Tawas Drive-In
2005 US 23,
East Tawas,
MI
48730
2005 US 23,
East Tawas,
MI
48730
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A closer address is 2099 US-23, East Tawas, MI.
This places it right on the East Tawas Shot N Go which is now the entrance to the property. Today, most of the field is still empty and you can still see most of the outline, a faint hint of ramps, and the foundation of the projection booth/snack bar.
https://tinyurl.com/3pvmxtna
The Tawas Drive-In was the seventh known Michigan drive-in project completed by my grandfather Albert S. “Al” Johnson’s Johnson Construction Company. The drive-in was located at 2005 N. US-23 in East Tawas, Michigan. I’ve uploaded scanned copies of all nine of Al’s Kodachrome slides.
His slides include one image showing construction of the concession/projection building with what could be a flatbed well-drilling rig in front of it. This image was taken in March 1952.
The remaining slides were shot in July 1952. These show the project nearing its completion. Vertical tongue-and-groove knotty pine sheathes the concession/projection building doors and also covers the ticket booth.
A Jeep, used to set the precast speaker stands, is shown in one slide. A swing set can be seen in front of the screen. Child play areas, sometimes with benches or chairs from which their parents could watch over their children, were a common feature of drive-ins of the era.
Two images show the drive-in on opening night. The marquee reads: “Gala Opening Tonight ‘Thief of Bagdad’ and Judy Canova in ‘Hit the Hay’ Souvenirs to first 500 cars.”
More recent photos of the drive-in at the waterwinterwonderland.com website show that the screen had been widened at some point. The site also states that the drive-in was closed after the 1991 season.
The current address for this theater is 2005 US 23, East Tawas MI 48730.
Please update.
Address was 2005 N. US-23.
In 1993-1994, there were plans to build a Meijer store on the site, but it was canceled. A Presbyterian church was built on a portion of the lot ca. 1995, and a Citgo station in 1997. About 1/3 of the field remains unused; there is still a moonbeam light at the back of the lot, and the snackbar was still standing until 2005.