Lee's Drive-In
172 N. Lawrence Boulevard,
Keystone Heights,
FL
32656
172 N. Lawrence Boulevard,
Keystone Heights,
FL
32656
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Community Drive-In
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Central Florida’s Keystone Heights is a small town about a half hour northwest of Gainesville. Located at the crossroads of State Road 100 and State Road 21 was this small, 52 car drive-in, known as the Community Drive-In when it opened in 1952. Later renamed Lee’s Drive-In, it was later expanded to hold 100 cars. It was closed in the 1970’s.
Contributed by
Rick Cohen
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Rick, I have it being owned by W.Lee.In 1956 there were Several Drive-ins in Flordia that held 100 cars.Couldn’t find any that held less.
Here is a 1964 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS.
Was on the Northwest Corner.
Open ~1955, I know it was open in 1967. Can anyone verify the exact dates?
More info and photos are always welcome.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 120 West Walker Drive. Now CVS.
Apparently it wasn’t 100 when it opened, according to a small story in the Jan. 8, 1962 issue of BoxOffice:
The Community Drive-In Theatre at Keystone Heights, Fla., which was cited in this publication in February 1952 as perhaps one of the smallest drive-ins in the country with space for 52 cars, has now grown to accommodate 100 cars.
This was one of the first drive-ins in Florida to install CinemaScope, and the present screen tower is 50 feet wide, with the concessions running the full width under the tower.
The Community is located right in the heart of the summer resort town and backs up to Lake Brooklyn with a perfect view of the lake at all times from the entrance. It was built, literally, by Bill Lee, veteran motion picture engineer.
From the Feb. 2, 1952 issue of Boxoffice: “W. Lee, motion picture engineer, is operating what is probably one of the smallest drive-in theatres in the country with space for 52 cars. Before Labor day Lee operated one of the few Fly-In Drive-Ins in the country, located at Keystone Heights ranch but with the end of the summer season he built one in Keystone Heights, Fla., on Main St., one block from the postoffice. Lee built this drive-in from the ground up, with no help of any kind, even to installing the speakers and projectors. Lee has been in the motion picture business since 1910, he and his wife having owned a large number of indoor theatres.”
The theater’s entrance was located on 172 N Lawrence Blvd, Keystone Heights, FL 32656. It indeed closed in the 1970s.