The Yucca’s last show was on Oct. 30, 1994, featuring something old and something new. Later notes in the Santa Fe New Mexican indicated that longtime owner Richard Wiles had given the land to Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota in the mid 1980s, and Concordia netted over $3 million when it decided to close the drive-in and sell the property. Trans-Lux was holding the Yucca sign in storage for possible reuse.
Adding a size note. The Exhibitor, Sept. 9, 1953: “At Haskell, Tex., the Old Texas, which burned last summer, is being replaced by the New Texas with Bumice Haley as manager. The 700-seat theatre is larger by 300 seats than the original theatre."
I wonder whether it was renamed. The second indoor theater (along with the under-construction Lea) in Lovington was the Mesa in January 1948, when Boxoffice reported a failed robbery attempt. The 1950 Film Daily Year Book included it with 497 seats.
Looking through the Lovington Daily Leader, the last ad I could find for the Wildcat was on Aug. 29, 1975 for shows through Aug. 31. It said that the indoor Lea would reopen on Sept. 3 that year.
Summer 1976 issues of the Daily Leader had ads for the indoor Lea but not any drive-ins.
I can’t speak to this particular loop, but it’s consistent with a car holding area for folks waiting to buy tickets at the box office. These were especially common when the drive-in entrance was on an actual highway, such as the 81’s. State highway officials would start getting unhappy about cars stopped on the highway, and this was often a retrofitted solution. Later in the decade, these kinds of lengthy stretches between the road and the box office were usually part of the original design.
I wonder how this note factored into the story of OKC’s Hillcrest, which opened with a different owner eight years later.
Boxoffice, Dec. 24, 1955: “Oklahoma City - R. Lewis Barton of Barton Theatres will begin construction of a new twin screen drive-in about January 1. Site for the new Hillcrest Drive-In is at 75th and South Pennsylvania on a hill overlooking the Oklahoma City skyline. Barton has acquired a 45-acre tract for the drive-in. Plans now are for a total capacity of around 2,000 cars … The screens will be back to back, with two projection booths and concession stands. Opening date is planned for around April 15 (1956).”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Benton, Ky. - Mr. and Mrs. Paul Harrington jr. have purchased the Lakeview Drive-In on Highway 80 near Aurora from Neal Starks of Almo. Starks, who has been in poor health for several years, will continue to operate the Tri-City Drive-In Theatre.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “The El Capitan Drive-In on Highway 90 has been purchased by S. K. Barry & Associates from Tom Sumners, owner of Tom Sumners Theatres.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Just 22 days were required for construction of the Skyway Drive-In, which was opened here recently by the Manos Amusement Co. The 400-car theatre was designed and supervised during construction by Tom Manos, son of George Manos, circuit owner … Grading operations opened the Skyway project. Four days after grading began, construction of the concrete block screen tower was started. Tower construction for the 34x82-foot screen, including painting, required 17 days. At the same time the concessions and projection building, a 26x48-foot structure, was advanced to usable condition. Ten additional days were applied to finishing inside work on this building after the drive-in opened. Opening night was just 22 days after grading operations began. The concessions building and boxoffice are of knotty pine, inside and out, the boxoffive having a modernistic roof, narrow in the back and flaring out and up in front.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 10, 1955: “Brooksville, Fla. - The 200-car 41 Drive-In Theatre near here will soon have a screen measuring 68' wide by 50' high, believed to be the largest in the state for its capacity. The Ray Hatfield Construction Co., which is in charge of the work, is using the present screen as a bracing agent for the new widescreen.”
A few more details. Boxoffice, Dec. 10, 1955: “Spokane, Wash. - The Granada Theatre, 813 Riverside, which has a history dating back to silent film days, has acquired a new owner and a new name - the Riverside. New owner and operator is Joseph J. Rosenfeld, president and general manager of Favorite Theatres. Announcement of the purchase came jointly from Rosenfeld and Howard D. McBride, owner and once a partner with Rosenfeld in operation of the hose. McBride took over the theatre a year ago after ending a partnership with Rosenfeld … McBride came here in 1931 as Spokane manager for Evergreen Theatres … He resigned in 1935 and purchased the Granada, formerly the Casino … McBride operated the Granada until 1946, when he formed a partnership with Rosenfeld and Favorite Theatres.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 3, 1955: “A blaze which firemen said followed an explosion of a butane stove took the life of John H. Howze, 88, and destroyed the Rustic Drive-In on Highway 287 west of here. The butane stove was in an apartment under the screen of the theatre. Howze, a retired farmer, lived alone in the apartment. Firemen did not know he was inside until they found his body after the fire was out. High winds fanned the blaze and hampered firefighting efforts. Damage to the drive-in was estimated at $20,000.”
Boxoffice, Nov. 26, 1955: “The new Starlite Drive-In on Highway 70, accommodating 360 cars and featuring a 48x100-foot screen, has made its formal debut. Henry Haven is manager of the theatre. One feature of the drive-in, in addition to nightly spraying against insect pests, is the stocking of individual car mosquito bombs for sale at the concession stand.”
A 1957 aerial photo showed a drive-in a little over a mile south of town on US 70. Nothing remains of the drive-in today; a wrecker service occupies the front of the site at 9832 US-70, Brinkley, AR 72021.
According to the April 20, 1956 Shreveport Journal, local theater magnate Tom McElroy bought the dismantled equipment from the “Kings Drive-In” and had stored it at a location “in Agurs” for a future theater in that part of Shreveport if warranted. As far as I can tell, he never rebuilt the drive-in.
Shreveport Journal, April 20, 1956: “Thomas E. (Tom) McElroy assumed operation Thursday of the Sunset Drive-In Theatre here, bringing to 10 the number of theatres in the greater Shreveport area he is operating. G. H. Mercer of Shreveport formerly was owner and operator of the Sunset Theatre.”
Boxoffice, Nov. 12, 1955: “Tonasket, Wash. - The Chief Theatre here, owned and managed by Mr. and Mrs. T. P. Smith since June 1, 1952, has been sold to G. N. Torgerson of Choteau, Mont. … The Chief seats about 400 persons.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 29, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Wilson have leased … the Gay-Way in Willamina from W. H. Hibbert. Ralph Watson has been manager … for the last three years.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 29, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Wilson have leased the Hi-Way Theatre … from W. H. Hibbert. Ralph Watson has been manager … for the last three years.”
Boxoffice jumped the gun again. Boxoffice, July 30, 1955: “Great Falls, Mont. – Clarence Golder, operator of the Civic Center Theatre, has opened this city’s third drive-in in a period of six weeks. The new drive-in is located just south of Tenth avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets and has a capacity of 400 cars … The screen is 90 feet wide.
But two weeks later, Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1955: “Great Falls, Mont. – Clarence Golder, owner of the Civic Center Theatre, will open his new Tenth Avenue Drive-In here in September. It will be the third drive-in here. The new drive-in will have a capacity of 400 cars, and the parking plan will more closely resemble an indoor theatre than an outdoor one. The screen will be 90 feet wide to accommodate CinemaScope.”
It finally opened, but in September or October? Boxoffice, Oct. 29, 1955: “Great Falls, Mont. - Clarence Golder, owner of the Civic Center Theatre here, has opened this community’s newest drive-in, the 450-car Tenth Avenue.”
This photo was part of the Adler Silhouette Letter ad in the Oct. 22, 1955 issue of Boxoffice and probably elsewhere. As such, it should be in the public domain.
In 1955, the Tulane Advance-Register was advertising the “Motor-In on Mooney Blvd. between Tulare and Visalia,” so I think this is the right drive-in for this note.
Boxoffice, Oct. 8, 1955: “The Harvey Amusement Co., San Francisco, has bought the 576-car Tulare Motor-In from the Robert L. Lippert theatre chain, also of San Francisco.”
The Yucca’s last show was on Oct. 30, 1994, featuring something old and something new. Later notes in the Santa Fe New Mexican indicated that longtime owner Richard Wiles had given the land to Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota in the mid 1980s, and Concordia netted over $3 million when it decided to close the drive-in and sell the property. Trans-Lux was holding the Yucca sign in storage for possible reuse.
Adding a size note. The Exhibitor, Sept. 9, 1953: “At Haskell, Tex., the Old Texas, which burned last summer, is being replaced by the New Texas with Bumice Haley as manager. The 700-seat theatre is larger by 300 seats than the original theatre."
I wonder whether it was renamed. The second indoor theater (along with the under-construction Lea) in Lovington was the Mesa in January 1948, when Boxoffice reported a failed robbery attempt. The 1950 Film Daily Year Book included it with 497 seats.
Looking through the Lovington Daily Leader, the last ad I could find for the Wildcat was on Aug. 29, 1975 for shows through Aug. 31. It said that the indoor Lea would reopen on Sept. 3 that year.
Summer 1976 issues of the Daily Leader had ads for the indoor Lea but not any drive-ins.
I can’t speak to this particular loop, but it’s consistent with a car holding area for folks waiting to buy tickets at the box office. These were especially common when the drive-in entrance was on an actual highway, such as the 81’s. State highway officials would start getting unhappy about cars stopped on the highway, and this was often a retrofitted solution. Later in the decade, these kinds of lengthy stretches between the road and the box office were usually part of the original design.
It’s not a very good photo, but with newspaper information so spotty, this reinforces the idea that the Fort Union opened in May or June of 1960.
I wonder how this note factored into the story of OKC’s Hillcrest, which opened with a different owner eight years later.
Boxoffice, Dec. 24, 1955: “Oklahoma City - R. Lewis Barton of Barton Theatres will begin construction of a new twin screen drive-in about January 1. Site for the new Hillcrest Drive-In is at 75th and South Pennsylvania on a hill overlooking the Oklahoma City skyline. Barton has acquired a 45-acre tract for the drive-in. Plans now are for a total capacity of around 2,000 cars … The screens will be back to back, with two projection booths and concession stands. Opening date is planned for around April 15 (1956).”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Benton, Ky. - Mr. and Mrs. Paul Harrington jr. have purchased the Lakeview Drive-In on Highway 80 near Aurora from Neal Starks of Almo. Starks, who has been in poor health for several years, will continue to operate the Tri-City Drive-In Theatre.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “J. W. Little has purchased the Hillcrest Drive-In from Jack Scales”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “The El Capitan Drive-In on Highway 90 has been purchased by S. K. Barry & Associates from Tom Sumners, owner of Tom Sumners Theatres.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Just 22 days were required for construction of the Skyway Drive-In, which was opened here recently by the Manos Amusement Co. The 400-car theatre was designed and supervised during construction by Tom Manos, son of George Manos, circuit owner … Grading operations opened the Skyway project. Four days after grading began, construction of the concrete block screen tower was started. Tower construction for the 34x82-foot screen, including painting, required 17 days. At the same time the concessions and projection building, a 26x48-foot structure, was advanced to usable condition. Ten additional days were applied to finishing inside work on this building after the drive-in opened. Opening night was just 22 days after grading operations began. The concessions building and boxoffice are of knotty pine, inside and out, the boxoffive having a modernistic roof, narrow in the back and flaring out and up in front.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Wesco Theatres (Nervin Reed and Carlin Smith) have sold the Wyoma, Glenrock, Wyo., to E. C. McNamara, who has been manager”
Boxoffice, Dec. 10, 1955: “Brooksville, Fla. - The 200-car 41 Drive-In Theatre near here will soon have a screen measuring 68' wide by 50' high, believed to be the largest in the state for its capacity. The Ray Hatfield Construction Co., which is in charge of the work, is using the present screen as a bracing agent for the new widescreen.”
A few more details. Boxoffice, Dec. 10, 1955: “Spokane, Wash. - The Granada Theatre, 813 Riverside, which has a history dating back to silent film days, has acquired a new owner and a new name - the Riverside. New owner and operator is Joseph J. Rosenfeld, president and general manager of Favorite Theatres. Announcement of the purchase came jointly from Rosenfeld and Howard D. McBride, owner and once a partner with Rosenfeld in operation of the hose. McBride took over the theatre a year ago after ending a partnership with Rosenfeld … McBride came here in 1931 as Spokane manager for Evergreen Theatres … He resigned in 1935 and purchased the Granada, formerly the Casino … McBride operated the Granada until 1946, when he formed a partnership with Rosenfeld and Favorite Theatres.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 3, 1955: “A blaze which firemen said followed an explosion of a butane stove took the life of John H. Howze, 88, and destroyed the Rustic Drive-In on Highway 287 west of here. The butane stove was in an apartment under the screen of the theatre. Howze, a retired farmer, lived alone in the apartment. Firemen did not know he was inside until they found his body after the fire was out. High winds fanned the blaze and hampered firefighting efforts. Damage to the drive-in was estimated at $20,000.”
Boxoffice, Nov. 26, 1955: “The new Starlite Drive-In on Highway 70, accommodating 360 cars and featuring a 48x100-foot screen, has made its formal debut. Henry Haven is manager of the theatre. One feature of the drive-in, in addition to nightly spraying against insect pests, is the stocking of individual car mosquito bombs for sale at the concession stand.”
A 1957 aerial photo showed a drive-in a little over a mile south of town on US 70. Nothing remains of the drive-in today; a wrecker service occupies the front of the site at 9832 US-70, Brinkley, AR 72021.
According to the April 20, 1956 Shreveport Journal, local theater magnate Tom McElroy bought the dismantled equipment from the “Kings Drive-In” and had stored it at a location “in Agurs” for a future theater in that part of Shreveport if warranted. As far as I can tell, he never rebuilt the drive-in.
Shreveport Journal, April 20, 1956: “Thomas E. (Tom) McElroy assumed operation Thursday of the Sunset Drive-In Theatre here, bringing to 10 the number of theatres in the greater Shreveport area he is operating. G. H. Mercer of Shreveport formerly was owner and operator of the Sunset Theatre.”
Boxoffice, Nov. 12, 1955: “Tonasket, Wash. - The Chief Theatre here, owned and managed by Mr. and Mrs. T. P. Smith since June 1, 1952, has been sold to G. N. Torgerson of Choteau, Mont. … The Chief seats about 400 persons.”
Here’s the grand opening ad, clipped by our own rivest. (Thanks!)
Boxoffice, Oct. 29, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Wilson have leased … the Gay-Way in Willamina from W. H. Hibbert. Ralph Watson has been manager … for the last three years.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 29, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Wilson have leased the Hi-Way Theatre … from W. H. Hibbert. Ralph Watson has been manager … for the last three years.”
Boxoffice jumped the gun again. Boxoffice, July 30, 1955: “Great Falls, Mont. – Clarence Golder, operator of the Civic Center Theatre, has opened this city’s third drive-in in a period of six weeks. The new drive-in is located just south of Tenth avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets and has a capacity of 400 cars … The screen is 90 feet wide.
But two weeks later, Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1955: “Great Falls, Mont. – Clarence Golder, owner of the Civic Center Theatre, will open his new Tenth Avenue Drive-In here in September. It will be the third drive-in here. The new drive-in will have a capacity of 400 cars, and the parking plan will more closely resemble an indoor theatre than an outdoor one. The screen will be 90 feet wide to accommodate CinemaScope.”
It finally opened, but in September or October? Boxoffice, Oct. 29, 1955: “Great Falls, Mont. - Clarence Golder, owner of the Civic Center Theatre here, has opened this community’s newest drive-in, the 450-car Tenth Avenue.”
This photo was part of the Adler Silhouette Letter ad in the Oct. 22, 1955 issue of Boxoffice and probably elsewhere. As such, it should be in the public domain.
In 1955, the Tulane Advance-Register was advertising the “Motor-In on Mooney Blvd. between Tulare and Visalia,” so I think this is the right drive-in for this note.
Boxoffice, Oct. 8, 1955: “The Harvey Amusement Co., San Francisco, has bought the 576-car Tulare Motor-In from the Robert L. Lippert theatre chain, also of San Francisco.”