Boxoffice magazine ran artist’s renderings of the Navy Point’s exterior and auditorium in its Nov. 9, 1946 issue. The caption: “…the principal recreation center of a new residential and shopping distric for officers and personnel of the huge naval training base at Navy Point. The new theatre was opened about mid-year.”
More Boxoffice notes…
Oct. 30, 1961: “The Lyceum Theatre Corp., headed by J. G. Broggi, has taken over operation of the Navy Point Theatre in Warrington, Fla. Broggi handled the buying and booking for the theatre for many years.”
June 11, 1962: “The Navy Point, Warrington, Fla., is closed indefinitely. For the past several years it was operated by the late J. G. Broggi.”
July 9, 1962: “Gulf States has acquired the Navy Point Theatre at Warrington, Fla., from the estate of the late J. G. Broggi”
July 29, 1963: “Shows at the Navy Point in Warrington, Fla., have been reduced to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays”
Jan. 13, 1964: “Gulf States Theatres closed the Navy Point Theatre in Warrington, Fla. indefinitely effective January 1.”
Feb. 24, 1964: “Clinton Vucovich, former Florida exhibitor, is back in the theatre business after an absence of some ten years. Recently, he acquired the Navy Point Theatre at Warrington, Fla. Ed Ortte of the Sands and Gulf theatres in Gulfport, Miss., will do the buying and booking. Vucovich and Ortte formerly operated theatres in Pensacola, including the Skychief, Pen and Belmont”
Aug. 16, 1966: “Young Mike Kimberl, at 15, probably ranks as the state’s youngest official theatre manager, a position he has held since April. He got his start in the theatre business with thtree years behind the concession stand of the Navy Point Theatre here. In April, when new owners Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Rushing took over the house, Kimberl asked to stay on as manager.” (The original story, with photo, was in the July 31 Pensacola News Journal.)
July 13, 1970: “D. L. Rushing announced he had closed the Navy Point Theatre at Warrington, Fla. as of June 27”
There’s a second “version” of this 1979 photo, also in the public domain. I put version in quotes because I can’t find any differences between the two.
This is a cropped version of a 1977 photo by John Margolies which is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
The last ad I could find for the North 29 in the Charlotte Observer was on Jan. 2, 1973, for the double feature of “Shantytown Honeymoon” and “City Slicker at the Opry”.
At the time, the North 29 was advertising in a block with the Queen, the Albemarle Road, and the South 29. On Jan. 3, those three appeared in the Observer without the North 29.
WBOC reported yesterday that local artist Rod Pond, better known as RCP, has taken down the old Shore marquee and plans to restore it. The article said that the Shore opened in 1954 and closed in 1976, but they might have found those dates here on CT.
NorthCentralPA.com reported yesterday that, although the Point owner David Renn had previously said 2022 was its last year, the drive-in will be reopening for the 2023 season. The landowner’s plan to build a solar farm on the site has been delayed, at least, though Renn said he won’t sell 2023 season passes. Visit while you can, I guess!
If you really want to nail down the exact date of a HistoricAerials photo, you can often find the original photo at https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, which will include that date. But Historic Aerials is sooo much more convenient!
Just saying, I’ve documented drive-ins that were built in six weeks. That required good weather and an experienced builder. Most early-1950s drive-ins builders didn’t have much experience, so in a word, yaneverknow.
Here’s a summary of Somerset’s drive-in history, as printed in the Commonwealth-Journal of July 13, 1986. (The original article failed to notice that the Family and Lakeview were both built in 1951, so I skipped over those erroneous notes.)
“Ben Johnson … operated Family Drive-In from 1961 to 1965 for his father, who owned the outdoor theater from … 1953. When the lights of the new Tradewind shopping center interfered with movies showing across U.S. 27 at the Family Drive-In the theater closed and was replaced by Hardee’s and Cumberland Security Bank, Johnson said. He then purchased Lakeview Drive-In from its builders and owners, Hogan Teater, J.T. Pollard and Ralph Eller … Prior to Johnson’s purchase, Lakeview was being operated by Harry Roaden, whose uncle, O.G. Roaden, leased the theater from Teater. Pollard and Eller between 1956 and 1966. As Johnson took over at Lakeview, Roaden built 27 Twin Drive-In in 1967. He added a second screen in 1981.”
Looking at the map, that Burnside location is a much better fit for a drive-in named Lakeview. The entrance was maybe 40 or 50 yards away from the Cumberland River.
Boxoffice, Oct. 15, 1973: “Phil Borack, Tri-State, president, offered a $100 prize for the best promotional collection in the B&R Theatres' drive-ins and hardtops for the annual Will Rogers Hospital drive. Winners were Ben Johnson, manager of Lakeview Drive-In, Burnside, Ky., and Ken Neal, Russell Theatre manager, Maysville, Ky.”
When the Lakeview opened, the front-page note in the Commonwealth said it had a 520-car capacity, and it was near Burnside. Aerial photos from 1956 showed a smaller drive-in just northwest of Burnside at the modern-day corner of Ben Way Drive and US 27. (The 1951 photo showed the field under construction.) A sample address would be 84 Ben Way Dr, Somerset, KY 42501.
The Family’s ad in the June 27, 1951 Commonwealth, a few pages away from the Lakeview ad, said that it was on “Highway 27, Truck Route”. I would guess that the drive-in that was closer to Somerset was the Family.
What an extra-cool resource! Thanks for sharing, 50sSnipes! My first quick search for the Family showed that it advertised in Somerset’s Commonwealth newspaper on April 30, 1952. I’ll keep digging there.
Meanwhile, here’s the link to the Pulaski County Library’s collection of Somerset newspapers online.
Boxoffice magazine ran artist’s renderings of the Navy Point’s exterior and auditorium in its Nov. 9, 1946 issue. The caption: “…the principal recreation center of a new residential and shopping distric for officers and personnel of the huge naval training base at Navy Point. The new theatre was opened about mid-year.”
More Boxoffice notes…
Oct. 30, 1961: “The Lyceum Theatre Corp., headed by J. G. Broggi, has taken over operation of the Navy Point Theatre in Warrington, Fla. Broggi handled the buying and booking for the theatre for many years.”
June 11, 1962: “The Navy Point, Warrington, Fla., is closed indefinitely. For the past several years it was operated by the late J. G. Broggi.”
July 9, 1962: “Gulf States has acquired the Navy Point Theatre at Warrington, Fla., from the estate of the late J. G. Broggi”
July 29, 1963: “Shows at the Navy Point in Warrington, Fla., have been reduced to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays”
Jan. 13, 1964: “Gulf States Theatres closed the Navy Point Theatre in Warrington, Fla. indefinitely effective January 1.”
Feb. 24, 1964: “Clinton Vucovich, former Florida exhibitor, is back in the theatre business after an absence of some ten years. Recently, he acquired the Navy Point Theatre at Warrington, Fla. Ed Ortte of the Sands and Gulf theatres in Gulfport, Miss., will do the buying and booking. Vucovich and Ortte formerly operated theatres in Pensacola, including the Skychief, Pen and Belmont”
Aug. 16, 1966: “Young Mike Kimberl, at 15, probably ranks as the state’s youngest official theatre manager, a position he has held since April. He got his start in the theatre business with thtree years behind the concession stand of the Navy Point Theatre here. In April, when new owners Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Rushing took over the house, Kimberl asked to stay on as manager.” (The original story, with photo, was in the July 31 Pensacola News Journal.)
July 13, 1970: “D. L. Rushing announced he had closed the Navy Point Theatre at Warrington, Fla. as of June 27”
This 1987 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
The LoC also hosts a second version of this photo from a slightly different angle. It’s also in the public domain.
This 1987 photo byJohn Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1977 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
There’s a second “version” of this 1979 photo, also in the public domain. I put version in quotes because I can’t find any differences between the two.
This 1979 photo is effectively in the public domain. You can download other resolutions here.
This 1979 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1979 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This is a cropped version of a 1977 photo by John Margolies which is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1979 photo by John Margolies is from the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, effectively in the public domain. Higher-res versions are also available.
This 1982 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1984 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1979 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This is a cropped version of a 1987 photo by John Margolies, part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive at the Library of Congress. It’s effectively in the public domain.
This 1982 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress. As the original contributor indicated, it’s in the public domain.
That 1979 photo by John Margolies is part of the Library of Congress’s John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive, and is effectively in the public domain.
The last ad I could find for the North 29 in the Charlotte Observer was on Jan. 2, 1973, for the double feature of “Shantytown Honeymoon” and “City Slicker at the Opry”.
At the time, the North 29 was advertising in a block with the Queen, the Albemarle Road, and the South 29. On Jan. 3, those three appeared in the Observer without the North 29.
WBOC reported yesterday that local artist Rod Pond, better known as RCP, has taken down the old Shore marquee and plans to restore it. The article said that the Shore opened in 1954 and closed in 1976, but they might have found those dates here on CT.
NorthCentralPA.com reported yesterday that, although the Point owner David Renn had previously said 2022 was its last year, the drive-in will be reopening for the 2023 season. The landowner’s plan to build a solar farm on the site has been delayed, at least, though Renn said he won’t sell 2023 season passes. Visit while you can, I guess!
If you really want to nail down the exact date of a HistoricAerials photo, you can often find the original photo at https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, which will include that date. But Historic Aerials is sooo much more convenient!
Just saying, I’ve documented drive-ins that were built in six weeks. That required good weather and an experienced builder. Most early-1950s drive-ins builders didn’t have much experience, so in a word, yaneverknow.
Here’s a summary of Somerset’s drive-in history, as printed in the Commonwealth-Journal of July 13, 1986. (The original article failed to notice that the Family and Lakeview were both built in 1951, so I skipped over those erroneous notes.)
“Ben Johnson … operated Family Drive-In from 1961 to 1965 for his father, who owned the outdoor theater from … 1953. When the lights of the new Tradewind shopping center interfered with movies showing across U.S. 27 at the Family Drive-In the theater closed and was replaced by Hardee’s and Cumberland Security Bank, Johnson said. He then purchased Lakeview Drive-In from its builders and owners, Hogan Teater, J.T. Pollard and Ralph Eller … Prior to Johnson’s purchase, Lakeview was being operated by Harry Roaden, whose uncle, O.G. Roaden, leased the theater from Teater. Pollard and Eller between 1956 and 1966. As Johnson took over at Lakeview, Roaden built 27 Twin Drive-In in 1967. He added a second screen in 1981.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 8, 1953: “Somerset, Ky. - Ben W. Johnson of Ashland purchased the Family Drive-In from Raymond L. Edwards.”
Boxoffice, April 23, 1962: “TOC is booking and buying for the Family Drive-In at Somerset, Ky., owned by Ben Johnson”
Boxoffice, Jan. 16, 1967: “The Family Drive-In, Somerset, Ky., has been sold by owner Ben Johnson to the supermarket next door.”
Looking at the map, that Burnside location is a much better fit for a drive-in named Lakeview. The entrance was maybe 40 or 50 yards away from the Cumberland River.
Boxoffice, Oct. 15, 1973: “Phil Borack, Tri-State, president, offered a $100 prize for the best promotional collection in the B&R Theatres' drive-ins and hardtops for the annual Will Rogers Hospital drive. Winners were Ben Johnson, manager of Lakeview Drive-In, Burnside, Ky., and Ken Neal, Russell Theatre manager, Maysville, Ky.”
When the Lakeview opened, the front-page note in the Commonwealth said it had a 520-car capacity, and it was near Burnside. Aerial photos from 1956 showed a smaller drive-in just northwest of Burnside at the modern-day corner of Ben Way Drive and US 27. (The 1951 photo showed the field under construction.) A sample address would be 84 Ben Way Dr, Somerset, KY 42501.
The Family’s ad in the June 27, 1951 Commonwealth, a few pages away from the Lakeview ad, said that it was on “Highway 27, Truck Route”. I would guess that the drive-in that was closer to Somerset was the Family.
What an extra-cool resource! Thanks for sharing, 50sSnipes! My first quick search for the Family showed that it advertised in Somerset’s Commonwealth newspaper on April 30, 1952. I’ll keep digging there.
Meanwhile, here’s the link to the Pulaski County Library’s collection of Somerset newspapers online.