Riverside Park, reopened this season by Ed Carroll at considerable expense, isn’t proving the deadly competition with local theatre managers at first feared. With the exception of the roller skating rink and the outdoor motion picture venture, the park’s attractions are drawing but mildly, according to best information available.
The August 7, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor reported, “The Merrimack Park Drive-In is expected to open early this month. It is equipped with over 300 sound horns, in place of the solitary loud-speaker that neighbors complained about.”
The July 17, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor reported, “Salisbury Drive-in opened second season, under new owner-managership. Ralph E. Snider is the owner and Morris Stein, Boston, is managing.”
According to notes in the June 1940 issues of The Exhibitor, the Milford’s second year was delayed by local protests. It opened June 26 that year “with individual amplifiers for cars.”
The May 15, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor reported that the “Strurbridge (sic) Drive-In opened” on May 11, managed by Joseph Mekelburg. Then the May 22, 1940 issue mentioned that “Sturbridge Drive-In opened for its second season under Levenson Brothers.”
The Sabetha Herald wrote in its Memories column for March 20, 1969:
The Nemaha Drive-In Theater will re-open for another season a week from tomorrow, on Friday, Mar. 28, Ernie Block announces. Mr. Block reports that the most noticeable change in the movie industry has been the recent rating system for movies that went into effect last fall.
Here’s a note from the Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor:
Robert D. Sparks, manager, Twin City Drive-In, Sherman, Tex., offered $20 cash for the best name submitted for the gigantic but “friendly” bull painted on the front of that theatre. The Twin City has just completed a big remodeling and redecorating job. Just about the world’s biggest bull was next done in oils on a surface measuring 40 x 50 feet. The scene is lighted up at night with floodlights.
Looks like the Boulevard was open by 1951. And there’s a second drive-in that will need a separate listing in DeLand.
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog listed the De Land Outdoor Th. as the only drive-in in DeLand at the time. Capacity 300, execs R. E. Hawker and H. W. Alexander.
The first Motion Picture Almanac list in the 1950-51 edition included the “Outdoor Drive-In” in DeLand, owner H. W. Alexander.
The Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor wrote that W. A. “Bill” and Dorothy Tison bought the Deland(sic) Outdoor from E. G. Hawkers.
The 1951-76 MPAs listed both the Outdoor (capacity 300) and the Boulevard (400, owner Leroy Johnson at first, then Floyd Theatres).
The 1952 Catalog listed the Boulevard as DeLand’s only drive-in, capacity 400, exec: LeRoy Johnson.
The 1955-56 Catalog listed both the Boulevard (exec: Carl Floyd) and the Dixie (capacity 260, execs: Eugene Wulfekuhler and Floyd Stowe) for DeLand. Was that Dixie really in some other town?
The 1977 MPA finally dropped the Deland Outdoor, leaving just the Boulevard, then with a capacity of 300. That’s how it stayed through the final MPA drive-in list in 1988.
The Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor said that the Crescent “celebrated its first anniversary with square dancing in the patio.” So it must have opened in the summer of 1950.
According to an April 17, 1961 note in Boxoffice, that’s about when Jim Fraser bought the Red Wing from Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Spiess. Fraser had been a projectionist at a Rapid River MN drive-in and planned to start showing first-run movies at the Red Wing. The note placed the drive-in on US 61 in Wacouta, just east of Red Wing.
“Mr. and Mrs. Spiess, who opened the Red Wing Drive-In in 1955 after operating an indoor theatre in Glenwood City, Wis., plan to move to the west coast on account of his health.”
The Dubuque was destroyed by a fire in the early morning of March 28, 1961, according to an April 17 Boxoffice note. Manager Harley Moore said it was insured, but the “50x80-foot screen” and everything but the concession / projection stand was gone.
A special section of the April 10, 1961 issue of Boxoffice had a photo spread of the playground equipment at the Springfield.
Darrell D. Manes, Commonwealth Theatres city manager, said the Springfield “enjoys the patronage of a very well-to-do clientele. Most of the cars on its ramps are Cadillacs and Chryslers, Manes commented.”
A note in the April 3, 1961 issue of Boxoffice said the Airport was owned by Russell Brehm of Lincoln and Senator Roman Hruska of Omaha, who also owned the 84th and O Drive-In there. Both were equipped with car heaters and stayed open during the winter.
The April 3, 1961 issue of Boxoffice had a note from Sky View manager Jim Schlatter about staying open “all this past winter”. Schlatter said that even with a small crew, his concession did better on several winter nights than on nights the summer before.
Thanks to Joe Vogel for the citation. Here’s the full one-paragraph story from Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1962, under the Oklahoma City column:
Another little town, Davenport, a few miles east of Chandler, has lost its theatres. Joe E. Stribling and wife, who have operated the Gem Theatre and Rig Drive-In there for years, called it quits and closed both. The drive-in is being dismantled and the equipment stored in the Gem. They have a fine set of CinemaScope lenses and about 50 Simplex speakers, all for sale at a very reasonable price. Stribling was a manager for Griffith Amusement Co. and its successor, Video Independent, for many years, then entered exhibition on his own at the Ritz in Stroud, also in the Chandler area. For several years he has had a job with the telephone company which keeps him out of town during the week, while his wife is busy teaching piano. They admit they have not had time to look after the theatres properly. That and a decline in business caused them to call it quits.
Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch marked the 25th anniversary of the destruction of the 66 Park-In’s screen. I added that page to the Internet Archive, so the link should stay alive longer here.
The street address is accurate, but the site is within Oak Lawn IL, just barely. (Across 87th Street to the north is Burbank, and across S. Cicero Street to the east is Hometown.)
The Twin Open Air was still visible in a 1962 aerial photo but already replaced by the shopping center in the 1965 topo map.
The Bel-Air debuted in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog, listed with exec: T. I. Wagner. The 1952 Catalog added the capacity of 1000 and changed the owner to H. and E. Balaban Ct.
The Motion Picture Almanac usually listed the “Belair” under Joliet. It was included in the MPA’s first drive-in list, for the 1950-51 edition, capacity 1000, owner Bel Aire Theatre Co.
The MPA showed the Bel Air on Romeoville Road in Lockport for a while, but included it through its final drive-in list in the 1988 edition.
Based on its absence in the Theatre Catalog the year before, there’s a decent chance that this drive-in opened in 1949. The “Hilltop” debuted in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog, exec: Rube Levine. By the 1952 edition, the name had changed to two words and the exec had changed to H. and E. Balaban Ct.
In its first drive-in list, for the 1950-51 edition, the Motion Picture Almanac listed three drive-ins in Joliet: the Belair (capacity 1000); the Hamilton, capacity “500-600”, owner Hiltop(sic?) Drive-In Theatre, Inc.; and the Hill Top, no owner or capacity mentioned.
Both the Hamilton and Hill Top (capacity 500) were listed in the 1952-53 edition’s drive-in list as owned by H. & E. Balaban Circuit. But the theatre circuit listing for Balaban, H. & E. Corp. showed the “Hilltop” as its only drive-in. I wonder what confused the MPA into thinking there had been a Hamilton Drive-In, and based on the Theatre Catalog listings, I doubt that the Hamilton ever existed.
Checking the borders with Google Maps, it seems clear that the former Falcon site is in Collinsville. Also, I get a better result on Google Maps with 7798 Collinsville Road.
From the July 24, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor:
Riverside Park, reopened this season by Ed Carroll at considerable expense, isn’t proving the deadly competition with local theatre managers at first feared. With the exception of the roller skating rink and the outdoor motion picture venture, the park’s attractions are drawing but mildly, according to best information available.
Looking through some 1940 issues of The Exhibitor, it generally referred to the theater as the Saco Drive-In.
June 5: “Drive-In Saco is operating full blast although a steady seige of rainy weather hampered.”
July 3: “Saco Drive-In here opened June 22.”
Aug. 14: “Saco Drive-In, after changing hands, has closed.”
Sept. 18: “Saco Open Air is closed.”
The August 7, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor reported, “The Merrimack Park Drive-In is expected to open early this month. It is equipped with over 300 sound horns, in place of the solitary loud-speaker that neighbors complained about.”
The July 17, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor reported, “Salisbury Drive-in opened second season, under new owner-managership. Ralph E. Snider is the owner and Morris Stein, Boston, is managing.”
According to notes in the June 1940 issues of The Exhibitor, the Milford’s second year was delayed by local protests. It opened June 26 that year “with individual amplifiers for cars.”
The May 15, 1940 issue of The Exhibitor reported that the “Strurbridge (sic) Drive-In opened” on May 11, managed by Joseph Mekelburg. Then the May 22, 1940 issue mentioned that “Sturbridge Drive-In opened for its second season under Levenson Brothers.”
The Sabetha Herald wrote in its Memories column for March 20, 1969:
The Nemaha Drive-In Theater will re-open for another season a week from tomorrow, on Friday, Mar. 28, Ernie Block announces. Mr. Block reports that the most noticeable change in the movie industry has been the recent rating system for movies that went into effect last fall.
Here’s a note from the Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor:
Robert D. Sparks, manager, Twin City Drive-In, Sherman, Tex., offered $20 cash for the best name submitted for the gigantic but “friendly” bull painted on the front of that theatre. The Twin City has just completed a big remodeling and redecorating job. Just about the world’s biggest bull was next done in oils on a surface measuring 40 x 50 feet. The scene is lighted up at night with floodlights.
The August 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor reported that Al Tribbett was named manager of the Fort Drive-In, Macomb, Ill. So it was probably open then.
The Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor reported that “The Arkansas Amusement Company opened its Pine(sic) Drive-In, Little Rock, Ark.”
Motion Picture Almanac mentions:
Looks like the Boulevard was open by 1951. And there’s a second drive-in that will need a separate listing in DeLand.
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog listed the De Land Outdoor Th. as the only drive-in in DeLand at the time. Capacity 300, execs R. E. Hawker and H. W. Alexander.
The first Motion Picture Almanac list in the 1950-51 edition included the “Outdoor Drive-In” in DeLand, owner H. W. Alexander.
The Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor wrote that W. A. “Bill” and Dorothy Tison bought the Deland(sic) Outdoor from E. G. Hawkers.
The 1951-76 MPAs listed both the Outdoor (capacity 300) and the Boulevard (400, owner Leroy Johnson at first, then Floyd Theatres).
The 1952 Catalog listed the Boulevard as DeLand’s only drive-in, capacity 400, exec: LeRoy Johnson.
The 1955-56 Catalog listed both the Boulevard (exec: Carl Floyd) and the Dixie (capacity 260, execs: Eugene Wulfekuhler and Floyd Stowe) for DeLand. Was that Dixie really in some other town?
The 1977 MPA finally dropped the Deland Outdoor, leaving just the Boulevard, then with a capacity of 300. That’s how it stayed through the final MPA drive-in list in 1988.
The Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor said that the Crescent “celebrated its first anniversary with square dancing in the patio.” So it must have opened in the summer of 1950.
The Exhibitor of Aug. 8, 1951 noted that Saxton Theatrical Service would handle buying and booking for the Tower.
According to an April 17, 1961 note in Boxoffice, that’s about when Jim Fraser bought the Red Wing from Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Spiess. Fraser had been a projectionist at a Rapid River MN drive-in and planned to start showing first-run movies at the Red Wing. The note placed the drive-in on US 61 in Wacouta, just east of Red Wing.
“Mr. and Mrs. Spiess, who opened the Red Wing Drive-In in 1955 after operating an indoor theatre in Glenwood City, Wis., plan to move to the west coast on account of his health.”
The Dubuque was destroyed by a fire in the early morning of March 28, 1961, according to an April 17 Boxoffice note. Manager Harley Moore said it was insured, but the “50x80-foot screen” and everything but the concession / projection stand was gone.
A special section of the April 10, 1961 issue of Boxoffice had a photo spread of the playground equipment at the Springfield.
Darrell D. Manes, Commonwealth Theatres city manager, said the Springfield “enjoys the patronage of a very well-to-do clientele. Most of the cars on its ramps are Cadillacs and Chryslers, Manes commented.”
https://archive.org/details/boxofficeaprjun179boxo/page/n75
A note in the April 3, 1961 issue of Boxoffice said the Airport was owned by Russell Brehm of Lincoln and Senator Roman Hruska of Omaha, who also owned the 84th and O Drive-In there. Both were equipped with car heaters and stayed open during the winter.
The April 3, 1961 issue of Boxoffice had a note from Sky View manager Jim Schlatter about staying open “all this past winter”. Schlatter said that even with a small crew, his concession did better on several winter nights than on nights the summer before.
Thanks to Joe Vogel for the citation. Here’s the full one-paragraph story from Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1962, under the Oklahoma City column:
Another little town, Davenport, a few miles east of Chandler, has lost its theatres. Joe E. Stribling and wife, who have operated the Gem Theatre and Rig Drive-In there for years, called it quits and closed both. The drive-in is being dismantled and the equipment stored in the Gem. They have a fine set of CinemaScope lenses and about 50 Simplex speakers, all for sale at a very reasonable price. Stribling was a manager for Griffith Amusement Co. and its successor, Video Independent, for many years, then entered exhibition on his own at the Ritz in Stroud, also in the Chandler area. For several years he has had a job with the telephone company which keeps him out of town during the week, while his wife is busy teaching piano. They admit they have not had time to look after the theatres properly. That and a decline in business caused them to call it quits.
Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch marked the 25th anniversary of the destruction of the 66 Park-In’s screen. I added that page to the Internet Archive, so the link should stay alive longer here.
The street address is accurate, but the site is within Oak Lawn IL, just barely. (Across 87th Street to the north is Burbank, and across S. Cicero Street to the east is Hometown.)
The Twin Open Air was still visible in a 1962 aerial photo but already replaced by the shopping center in the 1965 topo map.
The most recent ad in the Chicago Tribune for the Double Drive-In that I could find was Sept. 7, 1995.
The Bel-Air debuted in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog, listed with exec: T. I. Wagner. The 1952 Catalog added the capacity of 1000 and changed the owner to H. and E. Balaban Ct.
The Motion Picture Almanac usually listed the “Belair” under Joliet. It was included in the MPA’s first drive-in list, for the 1950-51 edition, capacity 1000, owner Bel Aire Theatre Co.
The MPA showed the Bel Air on Romeoville Road in Lockport for a while, but included it through its final drive-in list in the 1988 edition.
Based on its absence in the Theatre Catalog the year before, there’s a decent chance that this drive-in opened in 1949. The “Hilltop” debuted in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog, exec: Rube Levine. By the 1952 edition, the name had changed to two words and the exec had changed to H. and E. Balaban Ct.
In its first drive-in list, for the 1950-51 edition, the Motion Picture Almanac listed three drive-ins in Joliet: the Belair (capacity 1000); the Hamilton, capacity “500-600”, owner Hiltop(sic?) Drive-In Theatre, Inc.; and the Hill Top, no owner or capacity mentioned.
Both the Hamilton and Hill Top (capacity 500) were listed in the 1952-53 edition’s drive-in list as owned by H. & E. Balaban Circuit. But the theatre circuit listing for Balaban, H. & E. Corp. showed the “Hilltop” as its only drive-in. I wonder what confused the MPA into thinking there had been a Hamilton Drive-In, and based on the Theatre Catalog listings, I doubt that the Hamilton ever existed.
Checking the borders with Google Maps, it seems clear that the former Falcon site is in Collinsville. Also, I get a better result on Google Maps with 7798 Collinsville Road.