66 Drive-In

3105 W. 3rd Street,
Elk City, OK 73644

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Griffith Amusement Company, Martin Theatres, Video Independent Theaters Inc.

Nearby Theaters

66 Drive-In

The 66 Drive-In was opened on April 5, 1949. It was still open in 1986, but had closed by the late-1980’s

This unauthorized "lift" description of the 66 Drive-In is taken from the web site roadsideoklahoma, "The old lot is now inhabited by a Wal-Mart. I passed through Elk City in late-2007, and deviated off of I-40 just to visually confirm that there were no remains…and that is so!"

Just what is needed, another Walmart.
Nuf sed!

Contributed by Cactus Jack

Recent comments (view all 9 comments)

jwmovies
jwmovies on November 18, 2012 at 9:39 pm

Above info is incorrect. Approx. address for this drive-in was 3105 West 3rd Street. Now Tractor Supply.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on February 22, 2019 at 1:53 pm

The 66 Drive-In (no “Route” mentioned in the name) first appeared in the 1949-50 edition of the Theatre Catalog, capacity 400, owner Video Ind. Theatres, Inc. The 66 was also in the first Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list, the 1950-51 edition, and stayed through the final MPA list in 1988.

MPA drive-in list summary:

  • 1950-66: Capacity 500, Owner Video Ind.
  • 1969-76: Capacity 500, no owner info
  • 1977-84: Capacity 300, Owner Video Indep.
  • 1985-88: Owner Martin
MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on May 31, 2019 at 12:57 pm

An Elk City history book, found at the Old Town Museum there, said that the 66 Drive-In Theatre was under construction in late 1949 and was owned by Griffith Theatre and Amusement Company, which also owned the Elk Theatre and the (also under construction) Westland Theatre.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on May 31, 2019 at 7:43 pm

First noticed by kencmcintyre, here’s a note from the May 6, 1950 issue of BoxOffice that suggests the 66 opened by 1949:

ELK CITY, OKLA. – Winfred Wilcoxon, formerly at the Elk Theater here, now is manager of the 66 Drive-In on Route 66 west of here. Dale Brister, who managed the drive-in last season, has been shifted to the Elk.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on April 25, 2020 at 1:29 pm

Boxoffice, Dec. 25, 1948: “ELK CITY, OKLA. – Construction work is under way on a new 400-car drive-in on highway 66 two miles west of here. Griffith Consolidated Theatres, Inc., is builder of the ozoner, which is scheduled for completion about March 1.”

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 25, 2020 at 1:52 pm

I removed the photo that belonged to the 66 Drive-In in Springfield Illinois. Thanks for pointing it out. I wish CT had a way of notifying us when comments get added beneath photos. I found on that had been responded to 10 years ago…

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on May 27, 2021 at 10:26 am

This ad gives us a couple of opening dates. For the Westland, it was May 18, 1950. And now we know that the 66 Drive-In opened on April 5, 1949.

Elk City Know Your Neighbors adElk City Know Your Neighbors ad 24 May 1960, Tue The Elk City Daily News (Elk City, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on October 26, 2021 at 12:40 pm

When did Elk City’s 66 close? We know that it was still intact in February 1984. We know that Martin Theatres bought Video Independent, then sort of changed its name to Cinemark. The Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit lists were more accurate than its drive-in lists. In the 1986 edition, Cinemark included Elk City’s 66 Drive-In in its circuit entry. In the 1987 edition, Cinemark no longer claimed the 66.

My current guess is that the drive-in lasted through the 1985 season before it was replaced by a Wal-Mart (now a Tractor Supply store). I look forward to hearing more concrete details from someone with access to the local newspapers from back then.

GP72022A
GP72022A on March 8, 2022 at 7:35 pm

Closed in the late 1980s

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