From the May 21, 1961 Logansport Pharos-Tribune (with OCR typos): “The Monticello Drive-in Theatr owned by Al Taylor and Cliffor Rickey has been sold to Marc Brazee of Greenwood, Indiana”
The 1982-88 IMPAs list two Springfield drive-ins run by Kerasotes – the Kerasotes Twin (capacity 1400) AND the 66 (capacity 1000). At the position you map, Historic Aerials shows a single-screen layout. Should this be the listing for the 66 and the Kerasotes Twin get a separate Cinema Treasures listing?
Since March 2016, the Skyview is now owned by two husband-and-wife teams — Nick and Mindy Pastrovich, plus Mike and Debbie Pastrovich. “We plan to run it as a drive-in indefinitely,” Mindy said. That’s the story in Route 66 News.
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog lists the Litchfield Dr., run by Frisina Amuse. Ct., capacity 750. By the 1952 Catalog, it had changed to the Skyview, capacity 400.
In a Illinois Route 66 video, local historian(?) Walter “Chick” Bishop says the Skyview opened in June 1950. He sounds pretty sure about that.
Although not noticed by the national lists, the drive-in was advertised in the local paper as the Dyas 34 from Year One. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed it as the 34, capacity 300. The 1959-76 IMPAs also called it just the 34, with the oddly specific capacity of 241.
I guess the name changed when ownership changed. The last IMPA list (1988) still shows it as the Dyas 34, run by C. W. Dyas.
One more thing: The IMPAs listed the Melody as a single-screen drive-in through its last list in 1988. When did they add a second screen? It had to have been before 2013, when a storm knocked down one of the two screens.
There’s an old YouTube video, uploaded in 2010 but apparently from 2006. Owner Fred Heise says he has owned the Melody since 1970, “bought it from my father that year.”
All three owners are in the 1952 Theatre Catalog, but the 1955-56 edition only mentions J. R. Hand. Both set the capacity at 400.
The 1959-76 IMPAs list it in Bass Lake, capacity 300, run by the Melody Theatre Co. The 1982 IMPA has the capacity down to 200.
The current owners say that Opening Day was May 3, 1956. It was sold around 1985 to Bruce Shinabarger, and then to Steve and Mike Cotton in 2000.
A December 2010 blizzard knocked down the screen, but they got it back up in May to open for the 2011 season. (Photo here.) The owners said the original wooden screen had blown done years earlier “while a film was being shown.”
When did this drive-in open? Little Lake County says the Skyline opened in 1943, but it didn’t show up in the 1948-50 Theatre Catalogs. As I type, Bryan’s summary says it opened in 1955, but it’s in the 1952 Theatre Catalog. (Capacity 750, Exec: R. J. Miller.)
The answer comes from a post earlier this year in the McHenry Public Library District blog. Working from McHenry Plaindealer archives, it says Roy Miller opened the Skyline in July 1951, matching the Catalog listing. (It says “the screen was listed as facing northwest,” which must have been a typo considering the well-drawn parking area that points northwest to a screen facing southeast.) “It also had illuminated speaker posts and a refreshment stand.” The screen was widened in 1956, and the Skyline was sold to Stan Kohlberg of Chicago in 1963.
When did it change names? The 1976 IMPA still has the Skyline (capacity 600) but the 1982 IMPA has the McHenry (owned by “Rhyan”).
By the way, the IMPAs listed the Galesburg through their final drive-in list in 1988. I know that the IMPAs were sometimes slow to notice closed theaters, but it would make me want to double-check that 1980 closure date.
During the weekends of June 2017, the Blue Moonlight’s four movies (all free) were: Split Decisions (1988), The Smurfs (1981), Rambo III (1988), and Jetsons: The Movie (1990).
All indications are this is a great place to visit, (I want one of those tenderloins!), but it should no longer be considered First Run.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs list it under Prairieville, capacity 400, Exec: John Kontos, L. G. Rorer, Prairieville Th. Corp.
The 1959 IMPA lists it in Prairieview (sic), capacity 475, owned by “Kontos & Rorer”. The 1963 edition gets Prairieville right.
The 1969-76 IMPAs didn’t list it at all. Weird! It’s back by the 1982-84 editions, now in Sterling, run by L&M Mgt. The 1986-88 IMPAs switched the owner to Bowman Ths.
Speaking on the Idaho Falls' local TV station, owner Marcia Leonard made it official yesterday. The Motor Vu will not open for the 2017 season.
She maintains that selling the Sky Vu, still on the market with no buyers, would provide enough cash to buy a digital projector. Heaven forbid that it would be considered a cost of doing business. “We could (take out a loan), but because we are a seasonal business, I don’t want to go into debt,” Leonard said.
That TV station link includes a video so you can see what the Motor Vu looks like these days. Leonard says she hopes to reopen one day, and I hope she’s right. Until then, I’ve marked the Motor Vu as Closed in Carload.com’s database.
The 1982 IMPA still listed the place as the Winnebago, owned by Melcher Ent. The 1984 edition had it as the Dells, owned by D Legros (sic). I know that IMPAs are unreliable, trailing indicators, but this suggests that the first name change happened when LeGros bought the place.
Ol' Charles Bruss should have mentioned the May 2008 article in the Wisconsin Dells Events that quotes him. More importantly, the article sets the opening date of the Winnebago as Aug. 14, 1953. “Owned by Don Deakin, the theater screened a newsreel, two cartoons and the feature film ‘Raiders of the Seven Seas,’ and gave patrons a souvenir ashtray.”
The article continues to say that the Winnebago later became known as the Dells, saw a windstorm knock down the screen in June 1977, and was sold to the Don LeGros family in 1980. They changed the name to Big Sky in 1993 and added the second screen in June 1994.
On September 24, 1951, Sarah Eskin acquired land east of Richland Center to be used as a drive-in theater. She was not able to purchase the land outright, but was granted a lifetime lease of 20 acres. The deed states the premises to be used for a drive-in theater, provided that when such premises cease to be used for such purposes title thereto shall revert to the grantor, his heirs, or assigns. The grantee can pass the business on to her heirs or assigns. The Hi-way 14 Outdoor Theater opened its gates on May 16, 1952. It is now known as Starlite 14. The Starlite 14 has upgraded, using FM radio for sound for many years. Speaker posts are still there to help cars park in the appropriate spot. The Starlite 14 is a county treasure; one of 11 in the state of Wisconsin. It is the last one in Southwest Wisconsin and has withstood the test of time. At one time in the late 1950’s there were 79 drive-in theaters in Wisconsin.
If the drive-in was sold in 1988, its renaming came before that. The 1984 IMPA still listed the Highway 14 Outdoor, but the 1986 IMPA had changed it to Starlight (sic) Outdoor.
I’ve seen several mentions online that the Starlite 14 opened in 1953, but Google Maps said it has been open since 1952.
That got me checking, and sure enough, the Highway 14 is listed in the 1952 Theatre Catalog. Exec: Sarah Eskin and Ervin Morris, Muscoda Th. Capacity 538. I think that Google Maps got this one right.
I visited the Aircadia in its last season (though I didn’t know it at the time). I saw The Lion King there, which proves that it didn’t shut down until the end of the 1994 season. I remember a large drive-in sloping down to the screen and run by some large theater chain. The 1988 IMPA says Westland, but I don’t think that was it.
I hated to hear that it was gone, but the way Colorado Springs was expanding, there’s no way it could have survived much longer. Now it’s my poster child for old drive-ins that became Walmarts.
The aerial view from Google Maps shows the Rocket’s footprint mostly untouched in 2017. Even the projector / concession building is still there.
Google Street View from 2012 shows the base of the marquee still there along with a “10 acre for sale” sign. Makes you wonder if they’d have been better off keeping the drive-in alive.
From the May 21, 1961 Logansport Pharos-Tribune (with OCR typos): “The Monticello Drive-in Theatr owned by Al Taylor and Cliffor Rickey has been sold to Marc Brazee of Greenwood, Indiana”
When it opened in 1949, the Theatre Catalog listed Exec: A. E. Campbell Ct., capacity 400.
1952: A. L. Taylor and J. C. Rickey.
1955: H. A. Taylor.
The 1959 IMPA had A. L. Taylor and capacity 500.
1963: Marc Brazee.
1982: M. Brazee, capacity 400.
1988: M. Brazee, still listed as the Monticello.
Earle and Phyllis McLachlan bought the place around 2000. Was that when the name changed?
The 1982-88 IMPAs list two Springfield drive-ins run by Kerasotes – the Kerasotes Twin (capacity 1400) AND the 66 (capacity 1000). At the position you map, Historic Aerials shows a single-screen layout. Should this be the listing for the 66 and the Kerasotes Twin get a separate Cinema Treasures listing?
The Tivoli’s history page includes some photos inside and out.
Since March 2016, the Skyview is now owned by two husband-and-wife teams — Nick and Mindy Pastrovich, plus Mike and Debbie Pastrovich. “We plan to run it as a drive-in indefinitely,” Mindy said. That’s the story in Route 66 News.
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog lists the Litchfield Dr., run by Frisina Amuse. Ct., capacity 750. By the 1952 Catalog, it had changed to the Skyview, capacity 400.
In a Illinois Route 66 video, local historian(?) Walter “Chick” Bishop says the Skyview opened in June 1950. He sounds pretty sure about that.
I stumbled upon a few minutes of video shot in 1991, uploaded in 2013 to YouTube.
Although not noticed by the national lists, the drive-in was advertised in the local paper as the Dyas 34 from Year One. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed it as the 34, capacity 300. The 1959-76 IMPAs also called it just the 34, with the oddly specific capacity of 241.
I guess the name changed when ownership changed. The last IMPA list (1988) still shows it as the Dyas 34, run by C. W. Dyas.
There’s a superb 2015 interview with owner Ron Magnoni Jr. on YouTube.
One more thing: The IMPAs listed the Melody as a single-screen drive-in through its last list in 1988. When did they add a second screen? It had to have been before 2013, when a storm knocked down one of the two screens.
There’s an old YouTube video, uploaded in 2010 but apparently from 2006. Owner Fred Heise says he has owned the Melody since 1970, “bought it from my father that year.”
All three owners are in the 1952 Theatre Catalog, but the 1955-56 edition only mentions J. R. Hand. Both set the capacity at 400.
The 1959-76 IMPAs list it in Bass Lake, capacity 300, run by the Melody Theatre Co. The 1982 IMPA has the capacity down to 200.
The current owners say that Opening Day was May 3, 1956. It was sold around 1985 to Bruce Shinabarger, and then to Steve and Mike Cotton in 2000.
A December 2010 blizzard knocked down the screen, but they got it back up in May to open for the 2011 season. (Photo here.) The owners said the original wooden screen had blown done years earlier “while a film was being shown.”
I found a nice video from 2009:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkDXB_P4vdg
When did this drive-in open? Little Lake County says the Skyline opened in 1943, but it didn’t show up in the 1948-50 Theatre Catalogs. As I type, Bryan’s summary says it opened in 1955, but it’s in the 1952 Theatre Catalog. (Capacity 750, Exec: R. J. Miller.)
The answer comes from a post earlier this year in the McHenry Public Library District blog. Working from McHenry Plaindealer archives, it says Roy Miller opened the Skyline in July 1951, matching the Catalog listing. (It says “the screen was listed as facing northwest,” which must have been a typo considering the well-drawn parking area that points northwest to a screen facing southeast.) “It also had illuminated speaker posts and a refreshment stand.” The screen was widened in 1956, and the Skyline was sold to Stan Kohlberg of Chicago in 1963.
When did it change names? The 1976 IMPA still has the Skyline (capacity 600) but the 1982 IMPA has the McHenry (owned by “Rhyan”).
By the way, the IMPAs listed the Galesburg through their final drive-in list in 1988. I know that the IMPAs were sometimes slow to notice closed theaters, but it would make me want to double-check that 1980 closure date.
During the weekends of June 2017, the Blue Moonlight’s four movies (all free) were: Split Decisions (1988), The Smurfs (1981), Rambo III (1988), and Jetsons: The Movie (1990).
All indications are this is a great place to visit, (I want one of those tenderloins!), but it should no longer be considered First Run.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs list it under Prairieville, capacity 400, Exec: John Kontos, L. G. Rorer, Prairieville Th. Corp.
The 1959 IMPA lists it in Prairieview (sic), capacity 475, owned by “Kontos & Rorer”. The 1963 edition gets Prairieville right.
The 1969-76 IMPAs didn’t list it at all. Weird! It’s back by the 1982-84 editions, now in Sterling, run by L&M Mgt. The 1986-88 IMPAs switched the owner to Bowman Ths.
Speaking on the Idaho Falls' local TV station, owner Marcia Leonard made it official yesterday. The Motor Vu will not open for the 2017 season.
She maintains that selling the Sky Vu, still on the market with no buyers, would provide enough cash to buy a digital projector. Heaven forbid that it would be considered a cost of doing business. “We could (take out a loan), but because we are a seasonal business, I don’t want to go into debt,” Leonard said.
That TV station link includes a video so you can see what the Motor Vu looks like these days. Leonard says she hopes to reopen one day, and I hope she’s right. Until then, I’ve marked the Motor Vu as Closed in Carload.com’s database.
The 1982 IMPA still listed the place as the Winnebago, owned by Melcher Ent. The 1984 edition had it as the Dells, owned by D Legros (sic). I know that IMPAs are unreliable, trailing indicators, but this suggests that the first name change happened when LeGros bought the place.
Ol' Charles Bruss should have mentioned the May 2008 article in the Wisconsin Dells Events that quotes him. More importantly, the article sets the opening date of the Winnebago as Aug. 14, 1953. “Owned by Don Deakin, the theater screened a newsreel, two cartoons and the feature film ‘Raiders of the Seven Seas,’ and gave patrons a souvenir ashtray.”
The article continues to say that the Winnebago later became known as the Dells, saw a windstorm knock down the screen in June 1977, and was sold to the Don LeGros family in 1980. They changed the name to Big Sky in 1993 and added the second screen in June 1994.
From the Starlite 14’s history page:
On September 24, 1951, Sarah Eskin acquired land east of Richland Center to be used as a drive-in theater. She was not able to purchase the land outright, but was granted a lifetime lease of 20 acres. The deed states the premises to be used for a drive-in theater, provided that when such premises cease to be used for such purposes title thereto shall revert to the grantor, his heirs, or assigns. The grantee can pass the business on to her heirs or assigns. The Hi-way 14 Outdoor Theater opened its gates on May 16, 1952. It is now known as Starlite 14. The Starlite 14 has upgraded, using FM radio for sound for many years. Speaker posts are still there to help cars park in the appropriate spot. The Starlite 14 is a county treasure; one of 11 in the state of Wisconsin. It is the last one in Southwest Wisconsin and has withstood the test of time. At one time in the late 1950’s there were 79 drive-in theaters in Wisconsin.
If the drive-in was sold in 1988, its renaming came before that. The 1984 IMPA still listed the Highway 14 Outdoor, but the 1986 IMPA had changed it to Starlight (sic) Outdoor.
I’ve seen several mentions online that the Starlite 14 opened in 1953, but Google Maps said it has been open since 1952.
That got me checking, and sure enough, the Highway 14 is listed in the 1952 Theatre Catalog. Exec: Sarah Eskin and Ervin Morris, Muscoda Th. Capacity 538. I think that Google Maps got this one right.
I visited the Aircadia in its last season (though I didn’t know it at the time). I saw The Lion King there, which proves that it didn’t shut down until the end of the 1994 season. I remember a large drive-in sloping down to the screen and run by some large theater chain. The 1988 IMPA says Westland, but I don’t think that was it.
I hated to hear that it was gone, but the way Colorado Springs was expanding, there’s no way it could have survived much longer. Now it’s my poster child for old drive-ins that became Walmarts.
The aerial view from Google Maps shows the Rocket’s footprint mostly untouched in 2017. Even the projector / concession building is still there.
Google Street View from 2012 shows the base of the marquee still there along with a “10 acre for sale” sign. Makes you wonder if they’d have been better off keeping the drive-in alive.