Skyway Drive-In
1413 Dewitt Avenue E.,
Mattoon,
IL
61938
1413 Dewitt Avenue E.,
Mattoon,
IL
61938
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The Skyway Drive-In was opened July 30, 1949, and closed in 1984.
Contributed by
Norman Plant
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
I posted the USGS aerial here.
The 1940s section of a timeline of Mattoon history says that the Skyway Drive-In opened in 1947.
The 1980s section of the timeline says that the Skyway closed in 1984.
Grand opening was July 31, 1949 with the opening film of “Out of the Blue.” Operator M.A. Osborn hoped patrons liked the 40' by 50' screen and had spaces for 500 cars. Mayor G.W. Smith was on hand to help dedicate Mattoon’s first drive-in theatre. Osborn announced the sale of the Skyway at the end of his third season with the Mattoon Theater Company taking it on for 1953. The theater was redone for its grand reopening Easter Sunday, April 5, 1953.
The address for this drive in was 1413 Dewitt Ave E, Mattoon, IL 61938. Now Matoon Ready Mix Concrete Supply. A couple of ramps are still visible in the back of the property.
Please update.
dallasmovietheaters, you are off by one day. It opened on the 30th.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, May 30, 1962: “The screen tower at the Skyway Drive-In, Mattoon, Ill., a Frisina theatre, blew down. As a result, the Charleston, Ill., drive-in will go into a full time operation.”