Cinema Park Drive-In
Bowness Road,
Calgary,
AB
T2T
Bowness Road,
Calgary,
AB
T2T
1 person
favorited this theater
The Cinema Park Drive-In was huge, parking 1,036 cars. It was opened on July 16, 1953 with Dan Dailey in “Meet Me At the Fair” and Johnny Weissmuller in “Captive Girl”. It was owned in 1956 by F.H. Kershaw. In the 1970’s it was run by Famous Players. "Little Big Man" and "Sudden Terror" are playing here June 1, 1971.
It was closed on November 14, 1976 with Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” & Burt Reynolds in “Gator”.
Contributed by
MikeRogers
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Best I could I do was the Road,Those dang Newspaper ads wouldn’t help much if you were from out of town.
Thanks Chuck1231.
The Cinema Park Drive-in was located on Bowness Road west of 37th Street NW; the Point Mckay townhouse district is now on the site. The screen position was facing south towards the Bow River, and it’s approximate location would be just west of the Point Mckay Drive and Veterns Way, opposite the new Colonel Belcher Care Centre. The sandsone Mckay house, now the community centre for the district, was just west of the drive-in’s location.
I wish I was knew what a camera was back then, used to live across the road on 3 Ave NW as a child, and go gopher hunting over there in about 69, already closed and I remember it had a train (I think) that lived in the base of the screen as it was enclosed, well from memory anyway.
Apr 15, 1954 ad uploaded in the photo section
This opened on July 16th, 1953. Grand opening ad and aerial posted.
Cinema Park Drive-In opening Wed, Jul 15, 1953 – 31 · Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com
The Aug. 29, 1953 Billboard added a few details: “New drive-in at Calgary, Atla., is the Cinema Park, which can accommodate 1,100 cars. Site covers 45 acres and the screen is 65 feet by 48 feet.”
Additional history courtesy Stephen Leigh.
“The Cinema Park Drive-In Theatre, located on Bowness Road in Calgary, opens on July 16, 1953 with Dan Dailey in "Meet Me at the Fair”. Owned by Western Drive-In Theatres Limited and managed by Ken McGregor. The theatre site occupies 45 acres and can accommodate 1,100 cars. The huge screen has a picture size of 65 feet wide. Becomes a Famous Players Theatre on April 24, 1958, with “Teacher’s Pet” as the opening feature. Drive-In closes on November 14, 1976 with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Gator”."