Wales Drive-In
1920 Old Bartow Road,
Lake Wales,
FL
33853
1920 Old Bartow Road,
Lake Wales,
FL
33853
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Boxoffice, Feb. 16, 1970: “LAKE WALES, FLA. - A 350-car drive-in west of town, closed for several years, is being renovated for a spring opening by Floyd Enterprises, which purchased the property from Talgar Theatres. Named the Wales when it was last in operation, the airer is being resurfaced, a new snack bar and restrooms facilities installed and the screen widened to accommodate a 70x35-foot picture. Completely new equipment is being installed in the projection booth.”
Boxoffice, April 27, 1970: “LAKE WALES, FLA. - The long-shuttered Wales Drive-In, one mile from town off Highway 60, has been rebuilt and reopened by Floyd Enterprises. Featuring a spacious concessions building, the Wales now has capacity for 375 cars in front of its new 35x70-foot screen.”
Opened on May 29, 1952 with “Texans Never Cry” and “Birds Of Paradise”. It was closed on August 16, 1983 with “Coming Of Age” as its last film, and the screen was demolished 9 days later on August 25, 1983.
It Is Demolished In August 1983.
From the Google Earth historical aerials view, it looks like nearly all elements of this theatre remained in tact similar to the 1996 video until as late as early 2005.
Here is the You Tube Video from FloridaDriveIns
Video from 1996: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp1TpRizrdo
This will get you there….
1920 Old Bartow Rd, Lake Wales, FL 33853 United States
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Opened in 1955?
At one time it was operated by Floyd Theaters of Haines City, Florida, Carl Floyd, President. He had around 40 theaters, all in Florida.
I saw the drive-in listed as being on E Central Ave? Wish we had an exact address or crossroads so I could see the remains from the air on the Google Map.
Anyone have more info or photos of the drive-in when it was open?
Here are some pictures I took in July 2010.
Here are somebody else’s pictures from February 2004.