Jesse James Drive-In
1600 Nashville Street,
Russellville,
KY
42276
1600 Nashville Street,
Russellville,
KY
42276
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Holiday Amusement Co.
Previous Names: Russellville Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
Opened as the Russellville Drive-In in 1952. It was renamed Jesse James Drive-In in 1971. The drive-in lasted thru the mid-1980’s with a car capacity of 300 cars. It was operated by Holiday Amusement Co. when it closed.
Contributed by
Stephen
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
The address for this drive in is 1600 Nashville St, Russellville, KY 42276.
Now Young Funeral Home.
Please update.
It may have demolished in the 1990s.
Russellville News-Democrat, May 9, 1952: (display ad) “Notice is hereby given that on May 3, 1952, an application was filed in the office of the Clerk of the Logan County Court by Shelby McCallum, R. E. Foust, Homer Soloman and George Lilly, doing business as Russellville Drive-In Theatre for a permit to operate a place of public entertainment and a drive-in moving picture theatre in Logan County, Kentucky, about 1½ miles South of Russellville on the West side of Highway No. 75.”
The Russellville Drive-In was advertising in the News-Democrat by July 11, 1952. No mention of a grand opening.
Boxoffice, Nov. 28, 1953: (Classified ad, under Theatres For Sale) “Only Logan county drive-in, Russellville, Ky. 300 speakers, latest Century equipment. Shelby McCallum, Benton, Ky.” (The ad continued off and on through at least May 8, 1954.)
The Motion Picture Almanac listed this as the Russellville Drive-In from its first appearance in the 1953-54 edition until 1977.
Theatre Catalog, 1955-56: “Russellville, Ky., Drive In. Exec: S. McCollum. (300)”
Russellville News-Democrat, May 20, 1971: “A Cincinnati based firm, Holiday Amusement, Inc., this week purchased the Russellville Drive-In and the downtown Logan Theater … from Charles Bowles, whose theaters have been plagued by fires during the past year … The drive-in, which has been renamed The Jesse James Drive-In, will open full time, Wednesday, May 27 … Last summer the drive-in screen was damaged by fire and this winter the downtown location was the scene of an explosion-fire which heavily damaged the facility.”
The property has been dissected by Benson Drive. The southern half of the old drive in along with the screen are now H&R AgriPower. Just on the north side of Benson Drive, you can see the parch marks of some of the ramps.