Putnam Drive-In
2301 W. Broad Street,
Cookeville,
TN
38501
2301 W. Broad Street,
Cookeville,
TN
38501
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Ok, if you look at the Historic Aerial from 1950, there is a Drive-In Theater to the left (West) of Peach Orchard Road on W. Broad Street. If you look at the 1997 Historic Aerial there are the remnants of a Drive-In to the right (East) of Peach Orchard Road on W. Broad Street. Did this theater literally relocate across Peach Orchard at some point?
From an article in the Cookville Herald-Citizen:
In 1948, while the State Theater was being built in Baxter, Benton Young was opening the Young’s Drive-In Theater on the northeast corner of Highway 70, and Peach Orchard Road.
Four years later, Stacy Wilhite, president of Mid-South Theaters, approached Benton Young with plans to build a bigger and better drive-in theater, with or without Young’s support.
They decided to work together and built a new drive-in theater, the Putnam Drive-In Theater, which opened in 1952, across the street from where Young’s original drive-in theater was. This new theater, the Putnam Drive-In Theater, thrived for almost 40 years.
The 16 acres that it stood on was sold in 1993 to make way for the Mid-South Machine and Supply Co. The owners of Mid-South wanted to save the marquee, because they knew of the historical significance it had to the community, but it was accidentally torn down.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 2301 West Broad Street.