Starlite Drive-In
1820 N. Columbia Street,
Milledgeville,
GA
31061
1820 N. Columbia Street,
Milledgeville,
GA
31061
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Additional Info
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The Starlight Drive-In opened in late-1963, and had a capacity for 100 cars.
Contributed by
calryn
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
The Starlite Drive-In, then under construction, was expected to be open by Thanksgiving Day, 1963, according to the November 25 issue of Boxoffice Magazine that year.
Also, Milledgeville had an earlier drive-in as well. Harry Hart noted in his Boxoffice Magazine column on June 10, 1950, that Martin Theatres had opened its 350-car Cadet Drive-In at Milledgeville on April 24.
Another Starlite Drive-in.
N Columbia St & Hammock Rd NW, Milledgeville, GA 31061
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by a shopping plaza.
Here is a 1972 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 1820 North Columbia Street. The entrance at this location is where the drive-in driveway stood.
I have vague memories of movies here but I was too young.
That said, my best friend and I were young boys right before the Starlite was to be demolished and we went out there and explored. We climbed what remained of the screen (dangerous and dumb, as young men are inclined to be) and went into the projection both. I took a letter “D” which is my first initial, along with a few signs and 3 log books of the movies they showed (I later went to school as a film historian at Georgia Tech’s HTS program). I have lugged these items around with me for a long time and will upload images as I take them.
Was the Starlite’s opening postponed a little? It happens…
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 4, 1964: “Curly Burns has assumed buying and booking duties for Jack Jones' Blue Ridge and the new Starline (sic) Drive-In, Milledgeville, Ga.”
That is a great quote and citation Michael! The info at the top of this page says it opened in late 1963 and your article from March 4, 1964 calls it “the new Starline (sic) Drive-In. I think a theater four or five months old would still be called "new.”
I keep remembering little bits and pieces of details and wanted to mention one. I have only one specific memory of seeing a movie at the Starlite, “Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River,” first released in 1968 (possibly screened at that theater in ‘69) with Jerry Lewis. I only remember it because as a very little boy the title blew my mind and the opening credits were animated. I have attached a poster for that film in the photos section.
Thanks for the kind words, David. Many or most of the theater summaries at the tops of pages on CT are shaped by the collective evidence submitted by posters. In this case, the excellent Joe Vogel’s Boxoffice note said that the opening was expected by Thanksgiving Day; I suspect that’s what prompted our tireless editor to believe in a 1963 opener. In my experience, many drive-in grand openings slipped past their projected dates, which is why I thought it might be possible that it happened here.
I don’t know either way. Someone with access to the local Milledgeville newspapers from late 1963 to early 1964 could tell us for sure. If you ever drop in to a local library, someone there might be able to help.