickinson theater chain closed the 66 in 1985, but the 1987 IMPA still lists it.
According to the Sunset web site, it was first owned and operated by Ralph Hough Sr. and family, then sold in 1966 to Jesse, Cecil and Clyde Ruble. In 1977, David Marks bought the Sunset from the Rubles.
Fire struck the old wooden screen in 1979; it was replaced with a steel screen for the opening of the 1980 season. Over the years the drive-in has enlarged from 200 to 325 cars. The Sunset upgraded to FM sound in 2001.
I found a great article in the Houston Herald from September 2011. Lots of nice photos, and these timeline clues:
It changed hands “several times over the years”.
Jaretta Lankford owned the drive-in and adjacent indoor theater “for most of the 90s.” The original screen blew down “in the mid-1990s” and was replaced with the screen that endures to at least 2011. That was also when it upgraded to FM sound, keeping a few car speakers too.
It was purchased in February 2010 from someone who “only had it less than a year”.
As of the article, Samantha Thomas owned the Phoenix and ran it with her parents, Richard and Hillary Thomas, and sister Noel.
The 1955 Theatre Catalog and 1959 IMPA list it in Garwood MO (3 miles east of the drive-in) instead of Van Buren (9 miles southwest), but the 21’s Facebook page claims Van Buren. The 1972 IMPA puts the 21 in Ellington (17 miles north).
The 1959 IMPA lists capacity at 250, and the 1955 Catalog had it at 210. By the 1972 IMPA, it’s down to 200. In the 1982 IMPA, it jumps to 800. But when I look at the satellite view, I just don’t see how even 700 cars could fit.
Also, the 21 was still listed (in Ellington!) in the 1987 IMPA, so any closure probably came after that.
Opening for the 2017 season on April 14. Per its Facebook page.
Also, the 19 charges just $1.16 (probably $1.25 with tax) for a small popcorn. Know of any theater selling popcorn any cheaper?
The Holiday added a sixth screen for the 2016 season.
From March 27, 2017 MagicValley.com:
The owner of Muni Storage purchased the former Grand-Vu Drive-In Theater and demolished the concessions building earlier this year. On Monday, Gregg Olsen will ask the City Council to annex and rezone the property so he can expand his storage and U-Haul rental business just south of it.
The 1959 IMPA listed it for 380 cars, and it stayed at that number in future editions.
The Hiway was still listed in the 1982 IMPA but was gone by the 1984 edition.
Now if you search “Judy Drive-In” on Google Maps, it maps the right place. As I type, the embedded map here is still wrong for some reason.
It opened for the 2017 season on March 17.
Uh-oh! Sounds like we need to change this one’s status to Closed. From its Facebook post on March 5, 2017:
“I have talked with David Baker on March 4th to ask if the drive in will be opening this year. He informed me that it will not be open this year. He is so sorry to see it not open but just there was just not enough interest in it to keep it going.”
According to an excellent timeline posted on Flickr along with the Grand Opening newspaper ad:
The Watertown opened June 30, 1955, but a flood on Aug. 18 destroyed everything but the screen. It rebuilt and reopened July 1, 1956.
The original owners, Fred Sirica and John Quatrano, sold the Watertown to Jade Theaters in 1973. The LaFlamme family bought it in 1976 and ran it until it closed in 1984. They had added two smaller screens in 1979.
The concession stand was torn down in 2002, and the screens followed in 2004. As of 2006, the State of Connecticut owned the property.
There are many more details in Charlie Crowell’s timeline, so you really should go read it. I’ll close with the last two sentences of that post:
With the exception of a 1965 aerial view, there are no known photographs of the drive-in during its years of operation.
(More information can be found at the “Florence T Crowell Historic Watertown Connecticut Photo Gallery”, only on Facebook.)
Oops! Forgot to add the link to that outstanding timeline, which was part of the original source on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/53003768@N06/8454555088/
The Davis Drive-In (as it was known then) was listed in the 1952 Theatre Catalog as owned by H. C. Davis and a capacity of 200 cars.
The 1959 through 1976 IMPAs list the Davis at 250 cars. The 1982 IMPA lists the Stanford at 300 cars. I don’t have any other references to the New-Lynn; great find rivest266!
Its Nov. 3 2016 Facebook post reads in part, “We started this venture this year not knowing what to expect with a lot to learn. … We are looking forward to opening in the spring for our second season with bigger and better ideas.”
So it re-reopened in 2016? Or maybe it just changed hands? Good news is it says it’ll start the 2017 season in April.
The New Castle News had a story about the Skyline in 2013. It said the Warren family owned it from 1949-77. They “sold the Skyline in 1977 to Cinemette Theaters, which operated it for its final few seasons.”
Much more of course:
http://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/former-skyline-drive-in-was-an-integral-part-of-parkstown/article_5613fe75-fd45-55a0-ad3e-757d6edcc23e.html
Was this the Family Drive-In? That’s the only one listed for Somerset in the 1952 Theatre Catalog and the IMPAs from at least 1959 through at least 1976.
Weird that the Macon wasn’t in the 1952 Theatre Catalog, but it’s there in 1955. It’s currently for sale ($295k), and that listing says it was built in 1965, which can’t be right.
This week’s Franklin Favorite includes a blurb that says “The original Franklin Drive-In opened on Russellville Road in 1960.”
This week’s Franklin Favorite includes the blurb that the Nashville Road Franklin DI “has been family owned and operated since 1969.”
“The theater is currently owned by Gary and Tina Price and Wayne and Judy Price Price and operates seasonally from March until October.”
Articles in the College Heights Herald and The Tennessean both include quotes from the owner and a start date of 1969.
CinemaTour says the 31W was built “in the 1960s by Joe Rhoton” and later sold when his health declined.
The 1955 Theatre Catalog shows no drive-ins in Franklin. Neither do the 1959 through 1969 IMPAs. The 1972 (my first after ‘69) shows the 31-W with a capacity of 312. By the 1982 IMPA, the listing changed to 31 West, J. C. Rhoton, and that’s how it stayed through the end of the IMPA lists.
OTOH, Movie-Theater.org (PDF) says that the Franklin Drive-In at this address was owned by “Jones, G. C.” from 1950-64. That’s a very specific note! Then again, the page also says that another drive-in, the 31-W, operated from about 1975-85, and that matches the possible dates for the old Franklin Drive-In on Russellville Road. Confusing!
In my incomplete set of reference books, the Franklin is listed only once. The 1982 IMPA has it with “Holiday Amu.” above “31 West, J. C. Rhoton”. It’s not in the 1976 or 1984 IMPA, which are my two closest to ‘82.
Wilson Living Magazine said the Sumner closed at the end of the 1999 season, and that two of the patrons in the audience were inspired to build their own drive-in, which became the Stardust in Watertown.
https://www.wilsonlivingmagazine.com/stardust-drive-in/
Four comments in one:
The Sparta has converted to digital. The Sparta web site’s gallery page says the old projector was “last seen in 2013,” and its Facebook page shows the arrival of the digital projector in February 2014.
That gallery page also shows how they can fit more than 200 cars – they use the open field behind the graded rows. The Theatre Catalogs listed it at 200. The IMPAs listed it at 196 until it jumped to 625 in 1982.
As Drive-In 54 suggested, that gallery page also shows very extensive renovation in 2002. DriveInMovies.com wrote (around 2003 or so) that “For years, the only feature visible here had been the often seen Ravages of Neglect.” So we know for sure that it had closed, but I still can’t tell when.
How old is it? In 2013, (then-?)owner Tommy Brown told ABC News that the Sparta was built in 1943, so that’s probably it. The 1952 Theatre Catalog lists the Sparta, yet earlier Catalogs showed the Park-A-Way in Sparta but not the Sparta Drive-In. (The IMPAs listed both for a while, so it’s probably not a name change.)
The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists the Park-A-Way, Sparta-Cookeville Hwy., Exec: Jack Mitchell. 12-month, 7-day schedule, single features changing 4 times a week, 300 car capacity. Ditto the 1949-50 Catalog.
It’s gone by the 1952 Catalog. Weird!
The 1959 IMPA lists the Parkaway at 200 cars. It was still listed in the 1976 IMPA but gone by the 1982 edition.