Showboat Drive-In
3555 Government Way,
Coeur d'Alene,
ID
83815
3555 Government Way,
Coeur d'Alene,
ID
83815
1 person
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Showboat Cruise-In
Nearby Theaters
The Spokane Daily Chronicle announced the opening of the 400-car Showboat Drive-In on July 3, 1948 with Bing Crosby in “Blue Skies”. Oscar Paisley and Orrin Lee had spent $100,000 on the theatre that had the room to add 200 more cars. Its large sign, shaped like a boat, was a local landmark for many years.
Competition came in 1955 when the adjacent Coeur d’Alene Drive-In, operated by the Seale family, opened at 3625 Government Way. The Showboat Drive-In had been re-named Showboat Cruise-In by 1955 and had a car capacity listed as 310. It was listed in the International Motion Picture Almanac through 1976.
In September of 1978 Tom Moyer of Luxury Theatres, who owned the adjacent Coeur d’Alene Drive-In, opened his Tri-Cinema on the former Showboat Drive-In property. Moyer’s new indoor theatre wasn’t named the Showboat. The Showboat name was used by another indoor triple-screen cinema in Coeur d’Alene, owned by Marvin Miller.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
A picture of the entrance and aerial views of the Showboat can be seen on this theater’s gallery page at Drive-ins.com.
Link with a crisper, credited version of the Overview photo.
http://historyofidaho.com/index.php/postcards/idaho/c/coeur-d-alene/businesses/showboat-drive-in-theatre-on-us-hwy-10-coeur-d-alene-idaho?fbclid=IwAR2L6cy_MQCqHSwsF1MKaAgtHq5_nObLq_Jt0prrkjfuAEgrw2JiS4cRkBE#.XK9TVp4QANU.facebook
The screen blew down in 1989