Lakeside Drive-In
State Highway 18,
Pawnee,
OK
74058
State Highway 18,
Pawnee,
OK
74058
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The actual opening date is May 22, 1953 with Ronald Reagan in “The Last Outpost” and John Barrymore Jr. in “Quebec” with no extras.
Boxoffice, March 12, 1973: “The Lakeside Drive-In, Pawnee, has been sold to Pat McCray and his wife Sandra by Mr. and Mrs. Milan G. Steele, who built the airer in 1953 and operated it continuously as a family theatre. The family policy will be carried on by the McCrays, who also own the Pawnee Western Auto Store.”
Boxoffice, May 23, 1953: “Mr. and Mrs. Milan G. Steele, owners, set May 19 as opening date for their new Lakeside Drive-In Theatre at Pawnee.”
The Nov. 6, 1954 issue of Boxoffice ran a lengthy article, with photos, about Lakeside owner Milan G. Steele’s do-it-yourself approach to drive-in construction. “Incidentally, the new wide screen, 60x30 feet, replaced the one destroyed in a tornado last May 1.”
A closer address is E0450 Rd & N3480 Rd, Pawnee, OK as indicated by jwmovies.
The drive-in was located on the NE corner of the intersection. Today, it is an empty field and you can barely see the outline and hints of the ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/y3k2zngn
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Lakeside with a capacity of 200, owner Milan G. Steele. He was still listed as owner when the Lakeside finally debuted in the Motion Picture Almanac’s 1966 edition.
Steele wrote a scathing review of Hansel & Gretel (1954) on behalf of the Lakeside in the July 16, 1955 Motion Picture Herald. He wrote, “You would be better off not to play it, since a picture like this stops them from coming for a long time, and some may never come back after seeing such a thing.”
When the MPA resumed including owner info in 1977, it listed P. McCray. That continued through 1982. In 1983, the Lakeside fell off the MPA list.
Approx. location for this drive-in was E0450 Rd & N3480 Rd.