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.
Atlas Obscura weighed in on the Northfield with a few photos and the explanation for its cross-border location. Owner Carl Neilman “wanted to be in Massachusetts, but didn’t want to have to pay two union projectionists (the minimum required by Massachusetts law) every night. To avoid this, the Northfield Drive-In was built with its projection booth and snack bar in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, while also partly in Northfield, Massachusetts.”
The article added that a hurricane destroyed the screen in 1951, and its replacement is still used today. “The Cider House Rules” used the Northfield as a filming location in 1998.
On July 9, 1949, Boxoffice wrote that “Billy Tygart, local businessman”, was building a drive-in near Nashville, Ga. The Sept. 24, 1949 issue of Boxoffice noted that he had opened the “Sun-Set Drive-In”. The only Nashville GA drive-in in the 1951-52 Motion Picture Almanac list was the Sunset, capacity 100, owner W. H. Tygart.
I don’t know much about the Sunset, in particular whether it grew to be the Midway. The Exhibitor magazine wrote on March 28, 1951: “For the second time, the screen at the Sunset Drive-In, Nashville, Ga., was blown down by windstorms.” That would be my guess for why it closed.
The Sept. 13, 1952 issue of Boxoffice noted that Stein Theatres had opened “the 200-car Midway Drive-In, managed by Howard Mainor.” The 1953-54 Motion Picture Almanac listed the Midway with a capacity of 200 cars, owner L. A. Stein.
A 1956 aerial photo showed a small drive-in on the northeast corner of state highway 76 (the Adel Highway) and road 198. The drive-in was gone by 1972, and no trace of it survives today. The house now at that corner has the address of 1753 GA-76, Nashville, GA 31639.
A quote from a Mississippi Free Press story about Ocala Drive-In owner John Watzke: “His first attempt at reopening a drive-in(?) was the Star Theater in Covington, La., in the late 1990s. The effort ultimately proved to be short-lived when the location’s proximity to downtown Covington and a lack of sufficient parking spaces led to poor attendance.”
I believe the Film Daily Year Book got it wrong. I doubt that this was ever called “Motor-In”.
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “Motor Movies, Stockton’s first drive-in, was scheduled to open May 7. Joe Blumenfeld of Blumenfeld Theatres announced that the theatre will be managed by S. R. Claggett, who for the past two years has been operating drive-ins in southern California.”
A paragraph from my book, “Drive-Ins of Colorado”:
(Herb Gumper) died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip in July 1964. Herbert’s son Max took over the Roundup, keeping it running for about another decade. Boxoffice reported that he installed a new marquee before the 1971 season, so we know it was open then, but the (La Jara) Gazette didn’t include any ads for it in the summer of 1972.
Thanks for the link, DavidZornig! (Here’s the archived version in case it becomes unavailable at the Daily Record.) I had heard that the movies were only available to overnight visitors, but that article says it’s available to anyone for some weekend screenings. I’m planning my summer trip now! :)
The Richmond Times-Dispatch first ran this photo on May 20, 1948, according to a recent retrospective it published. I would guess they’re the ones who own the copyright, if any. The original caption:
The Bellwood Drive-In Theater, under construction now four miles south of Richmond city limits, will open on or about May 27. The tower shown in the photo is 70 feet high, serving as front of the theater and screen.
On Aug. 24, 1974, the Knoxville News-Sentinel ran an obituary for Louise Duncan, who “was owner and operator of the Carefree Drive-In, Oliver Springs and the Clinton Drive-In, Clinton, both of which ceased operation in the mid 1970s”.
(shrug) We’re in agreement, just using different words. South Clinton is clearly the name of a neighborhood, but only that. If CT starts listing all theaters by neighborhood, as it does in several larger cities, then this one would be in the South Clinton neighborhood of Clinton TN.
I hope that when its editors update the drive-in’s likely address to 1320 Clinch Ave, they also update the city to Clinton.
The first ad I could find for the Carefree was on May 19, 1954, when it was “Now Open.” The show that night was “Highway Dragnet” plus two color cartoons.
The last ad I could easily find for the Carefree was on June 23, 1974. An unrelated story in the March 15, 1981 Knoxville News-Sentinel said that 48-year-old Edwin L. Kelley owned the “old Carefree Drive-In,” where he was storing some of his stuff.
A 1981 aerial photo showed the remains of a drive-in about a mile south of the old Oliver Springs city limits west of the highway just north of what was then Norwood. (It was also marked in topo maps from 1972 through 2001.) A UPS Customer Center occupies the site today, now within the expanded Oliver Springs, at 251 Hannah Dr, Oliver Springs, TN 37840.
BTW, the drive-in site is within the current city limits of Clinton TN. I can’t find any references to “South Clinton” as a municipality or census-designated area; at best, it’s a neighborhood.
Also, Jim Pemberton’s letter to the editor said his family ran the Clinton until the 1980s. His memory was a little off, which is very common for us all.
It’s great to see such well-documented research on a great find. Here’s more to help.
Cole’s Clinton Drive-In Theater, “South of Clinton on Highway 25-W,” held its grand opening on April 9, 1953, based on its ad in the Knoxville Journal. The first program, run twice that night, was “Kansas Pacific” plus a color cartoon and a three stooges short.
Cole’s Clinton advertised in the Journal through Sept. 27, 1956. After that, I couldn’t find any ads or mentions until June 19, 1960. The drive-in might have closed, or it may have just decided not to advertise during that time.
The last ad that I could find for the Clinton was on Aug. 24, 1974 in the Knoxville News-Sentinel. That newspaper later ran an obituary for Louise Duncan, who “was owner and operator of the Carefree Drive-In, Oliver Springs and the Clinton Drive-In, Clinton, both of which ceased operation in the mid 1970s”.
A 1981 aerial photo showed the remains of a drive-in, with plenty of parked cars, at modern-day 1320 Clinch Ave (the former US 25W), Clinton, TN 37716.
This June 1939 photo by John Vachon is part of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection of the Library of Congress, which says that it’s effectively in the public domain.
This September 1940 photo by Russell Lee is part of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection of the Library of Congress, which says that it’s effectively in the public domain. You can find larger, sharper versions here.
This photo is part of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection of the Library of Congress, which says that it’s effectively in the public domain.
Darn it, I did not plan to learn this much about the White Beauty. :) The resort was founded by Anita and Naldo Guccini, who owned the White Beauty View Restaurant by the 1930s. Looks like Richard was a son of the founders.
The last White Beauty Drive-In ad I could find in the Wayne Independent of Honesdale PA was on Sept. 22, 1977, with the showing of “Orca the Killer Whale” through Sept. 24.
The Scranton PA Tribune provided explanations to answer the last two posts.
The White Beauty View was a summer resort on Lake Wallenpaupack. It advertised for a cook “for the season” on May 23, 1949, and a chef’s 2005 obituary called it the “once famous” White Beauty View. (It changed its name to The Lakeside Resort in 1993.) The White Beauty Drive-In Theatre advertised its opening on June 30, 1949 at White Beauty View, so it might be that the resort folks started the drive-in.
The new question is why Motion Picture Herald and Billboard both thought that Richard Guccini opened his “new” White Beauty three years later. A 1955 note in the Tribune associated Guccini with the White Beauty View.
The April 4, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu, told the story of three Texas Christian University students who pooled $2000 to reopen the Heights (previously closed for three years) as the Capri earlier in 1960. It summarized (or maybe just copied) Jack Gordon’s column in the Fort Worth Press.
There’s a fairly lengthy story about the Alpine in “East Rainelle” that ran in the April 18, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu. To summarize:
Frank L. Weitzel bought the Alpine on March 1, 1960. Soon after, the town was snowed in for a week. In early April, warm weather brought a flood that “inundated the 512-seat house” so that only about 100 chairs were dry enough to be used. Weitzel reopened anyway on the weekend of April 10, running the boiler night and day to try to dry out the place. He soon bought dry seats from closed theaters in Gowen (?) and Gassaway (also called the Alpine), because the damp seats were creating an unpleasant “smell-o-vision” experience.
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.
Once again, I’d love to know 50sSnipes' source. When I went digging, all I found for Somerset was more Family Drive-In.
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.”
Atlas Obscura weighed in on the Northfield with a few photos and the explanation for its cross-border location. Owner Carl Neilman “wanted to be in Massachusetts, but didn’t want to have to pay two union projectionists (the minimum required by Massachusetts law) every night. To avoid this, the Northfield Drive-In was built with its projection booth and snack bar in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, while also partly in Northfield, Massachusetts.”
The article added that a hurricane destroyed the screen in 1951, and its replacement is still used today. “The Cider House Rules” used the Northfield as a filming location in 1998.
There’s a lengthy article about the history and people of the Manahawkin at Jersey Shore Online today. I saved an Internet Archive link.
On July 9, 1949, Boxoffice wrote that “Billy Tygart, local businessman”, was building a drive-in near Nashville, Ga. The Sept. 24, 1949 issue of Boxoffice noted that he had opened the “Sun-Set Drive-In”. The only Nashville GA drive-in in the 1951-52 Motion Picture Almanac list was the Sunset, capacity 100, owner W. H. Tygart.
I don’t know much about the Sunset, in particular whether it grew to be the Midway. The Exhibitor magazine wrote on March 28, 1951: “For the second time, the screen at the Sunset Drive-In, Nashville, Ga., was blown down by windstorms.” That would be my guess for why it closed.
The Sept. 13, 1952 issue of Boxoffice noted that Stein Theatres had opened “the 200-car Midway Drive-In, managed by Howard Mainor.” The 1953-54 Motion Picture Almanac listed the Midway with a capacity of 200 cars, owner L. A. Stein.
A 1956 aerial photo showed a small drive-in on the northeast corner of state highway 76 (the Adel Highway) and road 198. The drive-in was gone by 1972, and no trace of it survives today. The house now at that corner has the address of 1753 GA-76, Nashville, GA 31639.
A quote from a Mississippi Free Press story about Ocala Drive-In owner John Watzke: “His first attempt at reopening a drive-in(?) was the Star Theater in Covington, La., in the late 1990s. The effort ultimately proved to be short-lived when the location’s proximity to downtown Covington and a lack of sufficient parking spaces led to poor attendance.”
I believe the Film Daily Year Book got it wrong. I doubt that this was ever called “Motor-In”.
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “Motor Movies, Stockton’s first drive-in, was scheduled to open May 7. Joe Blumenfeld of Blumenfeld Theatres announced that the theatre will be managed by S. R. Claggett, who for the past two years has been operating drive-ins in southern California.”
Boxoffice, May 22, 1948: “Blumenfeld Theatres opened the Marin County Motor Movies May 21.”
A paragraph from my book, “Drive-Ins of Colorado”:
(Herb Gumper) died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip in July 1964. Herbert’s son Max took over the Roundup, keeping it running for about another decade. Boxoffice reported that he installed a new marquee before the 1971 season, so we know it was open then, but the (La Jara) Gazette didn’t include any ads for it in the summer of 1972.
Thanks for the link, DavidZornig! (Here’s the archived version in case it becomes unavailable at the Daily Record.) I had heard that the movies were only available to overnight visitors, but that article says it’s available to anyone for some weekend screenings. I’m planning my summer trip now! :)
According to a photo caption published May 20, 1948 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Bellwood was scheduled to open “on or about May 27” that year.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch first ran this photo on May 20, 1948, according to a recent retrospective it published. I would guess they’re the ones who own the copyright, if any. The original caption:
The Bellwood Drive-In Theater, under construction now four miles south of Richmond city limits, will open on or about May 27. The tower shown in the photo is 70 feet high, serving as front of the theater and screen.
On Aug. 24, 1974, the Knoxville News-Sentinel ran an obituary for Louise Duncan, who “was owner and operator of the Carefree Drive-In, Oliver Springs and the Clinton Drive-In, Clinton, both of which ceased operation in the mid 1970s”.
Nifty vintage photo! Where is it from?
(shrug) We’re in agreement, just using different words. South Clinton is clearly the name of a neighborhood, but only that. If CT starts listing all theaters by neighborhood, as it does in several larger cities, then this one would be in the South Clinton neighborhood of Clinton TN.
I hope that when its editors update the drive-in’s likely address to 1320 Clinch Ave, they also update the city to Clinton.
The first ad I could find for the Carefree was on May 19, 1954, when it was “Now Open.” The show that night was “Highway Dragnet” plus two color cartoons.
The last ad I could easily find for the Carefree was on June 23, 1974. An unrelated story in the March 15, 1981 Knoxville News-Sentinel said that 48-year-old Edwin L. Kelley owned the “old Carefree Drive-In,” where he was storing some of his stuff.
A 1981 aerial photo showed the remains of a drive-in about a mile south of the old Oliver Springs city limits west of the highway just north of what was then Norwood. (It was also marked in topo maps from 1972 through 2001.) A UPS Customer Center occupies the site today, now within the expanded Oliver Springs, at 251 Hannah Dr, Oliver Springs, TN 37840.
BTW, the drive-in site is within the current city limits of Clinton TN. I can’t find any references to “South Clinton” as a municipality or census-designated area; at best, it’s a neighborhood.
Also, Jim Pemberton’s letter to the editor said his family ran the Clinton until the 1980s. His memory was a little off, which is very common for us all.
It’s great to see such well-documented research on a great find. Here’s more to help.
Cole’s Clinton Drive-In Theater, “South of Clinton on Highway 25-W,” held its grand opening on April 9, 1953, based on its ad in the Knoxville Journal. The first program, run twice that night, was “Kansas Pacific” plus a color cartoon and a three stooges short.
Cole’s Clinton advertised in the Journal through Sept. 27, 1956. After that, I couldn’t find any ads or mentions until June 19, 1960. The drive-in might have closed, or it may have just decided not to advertise during that time.
The last ad that I could find for the Clinton was on Aug. 24, 1974 in the Knoxville News-Sentinel. That newspaper later ran an obituary for Louise Duncan, who “was owner and operator of the Carefree Drive-In, Oliver Springs and the Clinton Drive-In, Clinton, both of which ceased operation in the mid 1970s”.
A 1981 aerial photo showed the remains of a drive-in, with plenty of parked cars, at modern-day 1320 Clinch Ave (the former US 25W), Clinton, TN 37716.
This June 1939 photo by John Vachon is part of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection of the Library of Congress, which says that it’s effectively in the public domain.
This September 1940 photo by Russell Lee is part of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection of the Library of Congress, which says that it’s effectively in the public domain. You can find larger, sharper versions here.
This photo is part of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection of the Library of Congress, which says that it’s effectively in the public domain.
Darn it, I did not plan to learn this much about the White Beauty. :) The resort was founded by Anita and Naldo Guccini, who owned the White Beauty View Restaurant by the 1930s. Looks like Richard was a son of the founders.
The last White Beauty Drive-In ad I could find in the Wayne Independent of Honesdale PA was on Sept. 22, 1977, with the showing of “Orca the Killer Whale” through Sept. 24.
The Scranton PA Tribune provided explanations to answer the last two posts.
The White Beauty View was a summer resort on Lake Wallenpaupack. It advertised for a cook “for the season” on May 23, 1949, and a chef’s 2005 obituary called it the “once famous” White Beauty View. (It changed its name to The Lakeside Resort in 1993.) The White Beauty Drive-In Theatre advertised its opening on June 30, 1949 at White Beauty View, so it might be that the resort folks started the drive-in.
The new question is why Motion Picture Herald and Billboard both thought that Richard Guccini opened his “new” White Beauty three years later. A 1955 note in the Tribune associated Guccini with the White Beauty View.
The April 4, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu, told the story of three Texas Christian University students who pooled $2000 to reopen the Heights (previously closed for three years) as the Capri earlier in 1960. It summarized (or maybe just copied) Jack Gordon’s column in the Fort Worth Press.
There’s a fairly lengthy story about the Alpine in “East Rainelle” that ran in the April 18, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu. To summarize:
Frank L. Weitzel bought the Alpine on March 1, 1960. Soon after, the town was snowed in for a week. In early April, warm weather brought a flood that “inundated the 512-seat house” so that only about 100 chairs were dry enough to be used. Weitzel reopened anyway on the weekend of April 10, running the boiler night and day to try to dry out the place. He soon bought dry seats from closed theaters in Gowen (?) and Gassaway (also called the Alpine), because the damp seats were creating an unpleasant “smell-o-vision” experience.