Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “Paul Pless of the Dreamland Drive-In, Asheville, N. C., has an amusement park with miniature golf and other attractions, including a concession stand, open in front of the theatre all day.”
The June 25, 1955 issue of Boxoffice mentioned that the new drive-in about to open in Marshall was “the only theatre in town. The old uptown house is now a furniture store.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “The new 275-car Swan Drive-In at Blue Ridge, Ga., is scheduled to open next weekend and is owned by W. H. Tilley and Jack Jones, who also operate the Rialto in Blue Ridge … It is a very neat and attractive drive-in with graveled ramps … the drive-in has a curved 40x72-foot screen. It has a nice attraction board at the highway, since the drive-in sits back from the highway a short distance on a side road on a very attractive site atop a knoll.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “The Oxford Eagle recently devoted page one of its second section to a history of the motion picutre industry in this city … In 1914, (Frank L.) Toole bought the lot on which the Lyric theatre now stands and erected a three-story building, with offices on the second and third floors. A 12x14 foot screen was used. R. X. Williams, who still operates the theatre, took over the Lyric in 1917 when he was 17 years old … Tragedy struck the Lyric in 1923, when … (t)he theatre was burned to the ground. Six days after the fire, Williams rented the Opera House and held shows there while rebuilding the Lyric. Construction was started in 1924, and on Jan. 1, 1925, the new Lyric reopened.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “MILTON, FLA. - The Joy Drive-In, which has been closed for some time, is being opened under the management of Harold Authenreith.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 14, 1954: “WATERLOO, IOWA - The Central States Theatre Corp. of Des Moines, headed by Myron Blank, recently purchased the controlling interest in two local drive-ins, the SkyVue and the Starlite, from Philip E. Winslow. The other owner, S. A. Oellerich, will keep his minority interest and continue as manager of the two airers.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 14, 1954: “High winds wrecked the 70-foot screen at the Rapid Drive-In, lifting it from its foundation and tossing it 150 feet into an adjoining corn field. Richard Klein, general manager of the Black Hills Amusement Co., operator of the airer, estimated damages at $10,000.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 8, 1956: “The new owners of the Kissimmee Drive-In, Dewey P. Clayton and Neal C. Nesbit, are making a number of improvements to the 400-car theatre. Additional playground equipment and CinemaScope equipment will be installed. The new owners were formerly with the Hercules Power Co. in Cumberland, Md., and decided to bring their families to Florida and settle here.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 8, 1956: “George Baker of Baker Enterprises took over the operation of the Claco Drive-In on September 1. Built and operated by Consolidated Theatres, the drive-in on Highway 10 off U. S. 69 north of town has been promoted by a neon sign of Claco, the clown, which shows up for miles.”
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “SPRINGFIELD, MO.— The Gillioz Theatre
here has been sold by Mr. and Mrs. M. E.
Gillioz of Monett to the Missouri-Fox Realty
Corp. of Kansas City, a subsidiary of Fox
Midwest Theatres. Purchase price was $105,000. Equipment was sold in a separate transaction. Built in 1924, the house has been
leased for some years by the new owners.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 27, 1947: “Grading was started this summer on an
open-air theatre in Wilbraham, east of
Springfield on the main road to Worcester
and Boston. The project will be completed
next spring. Thomas Millea of Springfield
and David J. Willig are backing the theatre,
which will hold 600 cars. Willig operates an
open-airer outside Albany.”
Boxoffice, July 5, 1947: “SPRINGFIELD — Clark county’s first drive-in theatre, Melody Cruise-In, opened July 2 at a site a mile and a half east of Springfield on U.S. 40. The drive-in has a 500-car capacity. It is owned by Raymond K. Stout of Dayton. Manager is E. G. Babb, Springfield. ‘The theatre will operate on four changes a week. Bookings are handled by “Woody” Bressler of Cincinnati.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 29, 1961: “Marvin L. Williams and Mrs. Dorothy L. Williams have taken over as operators of the MotoVue Drive-In, Warrenton.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 22, 1961: “Chakeres Theatres, Springfield, O., have bought the 500-car Old Town Drive-In, Xenia, O. from Melton Straus and Harry Schwartz.”
This must have been when the El Capitan added the 520 seats, but I wonder what enclosing a whole ramp looked like.
The Exhibitor, Oct. 8, 1952: “In Metropolis, Ill., Eddie Clark plans enclosing one ramp at his El Capitan Drive-In to provide space for some 500 seats for persons.”
Independent Film Journal, May 16, 1953: “The Autovue Drive-In near Mountain Grove, Mo. opened under new ownership of Dean Davis, Jr. and with John Castner as mgr."
The Southwest section of the July 21, 1956 issue of Boxoffice ran a long story about “Elmer Gordon, manager of C. D. Leon’s Fort Worth Twin,” … “the lone dual screen drive-in at Fort Worth”. Here’s my favorite glimpse into what the place was like:
“The kiddy playground is so situated on the north side of the patio that the lights can continue burning on it throughout the performance of the screen attractions without disturbing the patron. And, a cage of parakeets is on exhibition outside the snack bar on screen No. 2 side.”
Boxoffice, July 21, 1956: “W. W. Blakey, owner of Pop’s Bargain Barn on Jensen drive, has opened his Humble Drive-In two miles south of the Humble highway on Highway 59. He sold his business in Houston and is living in a house trailer at the airer. Blakey was a projectionist for 15 years some years ago. He is his own operator now, with wife Mattie Lee running the concessions.”
Boxoffice, July 14, 1956: “C. L. Lance has sold the Palace Theatre and Canadian Drive-In in Canadian, Tex., to Frank F. McMordie. Booking for the two theatres will be handled by the A&O Booking Service”
Boxoffice, July 14, 1956: “Joe Turner, sole owner of the Lawton Theatre Co., sold a major interest in the firm to Video (Theatres) and J. R. Montgomery, Lawton banker. Turner will retire from active operation of the Dome and Murray theatres in downtown Lawton, the Austin Drive-In, west of the city, and the Vaska Theatre in the suburban area. He will remain as a partner of Video and Montgomery and serve on the Video board of directors.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1956: “DAILEY, W. VA. - Alfred Collins, who with his wife operates an indoor theatre at Durban, is constructing a 200-car outdoor theatre here between Elkins and Mill Creek.”
This photo ran in the Modern Theatre section of the Feb. 10, 1964 of Boxoffice. The original caption:
View of the approach to the Galaxy Drive-In Theatre in suburban Detroit, showing the Selby-designed-and-constructed all-steel screen tower and wing walls and also the canopied boxoffices at center right. The 1,800-car theatre is located on a 21-acre site. Both the entrance and exit roads are used for incoming traffic during peak hours. Then a movable steel barrier separates the common road in front of the tower so that each road servers its own specific purpose.
Boxoffice ran a four-paragraph article on July 14, 1958 on the occasion of the Blue Mouse moving from its old location on 11th & Washington to the remodeled old Capitol Theatres at 4th & Morrison. It presented this timeline:
“The Blue Mouse, once a John Hamrick theatre, introduced the talking picture to Portland fans on Mar. 9, 1927, with a showing of "Don Juan,” starring John Barrymore. The program was identical to that presented in New York at the world premiere Aug. 6, 1926."
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “Paul Pless of the Dreamland Drive-In, Asheville, N. C., has an amusement park with miniature golf and other attractions, including a concession stand, open in front of the theatre all day.”
The June 25, 1955 issue of Boxoffice mentioned that the new drive-in about to open in Marshall was “the only theatre in town. The old uptown house is now a furniture store.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “The new 275-car Swan Drive-In at Blue Ridge, Ga., is scheduled to open next weekend and is owned by W. H. Tilley and Jack Jones, who also operate the Rialto in Blue Ridge … It is a very neat and attractive drive-in with graveled ramps … the drive-in has a curved 40x72-foot screen. It has a nice attraction board at the highway, since the drive-in sits back from the highway a short distance on a side road on a very attractive site atop a knoll.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “The Oxford Eagle recently devoted page one of its second section to a history of the motion picutre industry in this city … In 1914, (Frank L.) Toole bought the lot on which the Lyric theatre now stands and erected a three-story building, with offices on the second and third floors. A 12x14 foot screen was used. R. X. Williams, who still operates the theatre, took over the Lyric in 1917 when he was 17 years old … Tragedy struck the Lyric in 1923, when … (t)he theatre was burned to the ground. Six days after the fire, Williams rented the Opera House and held shows there while rebuilding the Lyric. Construction was started in 1924, and on Jan. 1, 1925, the new Lyric reopened.”
According to an article in the Oxford Eagle, quoted in the June 25, 1955 issue of Boxoffice, the Ritz opened in 1936.
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “MILTON, FLA. - The Joy Drive-In, which has been closed for some time, is being opened under the management of Harold Authenreith.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 14, 1954: “WATERLOO, IOWA - The Central States Theatre Corp. of Des Moines, headed by Myron Blank, recently purchased the controlling interest in two local drive-ins, the SkyVue and the Starlite, from Philip E. Winslow. The other owner, S. A. Oellerich, will keep his minority interest and continue as manager of the two airers.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 14, 1954: “High winds wrecked the 70-foot screen at the Rapid Drive-In, lifting it from its foundation and tossing it 150 feet into an adjoining corn field. Richard Klein, general manager of the Black Hills Amusement Co., operator of the airer, estimated damages at $10,000.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 8, 1956: “The new owners of the Kissimmee Drive-In, Dewey P. Clayton and Neal C. Nesbit, are making a number of improvements to the 400-car theatre. Additional playground equipment and CinemaScope equipment will be installed. The new owners were formerly with the Hercules Power Co. in Cumberland, Md., and decided to bring their families to Florida and settle here.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 8, 1956: “George Baker of Baker Enterprises took over the operation of the Claco Drive-In on September 1. Built and operated by Consolidated Theatres, the drive-in on Highway 10 off U. S. 69 north of town has been promoted by a neon sign of Claco, the clown, which shows up for miles.”
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “SPRINGFIELD, MO.— The Gillioz Theatre here has been sold by Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Gillioz of Monett to the Missouri-Fox Realty Corp. of Kansas City, a subsidiary of Fox Midwest Theatres. Purchase price was $105,000. Equipment was sold in a separate transaction. Built in 1924, the house has been leased for some years by the new owners.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 27, 1947: “Grading was started this summer on an open-air theatre in Wilbraham, east of Springfield on the main road to Worcester and Boston. The project will be completed next spring. Thomas Millea of Springfield and David J. Willig are backing the theatre, which will hold 600 cars. Willig operates an open-airer outside Albany.”
Boxoffice, July 5, 1947: “SPRINGFIELD — Clark county’s first drive-in theatre, Melody Cruise-In, opened July 2 at a site a mile and a half east of Springfield on U.S. 40. The drive-in has a 500-car capacity. It is owned by Raymond K. Stout of Dayton. Manager is E. G. Babb, Springfield. ‘The theatre will operate on four changes a week. Bookings are handled by “Woody” Bressler of Cincinnati.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 29, 1961: “Marvin L. Williams and Mrs. Dorothy L. Williams have taken over as operators of the MotoVue Drive-In, Warrenton.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 22, 1961: “Chakeres Theatres, Springfield, O., have bought the 500-car Old Town Drive-In, Xenia, O. from Melton Straus and Harry Schwartz.”
This must have been when the El Capitan added the 520 seats, but I wonder what enclosing a whole ramp looked like.
The Exhibitor, Oct. 8, 1952: “In Metropolis, Ill., Eddie Clark plans enclosing one ramp at his El Capitan Drive-In to provide space for some 500 seats for persons.”
Independent Film Journal, May 16, 1953: “The Autovue Drive-In near Mountain Grove, Mo. opened under new ownership of Dean Davis, Jr. and with John Castner as mgr."
The Southwest section of the July 21, 1956 issue of Boxoffice ran a long story about “Elmer Gordon, manager of C. D. Leon’s Fort Worth Twin,” … “the lone dual screen drive-in at Fort Worth”. Here’s my favorite glimpse into what the place was like:
“The kiddy playground is so situated on the north side of the patio that the lights can continue burning on it throughout the performance of the screen attractions without disturbing the patron. And, a cage of parakeets is on exhibition outside the snack bar on screen No. 2 side.”
Boxoffice, July 21, 1956: “W. W. Blakey, owner of Pop’s Bargain Barn on Jensen drive, has opened his Humble Drive-In two miles south of the Humble highway on Highway 59. He sold his business in Houston and is living in a house trailer at the airer. Blakey was a projectionist for 15 years some years ago. He is his own operator now, with wife Mattie Lee running the concessions.”
Boxoffice, July 14, 1956: “C. L. Lance has sold the Palace Theatre and Canadian Drive-In in Canadian, Tex., to Frank F. McMordie. Booking for the two theatres will be handled by the A&O Booking Service”
Boxoffice, July 14, 1956: “Joe Turner, sole owner of the Lawton Theatre Co., sold a major interest in the firm to Video (Theatres) and J. R. Montgomery, Lawton banker. Turner will retire from active operation of the Dome and Murray theatres in downtown Lawton, the Austin Drive-In, west of the city, and the Vaska Theatre in the suburban area. He will remain as a partner of Video and Montgomery and serve on the Video board of directors.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1956: “DAILEY, W. VA. - Alfred Collins, who with his wife operates an indoor theatre at Durban, is constructing a 200-car outdoor theatre here between Elkins and Mill Creek.”
This photo ran in the Modern Theatre section of the Feb. 10, 1964 of Boxoffice. The original caption:
View of the approach to the Galaxy Drive-In Theatre in suburban Detroit, showing the Selby-designed-and-constructed all-steel screen tower and wing walls and also the canopied boxoffices at center right. The 1,800-car theatre is located on a 21-acre site. Both the entrance and exit roads are used for incoming traffic during peak hours. Then a movable steel barrier separates the common road in front of the tower so that each road servers its own specific purpose.
This is a 1980 photo by John Margolies, part of the Library of Congress’s John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive and effectively in the public domain.
Boxoffice ran a four-paragraph article on July 14, 1958 on the occasion of the Blue Mouse moving from its old location on 11th & Washington to the remodeled old Capitol Theatres at 4th & Morrison. It presented this timeline:
“The Blue Mouse, once a John Hamrick theatre, introduced the talking picture to Portland fans on Mar. 9, 1927, with a showing of "Don Juan,” starring John Barrymore. The program was identical to that presented in New York at the world premiere Aug. 6, 1926."