Oak Hills Drive-In
3101 Arlington Street,
Ada,
OK
74820
3101 Arlington Street,
Ada,
OK
74820
2 people
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Opened on June 8, 1956 with Tom Ewell in “The Lieutenant Wore Skirts”. Ada’s Oak Hills Drive-In had a capacity of 500 cars. The Oak Hills Drive-In was still open in the 1970’s but has since been demolished.
Contributed by
Jeff Chapman
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Arlington St & N Monte Vista St, Ada, OK 74820
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which was located at the southeast corner of the intersection.
Here is a 1957 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS:
http://flic.kr/p/9bc2oT
There was a Tower Drive-in in Ada in 1956.Name change?
Mike,
The Tower was another drive-in, on Broadway in the north part of town. The Tower is already listed on CT: /theaters/20849/
June 8th, 1956 grand opening ad in photo section.
A more accurate address for this theater is 3101 Arlington St, Ada, OK 74820. This points directly to the drive in itself.
The site is now possibly units or an apartment?
Same drive-in? Ada Weekly News, Dec. 30, 1954: “Frank Little, manager of the McSwain, Ritz, Kiva and Tower Drive-In Theatres in Ada announced today that the Circle 12 Drive-In Theatre on Highway 12 east of the city will open in the spring.”
Frank Little did originally have this ozoner on the drawing boards in 1954 as the Circle 12 Drive-In for the former stretch of Highway 12 that became Highway 1 on the Eastside of Ada. Video Independent Circuit and Little did open this venue with 500 speakers on June 8, 1956 with Tom Ewell in “The Lieutenant Wore Skirts”. The ozoner was located about a mile away from the Oak Hills Golf & Country Club established 40 years prior to the drive-in. It launched as the Oak Hills Drive-In and Charley Fletcher managed the Oak Hills along with the hardtop Ritz from opening in 1956 to his retirement in 1963.
The venue had an annual fireworks show and operated seasonally - generally April until November. Its annual opening was a sign of Spring to local patrons. The film “No Greater Sin” - the exploitation film about syphilis - supported by “Not Wanted (aka Shame)” about the mother of an out-of-wedlock baby - was said to have been the biggest hit for the drive-in to that point.
Fred Brewer took over management of the Oak Hills from Fletcher. He also managed the McSwain and Mini. Brewer then became a member of the Board of Directors for the United Theatre Owners of Oklahoma and the Panhandle of Texas. He was still running the theatre in the 1970s.