Cahokia Drive-In
Highway 15,
Alorton,
IL
62207
Highway 15,
Alorton,
IL
62207
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Closed in 1982.
Grand opening ad posted
Cahokia Drive-In opening 20 Sep 1955, Tue Belleville Daily Advocate (Belleville, Illinois) Newspapers.com
Boxoffice of September 10, 1955 said that the new Cahokia Drive-In, soon to open at Alorton, had been designed by Cleveland architect-engineer George M. Petersen.
Got a better marquee picture posted…. Should be the main page picture
Opening date was 9/22/55.
Directly to the north of the intersection that Kenmore mentions is an oddly shaped and out of place mini-forest of trees. Look close…that was the back corner of the drive-in.
A better address is New Missouri Ave & US Route 50 & Missouri Ave, Alorton, Illinois. You can actually see part of the ramps remaining on the north side of the cloverleaf. http://tinyurl.com/qdybjyz
When are they going to build the highway? As it is right now it’s no better than a six lane goat path.
Closing night of the Cahokia Drive-In was September 30, 1978.
The ad in the Metro-East Journal read: “Last Chance! This Friday and Saturday are the final nights of operation for the Cahokia Drive-In. Yes, that’s right, the state bought us out to build a new highway and we are closing our gates forever. Witness the closing af a chapter in history and spend the night at our…Friday and Sturday All Night X-Rated Marathon.”
In the spring of 1979 the Bloomer operated Futura Drive-In, in Cahokia, is renamed the Cahokia South.
The Cahokia Drive-In (in Alorton) ceased operation in 1978. The following spring the Futura Drive-In (in Cahokia) became known as the Cahokia South Drive-In. Since then confusion has reigned.
The Cahokia Drive-In was located in Alorton, but a few miles north of the actual town of Cahokia, Illinois. It was one of the Bloomer Amusement Company’s numerous successful locations at the time and, yes, the notable dancing indian in neon was impressive. However, the money that was given for the property was too much to argue with at the time and the drive-in was demolished, along with the race track, around 1980, to make way for the I-255. The Futura Drive-In was located on Route 3 and the only drive-in actually located in the Cahokia city limits. Built in the 60s, it closed about 1981 or 82 and did not feature a fancy marquee – in fact, the last time I saw it, the old marquee was used to advertise an auto body shop that used the property.
Much to the north of this, in Fairmont City, near the Fairmont Race Track, was the Falcon Drive-In (formerly the Mounds Drive-In), which was owned and operated by the Wehrenburg chain. This biggie (700 cars) was built on actual bulldozed Indian burial grounds (this was cool in 1949) and, before it closed, in the late 70s and early 80s, the drive-in was only open weekends showing adult triple features. Although in Fairmont City, this drive-in had an address of East St. Louis.
The only other memorable drive-in in this area would be the Shop City Drive-In, located in the heart of East St. Louis, on Summit, right behind a rather large shopping center, just off the I-64