Here’s an aerial shot of the Marbro Twin from …1978(?). View link
Just south of the twin (bottom right) the long dirt road can be seen that was originally the Wilkerson family’s driveway. When I visited their farm on occasion (their son David was my same age) I discovered the far screen was fairly visible from their front porch. I remember trying to squint and see “The Poseidon Adventure” , but the only scenes that made sense from that distance were those of the ship being rocked by underwater explosions near the end.
This was our main local drive-in for sure. I saw a ton of movies there growing up, (I saw the original “King Kong” there for the first time in 1976) and even more once I got my Driver’s License. Naturally, my first girlfriend and I went there quite a few times —but admittedly we watched a lot less intently.
I remember in 1966 “The Ghost and Mr Chicken” splashing across it in one big line of type. The same the next year in 1967 with “The Reluctant Astronaut”. Guess they got all the Don Knotts movies for the city. (I saw ‘em both there by the way.)
Here’s an aerial shot of the Marbro Twin from …1978(?).
View link
Just south of the twin (bottom right) the long dirt road can be seen that was originally the Wilkerson family’s driveway. When I visited their farm on occasion (their son David was my same age) I discovered the far screen was fairly visible from their front porch. I remember trying to squint and see “The Poseidon Adventure” , but the only scenes that made sense from that distance were those of the ship being rocked by underwater explosions near the end.
This was our main local drive-in for sure. I saw a ton of movies there growing up, (I saw the original “King Kong” there for the first time in 1976) and even more once I got my Driver’s License. Naturally, my first girlfriend and I went there quite a few times —but admittedly we watched a lot less intently.
I remember being dragged to “Saturday Night Fever” there when it was in re-release, so it had to be open through at least winter 1978.
Here’s a good shot of the theater (& surrounding mall) —circa 1972
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And another shot of the marquee.
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I remember in 1966 “The Ghost and Mr Chicken” splashing across it in one big line of type. The same the next year in 1967 with “The Reluctant Astronaut”. Guess they got all the Don Knotts movies for the city. (I saw ‘em both there by the way.)
Here’s an aerial shot of it from 1970.
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As well as a Newspaper ad from “The Smyrna Neighbor” -the week of 4.25.73
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