Airway Drive-In
5350 E. Liberty Street,
Mexico,
MO
65265
5350 E. Liberty Street,
Mexico,
MO
65265
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All that remains of the drive-in is the faint outline of the entrance and exit roads along with the foundation of the screen, marquee, and ticket booth.
The Airway was still in operation in the 1980s, but was gone by the 1990s.
The Little Dixie Airway opened on August 31, 1950 according to full-page grand opening news reported by the Mexico Ledger two days earlier. The first program was Mickey starring Lois Butler, the short Contest Crazy with Edgar Kennedy, and the cartoon The Coo-Coo Bird Dog.
The Frisina Amusement Co. purchased the site’s 15 acres from John and Ray Hagan on Highway 54 three miles east of Mexico. The screen was 52x42 feet, 260 feet from the projector, and the tower was made of heavy pine timbers sheeted with asbestos. The drive-in accommodated 500 cars, each greeted by a uniformed attendant who directed it to its ramp.
A closer address (at least for Google) is 5350 East Liberty Street, Mexico, MO. Today, a business sits on most of the property, but you can still see the entrance/exit roads and the foundation for the screen. http://tinyurl.com/z837uhx