Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 26, 1952: “The Newsreel will change its name to the Roxy and will take over the current Liberty policy of showing two top second features on an all night basis."
Same drive-in? Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 26, 1952: “Douglas Case is building a 500-car drive-in on the west side of Evansville, with view to a spring opening.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “At the close of business January 12, Fox West Coast swapped theatres with Gamble and O'Keefe. The Tower, Fresno, is now operated by them and G&O have the Kinema there.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “The Tower, a neighborhood theatre in Tulsa, Okla., has reopened, according to Bernard J. McKenna, Jr., who also operates the Gem and Royal theatres. The theatre, operated the past few years by the Griffith theatres, has been closed for about two months. A brother, Jimmy McKenna, will be manager of the Tower.”
This must have been when it was renamed the Fox. Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “Several (Kansas City) Film Row people went to Fort Scott, Kansas, for the opening of the Fox Midwest theatre there.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “Ben Snyder has bought the interests of his partner, George Besse, in the Unique, Gunnison, Colo.”
Motion Picture Herald, May 17, 1952: “C. Y. Yaeger and Dave Davis bought the Unique, Gunnison, Colo., from Ben Snyder.”
Motion Picture Herald, May 24, 1952: “Fay Boyd … has been moved by Atlas Theatres to Gunnison, Colo., to manage the Unique, recently bought by that company from Ben Snyder.”
And here’s that renaming date. Motion Picture Herald, June 25, 1955: “The Unique, Gunnison, Colo., owned by Atlas Theatres, closed for remodeling, to be reopened July 1 as the West.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: “The Ned C. Steele father-and-son partnership will be dissolved with the 314-seat Colusa at Williams being taken over by Ned, Sr., and the Sun-Down drive-in, there, going to Jr.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: “The Ned C. Steele father-and-son partnership will be dissolved with the 314-seat Colusa at Williams being taken over by Ned, Sr., and the Sun-Down drive-in, there, going to Jr.”
Thanks to the newspaper clippings posted by jamestx234, we now know that the Tower opened on June 10, 1949. The first program was “Frontier Gal” starring Yvonne DeCarlo, two “big” cartoons, and my favorite, “The Twilight Serenade - one-half hour of restful, inspiring recorded music for your listening pleasure every evening before the picture starts.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 5, 1952: “Lewis Cox, co-owner of Bayou Land drive-in, Barton, near Donaldsonville, La., was to close it January 3, and remain closed during January for renovations and alterations.”
More evidence confirming whorton’s closing date comes from Boxoffice, July 23, 1962: “Another of the (Barton) circuit’s drive-ins, the Tinker in Midwest City, is not in operation at this time.”
I just noticed a weird little detail in the Motion Picture Almanac listings for this place, besides the face that it called it just the “N. Eastern Drive-In” without the 66. From its first appearance in the 1951-52 edition, its owner was always listed as R. L. Barton. The Barton Theatres circuit list entry also included the “N. E. 66 Drive-In” beginning with the 1955 edition.
From the Daily Oklahoman’s perspective, the drive-in’s changed from “The new N. Eastern ‘66’” independent ad through the 1952 season to “NE ‘66’” within the Barton Theatres ad in 1953.
On the other hand, Lydia May Thomas’s obit mentioned that she and husband Leo Herbert built and operated the drive-in and the adjacent bowling center, which was announced in 1958. Leo’s obit said that the couple operated the drive-in “for eleven years.” That would line up with when its name changed to just 66.
So maybe the Thomases ran the NE 66 for Barton for several years starting in 1953?
To Wesley Horton, Welcome back! So great to hear from you! I just read your name in the “Tulsa Movie Theaters” book I bought this week. Please drop me an email at mkilgore@carload.com!
I bow to you in your superior Oklahoma drive-in knowledge, and probably much more, but every calendar I’ve accessed insists that March 6, 1948 was a Saturday. That would line up with the Daily Oklahoman believing that the 26th was a Friday. All I know is what I read.
Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art announced today that it would buy the Holiday and change it into a showplace for concerts, film, lectures and artist conversations starting in December. That’s according to an article in today’s Denver Post.
Tulsa World wrote a couple of years ago about the local White House Mansion, which looks nice when decked with Christmas lights and which was completed in 1985. We care about that here only because of one sentence, “Pieces from a defunct drive-in theater, the Riverside Drive-In, were used as support beams for the mansion’s ballroom floor.”
That story’s behind a paywall now, but you can still see it at the Internet Archive.
Thanks to the amazing work of the Reference Desk staff at the New Mexico State Library, I have more new info.
The exact date of the County’s grand opening was Oct. 29, 1948, with the double feature of “Way Out West” and “Bad Men of Missouri.”
The more surprising news is that there was an ad in the Tucumcari News on Aug. 24, 1956 announcing that the No Name Drive-In Theatre, “(Formerly County Drive-In)”, was under new management. The No Name continued to advertise through the summer of 1957.
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “Opening of the new Riverside Drive-In, being built by Commonwealth Theatres on the site of the old racetrack northwest of North Kansas City, delayed by frequent rains, has been set for July 22”
Boxoffice, July 24, 1948: “KANSAS CITY — The Riverside Drive-In on highway 71 northwest of North Kansas City, third ozoner to be launched by the Commonwealth Amusement Corp., was opened last Thursday night (22). Situated on the site of the old race track in Platte county, the new 900-car drive-in is equipped with in-car speakers and a new type of all-wood screen said to be one of the largest in the United States. Features of the new open-air theatre include a playground for children, refreshment stands and novel color-lighted decorative effects. Since many patrons must cross the Fairfax toll bridge on the highway between their homes and the drive-in site, a round trip passage coupon will be presented at the boxoffice to any applicant as he leaves. Construction of the new open-air theatre was supervised by Jack Braunagel, manager of the drive-in division of the Commonwealth circuit. Paul Stonum is manager.”
Over on the CT page about the indoor Berwan Theatre is a note that lines up with the MPA ownership change.
“My family owned the Berwan and Grande Drive In. It wass open through the late 1970s, then we closed it and eventually it was torn down. The Drive In stayed open a few more years—1981, 1982?—then we sold it as well. The new owners (don’t know their names) kept it open for one or two more seasons but eventually sold it and it too was demolished.”
Motion Picture Herald, Feb. 2, 1952: “The Liberty, Stockton, owned by Harry Hayashino and leased to Harold Greenlin, has closed.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 26, 1952: “Robert Lippert’s Crest, Richmond, has closed.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 26, 1952: “The Newsreel will change its name to the Roxy and will take over the current Liberty policy of showing two top second features on an all night basis."
Same drive-in? Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 26, 1952: “Douglas Case is building a 500-car drive-in on the west side of Evansville, with view to a spring opening.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “At the close of business January 12, Fox West Coast swapped theatres with Gamble and O'Keefe. The Tower, Fresno, is now operated by them and G&O have the Kinema there.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “The Tower, a neighborhood theatre in Tulsa, Okla., has reopened, according to Bernard J. McKenna, Jr., who also operates the Gem and Royal theatres. The theatre, operated the past few years by the Griffith theatres, has been closed for about two months. A brother, Jimmy McKenna, will be manager of the Tower.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “The Granada, La Jolla, operated by Bernie Leavitt, closed.”
This must have been when it was renamed the Fox. Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “Several (Kansas City) Film Row people went to Fort Scott, Kansas, for the opening of the Fox Midwest theatre there.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “Ben Snyder has bought the interests of his partner, George Besse, in the Unique, Gunnison, Colo.”
Motion Picture Herald, May 17, 1952: “C. Y. Yaeger and Dave Davis bought the Unique, Gunnison, Colo., from Ben Snyder.”
Motion Picture Herald, May 24, 1952: “Fay Boyd … has been moved by Atlas Theatres to Gunnison, Colo., to manage the Unique, recently bought by that company from Ben Snyder.”
And here’s that renaming date. Motion Picture Herald, June 25, 1955: “The Unique, Gunnison, Colo., owned by Atlas Theatres, closed for remodeling, to be reopened July 1 as the West.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “The Plains, Plainfield, Ill., part of the Anderson circuit, has closed.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: “Robert Lippert sold the 687-seat Foothill in Oakland to the Golden State Circuit.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: “The Ned C. Steele father-and-son partnership will be dissolved with the 314-seat Colusa at Williams being taken over by Ned, Sr., and the Sun-Down drive-in, there, going to Jr.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: “The Ned C. Steele father-and-son partnership will be dissolved with the 314-seat Colusa at Williams being taken over by Ned, Sr., and the Sun-Down drive-in, there, going to Jr.”
Thanks to the newspaper clippings posted by jamestx234, we now know that the Tower opened on June 10, 1949. The first program was “Frontier Gal” starring Yvonne DeCarlo, two “big” cartoons, and my favorite, “The Twilight Serenade - one-half hour of restful, inspiring recorded music for your listening pleasure every evening before the picture starts.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: (Denver notes) “Sam Dunevitz has bought out his partner, Fred Zekman, in the Park.”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 5, 1952: “Leo Hershon and Saul Fruchtman have sold the Monica theatre to Bob Schwartz and Jack Hendricks."
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 5, 1952: “Lewis Cox, co-owner of Bayou Land drive-in, Barton, near Donaldsonville, La., was to close it January 3, and remain closed during January for renovations and alterations.”
More evidence confirming whorton’s closing date comes from Boxoffice, July 23, 1962: “Another of the (Barton) circuit’s drive-ins, the Tinker in Midwest City, is not in operation at this time.”
I just noticed a weird little detail in the Motion Picture Almanac listings for this place, besides the face that it called it just the “N. Eastern Drive-In” without the 66. From its first appearance in the 1951-52 edition, its owner was always listed as R. L. Barton. The Barton Theatres circuit list entry also included the “N. E. 66 Drive-In” beginning with the 1955 edition.
From the Daily Oklahoman’s perspective, the drive-in’s changed from “The new N. Eastern ‘66’” independent ad through the 1952 season to “NE ‘66’” within the Barton Theatres ad in 1953.
On the other hand, Lydia May Thomas’s obit mentioned that she and husband Leo Herbert built and operated the drive-in and the adjacent bowling center, which was announced in 1958. Leo’s obit said that the couple operated the drive-in “for eleven years.” That would line up with when its name changed to just 66.
So maybe the Thomases ran the NE 66 for Barton for several years starting in 1953?
To Wesley Horton, Welcome back! So great to hear from you! I just read your name in the “Tulsa Movie Theaters” book I bought this week. Please drop me an email at mkilgore@carload.com!
I bow to you in your superior Oklahoma drive-in knowledge, and probably much more, but every calendar I’ve accessed insists that March 6, 1948 was a Saturday. That would line up with the Daily Oklahoman believing that the 26th was a Friday. All I know is what I read.
Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art announced today that it would buy the Holiday and change it into a showplace for concerts, film, lectures and artist conversations starting in December. That’s according to an article in today’s Denver Post.
Tulsa World wrote a couple of years ago about the local White House Mansion, which looks nice when decked with Christmas lights and which was completed in 1985. We care about that here only because of one sentence, “Pieces from a defunct drive-in theater, the Riverside Drive-In, were used as support beams for the mansion’s ballroom floor.”
That story’s behind a paywall now, but you can still see it at the Internet Archive.
Thanks to the amazing work of the Reference Desk staff at the New Mexico State Library, I have more new info.
The exact date of the County’s grand opening was Oct. 29, 1948, with the double feature of “Way Out West” and “Bad Men of Missouri.”
The more surprising news is that there was an ad in the Tucumcari News on Aug. 24, 1956 announcing that the No Name Drive-In Theatre, “(Formerly County Drive-In)”, was under new management. The No Name continued to advertise through the summer of 1957.
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “Opening of the new Riverside Drive-In, being built by Commonwealth Theatres on the site of the old racetrack northwest of North Kansas City, delayed by frequent rains, has been set for July 22”
Boxoffice, July 24, 1948: “KANSAS CITY — The Riverside Drive-In on highway 71 northwest of North Kansas City, third ozoner to be launched by the Commonwealth Amusement Corp., was opened last Thursday night (22). Situated on the site of the old race track in Platte county, the new 900-car drive-in is equipped with in-car speakers and a new type of all-wood screen said to be one of the largest in the United States. Features of the new open-air theatre include a playground for children, refreshment stands and novel color-lighted decorative effects. Since many patrons must cross the Fairfax toll bridge on the highway between their homes and the drive-in site, a round trip passage coupon will be presented at the boxoffice to any applicant as he leaves. Construction of the new open-air theatre was supervised by Jack Braunagel, manager of the drive-in division of the Commonwealth circuit. Paul Stonum is manager.”
Over on the CT page about the indoor Berwan Theatre is a note that lines up with the MPA ownership change.
“My family owned the Berwan and Grande Drive In. It wass open through the late 1970s, then we closed it and eventually it was torn down. The Drive In stayed open a few more years—1981, 1982?—then we sold it as well. The new owners (don’t know their names) kept it open for one or two more seasons but eventually sold it and it too was demolished.”