Now an organization called Elevate Chama is in charge of the drive-in, which is still active. It has a Facebook presence, and its main web page says that the drive-in’s address is 555 US Highway 64/84.
Adding up the clips below, I would guess that for at least a couple of years after longtime owner Mike Kelly sold it, the Rainbow Theatre was reopened as the Lobo. Either that, or the Martinez family built a second Chama theater.
Boxoffice, Oct. 27, 1969: “Mike Kelly will not open up his conventional Rainbo (sic) Theatre in Chama, N. M., for the winter, as he has done in the past”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1973: “Mr. and Mrs. Frank Martinez are aiming for an early fall opening of their new Lobo Theatre in Chama, N.M. The new theatres will have a varied house policy, with some Spanish-language product being spotted throughout the monthly programs.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1974: “Sun International … “Instinct for Survival” also had a single-night booking at the Lobo Theatre, Chama”
Boxoffice, May 29, 1978: “Word was received here (Denver) of the death of Mike Kelly, who was a veteran in the field of exhibition. Kelly had operated the Rainbow Theatre and the Chama Drive-In in Chama, N.M., up until the time of his retirement from the business some years ago.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “SPRINGER, N. M. – John C. Wood of Clarksdale, Ariz., has purchased the Zia Theatre and confectionery here.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 21, 1965: “The Zia, Springer, N. M., has been purchased by Carl J. Garitson from John C. Wood.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 9, 1972: “Carl J. Garitson, a veteran exhibitor in the Southwest territory, has sold his Zia Theatre, Springer, N.M., to Carlos P. Gutierrez, a newcomer to the business.”
Update: I was fortunate enough to correspond with Shannon Drawe, who was happy to confirm that this photo really was of Walsenburg’s Trail, and that it must have been erroneously marked as a Route 66 drive-in much later.
Kingsport (TN) Times-News, March 9, 1984: “The Lonesome Pine Drive-In in Tacoma, Va., switched to X-rated films several years ago after operating many years as a family drive-in. The Lonesome Pine opened in 1948.”
Joe Bob Briggs' column, Jan. 23, 1994 (found in the San Francisco Examiner): “The Lonesome Pine Drive-In in Coburn, Va., held on as long as it could, mostly by showing X-rated stuff, but now it’s gone forever. Without eternal vigilance, it could happen here.”
The 6’s final ad in the Albuquerque Journal was on Sunday, Sept. 17, 1995. A month later, the local papers reported that Century Theaters had received the city’s conditional approval to level the drive-in and build a huge indoor multiplex.
Although its mailing address is Monroe, the Memory Lane is in the middle of Frenchtown MI, the address it gives on its web site, which is only advertising shows on one screen this summer.
DriveInMovie reported that the Midland’s owners “announced on their Facebook page that they would not re-open in 2020 and that they were closing the drive-in permanently.”
An article in the Billings Gazette quoted owner Riley Cook in saying that the wooden tower, “moved to Laurel from Cody, Wyoming about 17 years ago,” was uninsured. “I didn’t have a dime of insurance on it because you can’t insure an old wood framed screen like that,” Cook said.
The Sunset went up for sale in January 2022, per a Buffalo Business Journal story, which said owners Mark Zambito and Denise Stornelli want to retire. Its web site says it’s closed for the 2022 season.
The Sunset’s final show (for the season?) was Sept. 11, 2021. As of now, its web site is now lapsed, its Facebook page hasn’t been updated all year, and its phone recording still says it’s closed for the season. I hope it reopens, but for now I consider it closed.
The RV Park’s web site no longer mentions anything about showing movies. Otherwise very positive reviews on TripAdvisor suggest that the drive-in was still active in 2018, but by October 2019 “movies no longer shown.”
Okay, it’s June now, and the Skyview’s web site still shows it “closed for the foreseeable future.” It may reopen later, but I’ll admit that now it’s closed.
On April 29, 2022, the Hi-way posted on its Facebook page: “Dear patrons,
We have made the tough decision to not open for this movie season. We will still host private events but we will not be playing movies to the general public. We know this announcement may be a disappointment to many patrons looking forward to our 72nd year.
We appreciate your understanding at this time, but we are being lead in a different direction and would consider selling it under the right circumstances.
Message us with serious offers only.”
Per a KUTV story last month, the Motor Vu has been sold to a housing developer. The drive-in’s web site says “Until Further Notice Movies are Closed”. I’d call it closed.
The Sunset was open in 2020 and 2021, but its last movie update on Facebook was for the first weekend in August 2021. Its web site also has no movie updates, and when I tried to call the phone number, it just rang. I hope the Sunset opens some time in 2022, but I’m starting to consider it closed.
The Motor Vu continues its summer shows in 2022, per this KPVI news story. For four nights only, it’ll show “Jurassic Park” followed by another classic film, with all gate proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Idaho.
Unfortunately, that’s not the 81 in Salina. An ebay seller posted this as an original postcard for sale with no copyright notice on the writing side, which would put it in the public domain. Its original caption was “Wichita … 81 Drive-In Theatre … Photo by Unruh”. Sure enough, this photo is already posted here on CT for Wichita’s 81.
An ebay seller posted this as an original postcard for sale with no copyright notice on the writing side, which would put it in the public domain. Its original caption was “Wichita … 81 Drive-In Theatre … Photo by Unruh”
Now an organization called Elevate Chama is in charge of the drive-in, which is still active. It has a Facebook presence, and its main web page says that the drive-in’s address is 555 US Highway 64/84.
Adding up the clips below, I would guess that for at least a couple of years after longtime owner Mike Kelly sold it, the Rainbow Theatre was reopened as the Lobo. Either that, or the Martinez family built a second Chama theater.
Boxoffice, Oct. 27, 1969: “Mike Kelly will not open up his conventional Rainbo (sic) Theatre in Chama, N. M., for the winter, as he has done in the past”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1973: “Mr. and Mrs. Frank Martinez are aiming for an early fall opening of their new Lobo Theatre in Chama, N.M. The new theatres will have a varied house policy, with some Spanish-language product being spotted throughout the monthly programs.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1974: “Sun International … “Instinct for Survival” also had a single-night booking at the Lobo Theatre, Chama”
Boxoffice, May 29, 1978: “Word was received here (Denver) of the death of Mike Kelly, who was a veteran in the field of exhibition. Kelly had operated the Rainbow Theatre and the Chama Drive-In in Chama, N.M., up until the time of his retirement from the business some years ago.”
Chain of ownership, 1948-1972.
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “SPRINGER, N. M. – John C. Wood of Clarksdale, Ariz., has purchased the Zia Theatre and confectionery here.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 21, 1965: “The Zia, Springer, N. M., has been purchased by Carl J. Garitson from John C. Wood.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 9, 1972: “Carl J. Garitson, a veteran exhibitor in the Southwest territory, has sold his Zia Theatre, Springer, N.M., to Carlos P. Gutierrez, a newcomer to the business.”
Update: I was fortunate enough to correspond with Shannon Drawe, who was happy to confirm that this photo really was of Walsenburg’s Trail, and that it must have been erroneously marked as a Route 66 drive-in much later.
Two clues on the closing date.
Kingsport (TN) Times-News, March 9, 1984: “The Lonesome Pine Drive-In in Tacoma, Va., switched to X-rated films several years ago after operating many years as a family drive-in. The Lonesome Pine opened in 1948.”
Joe Bob Briggs' column, Jan. 23, 1994 (found in the San Francisco Examiner): “The Lonesome Pine Drive-In in Coburn, Va., held on as long as it could, mostly by showing X-rated stuff, but now it’s gone forever. Without eternal vigilance, it could happen here.”
The 6’s final ad in the Albuquerque Journal was on Sunday, Sept. 17, 1995. A month later, the local papers reported that Century Theaters had received the city’s conditional approval to level the drive-in and build a huge indoor multiplex.
I was just thinking of posting that screen cap. It’s from the video that WRTV posted to YouTube.
Although its mailing address is Monroe, the Memory Lane is in the middle of Frenchtown MI, the address it gives on its web site, which is only advertising shows on one screen this summer.
DriveInMovie reported that the Midland’s owners “announced on their Facebook page that they would not re-open in 2020 and that they were closing the drive-in permanently.”
Kingston Family FunWorld closed near the end of the 2019 season, per a story from Global News.
An article in the Billings Gazette quoted owner Riley Cook in saying that the wooden tower, “moved to Laurel from Cody, Wyoming about 17 years ago,” was uninsured. “I didn’t have a dime of insurance on it because you can’t insure an old wood framed screen like that,” Cook said.
On its Facebook page, the TK/Starlite says it “will not be opening in 2022. We will reopen in 2023.”
Do we count that as open or closed?
The Sunset went up for sale in January 2022, per a Buffalo Business Journal story, which said owners Mark Zambito and Denise Stornelli want to retire. Its web site says it’s closed for the 2022 season.
The Sunset’s final show (for the season?) was Sept. 11, 2021. As of now, its web site is now lapsed, its Facebook page hasn’t been updated all year, and its phone recording still says it’s closed for the season. I hope it reopens, but for now I consider it closed.
The RV Park’s web site no longer mentions anything about showing movies. Otherwise very positive reviews on TripAdvisor suggest that the drive-in was still active in 2018, but by October 2019 “movies no longer shown.”
Okay, it’s June now, and the Skyview’s web site still shows it “closed for the foreseeable future.” It may reopen later, but I’ll admit that now it’s closed.
On April 29, 2022, the Hi-way posted on its Facebook page: “Dear patrons, We have made the tough decision to not open for this movie season. We will still host private events but we will not be playing movies to the general public. We know this announcement may be a disappointment to many patrons looking forward to our 72nd year. We appreciate your understanding at this time, but we are being lead in a different direction and would consider selling it under the right circumstances. Message us with serious offers only.”
I’m calling it closed for now.
Per a KUTV story last month, the Motor Vu has been sold to a housing developer. The drive-in’s web site says “Until Further Notice Movies are Closed”. I’d call it closed.
The Family is still active, though it’s trying to raise money to refurbish its screen. Its new web site is at https://www.thefamilydi.com/ .
The Sunset was open in 2020 and 2021, but its last movie update on Facebook was for the first weekend in August 2021. Its web site also has no movie updates, and when I tried to call the phone number, it just rang. I hope the Sunset opens some time in 2022, but I’m starting to consider it closed.
The Motor Vu continues its summer shows in 2022, per this KPVI news story. For four nights only, it’ll show “Jurassic Park” followed by another classic film, with all gate proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Idaho.
Unfortunately, that’s not the 81 in Salina. An ebay seller posted this as an original postcard for sale with no copyright notice on the writing side, which would put it in the public domain. Its original caption was “Wichita … 81 Drive-In Theatre … Photo by Unruh”. Sure enough, this photo is already posted here on CT for Wichita’s 81.
An ebay seller posted this as an original postcard for sale with no copyright notice on the writing side, which would put it in the public domain. Its original caption was “Wichita … 81 Drive-In Theatre … Photo by Unruh”
That’s a 2010 photo by Billy Hathorn, who licensed it with Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution.