Corral Drive-In
1930 S. 7th Street,
Raymondville,
TX
78580
1930 S. 7th Street,
Raymondville,
TX
78580
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The Corral Drive-In was opened in 1951 and was owned by R.N. Smith and managed by Kelly Ross. The rear of the screen tower had a cowboy on a horse mural, which could be seen five miles away. There was a ‘Colt Corral’ for the kiddies in front of the screen.
Contributed by
Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Small picture of the Corral here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/p/corraldi.jpg
Old imagery puts the drive precisely South of town in this lot. The rectangular building behind the 3 houses is in the exact same spot as the old snack bar or offices. There was a much smaller building between this large building and the screen, which would likely house the projection booth.
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1930 S. 7th Street, Raymondville, TX 78580 United States
Will take you right to the old entrance.
I think the rectangular building IS the concession building, the size is about the same and position is the same. It however has been turned into a garage or storage shed.
HistoricAerials.com has a useful Compare feature for superimposing new aerial photos over old ones. Kennerado is on target – that rectangular building is the same shape and in the same location on the site as the original projection / concession building.
The March 7, 1953 issue of Boxoffice ran a full-page article about the Corral, mostly focused on its neon-lit mural. “Motorists are said to be able to see the screen tower from a distance of five miles, due to the face that it is 56 feet high and is located on top of a four-foot dirt hill, making the top of the tower 60 feet above ground.”
The drive-in first appears in a 1953 aerial. It is still intact and perhaps operational in 1983. By 1995 it has been demolished.
Apart from the projection booth/concession stand, the only remaining evidence of the drive-in is the entrance/exit road and an imprint of the ramp outline on the north side.