Key City Drive-In

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Uploaded on: June 3, 2015

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Did you wonder where the “World’s Finest Drive-In” with the “World’s Largest Screen” was? If you believe the highly questionable ad, that would be in the city known as “the Key City” and was Abilene’s Key City Super Drive-In Theatre operated by Maurice S. Cole. Its grand opening was October 8, 1952 launching with the film, “At Sword’s Point" (first ad). The final of three operators, Video Independent Theatres (VIT) Circuit of Oklahoma took on the drive-in and ended with “Budget Vue,” a pricing policy that was just 49 cents per carload which the theater tried for six months in 1968.

In November of 1968, Video Independent picked up the Tower Twin and the Crescent Drive-Ins in Abilene. And then in December VIT picked up the Town & Country Twin Drive-In and that was simply one too many. VIT would abruptly close the Key City on December 6, 1968 with “The Magnificent 7” and “The Great Escape.”