Brush Drive-In
29576 U.S. 6,
Brush,
CO
80723
29576 U.S. 6,
Brush,
CO
80723
1 person
favorited this theater
Opened on July 1, 1951 as the Brush Drive-In. Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook of 1955 and operated by John C. Roberts. Joe Machetta, owner of the Sands Theatre in town once told me that he had persistently tried to purchase the drive-in around the same time he purchased the Sands Theatre but the owner refused to sell it to him on moral principal since the drive-in was supposedly constructed in a bad location of the wind constantly blew sand and other debris around constantly.
It was a relatively short lived theatre, closing on September 18, 1957.
Contributed by
Anthony L. Vazquez-Hernandez
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The drive-in was on the east side of town on US 6. Nothing remains today; it’s a farm equipment yard across the highway from High Plains Cattle Supply, which has the address of 29576 US-6.
In the Motion Picture Almanac, the Brush debuted in the 1952-53 edition, capacity 300, owner Jack Bauer. In 1955-59, the MPA recognized John Roberts as owner. In the 1960-61 editions, the owner changed to W. M. Ashton, and then it was gone.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs also have the Brush, capacity 350, owner John C. Roberts.
A closer address (at least for Google) is 29576 US-6, Brush, CO which is across the road and home to the High Plains Cattle Supply. I could not get a fix on Google Maps for the actual address. Today, the property appears to be home to highway maintenance.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining apart from what might be the screen foundation and faint hint of ramps on the east side of the property.
https://tinyurl.com/y4gtlfpr
Based on this note and the drive-in’s MPA debut above, I’d guess it opened in 1951. April 12, 1952 Boxoffice: “J. H. Roberts has temporarily closed the Fort Morgan Theatre, which he bought in February from Jake Bauer. When the remodeling and improvement program is completed, Roberts will rename the situation the Valley Drive-In. He also owns the Brush Drive-In at Brush, Colo.”
A front-page note in the Thursday, July 5, 1951 Brush News-Tribune: “Brush’s new drive-in theater was opened this week one mile east of town on Highway 6. Jake Bauer, owner of the new theater as well as Bauer’s Drive-In at Fort Morgan, announced programs would be changed three times a week … The current attraction at the new theater includes the Colorado Hillbillies in person on the stage and Mickey Rooney in ‘Big Wheel’”.
The Brush’s ad that issue indicated that it was the final day for that movie, suggesting that it had opened earlier.
At the other end of its life, the Brush closed for the season on Sept. 28, 1957. In a note on April 10, 1958 about the indoor Emerson opening under new management, the News-Tribune reported that “according to present plans the Brush Drive-In theater will be abandoned.”
A note in the Feb. 23, 1952 issue of Boxoffice said that the Brush opened on July 1, 1951. The occasion of the note was the sale of the drive-in by Jake Bauer to John H. Roberts, who owned all the other theaters in Morgan County.
The March 16, 1957 issue of Boxoffice noted, “John Roberts has closed the Emerson, Brush, Colo., and will not open the drive-in there this summer.” But the Emerson must have reopened after that, because the Brush News-Tribune wrote on May 30, 1957 that the Brush Drive-In would reopen June 2 and the Emerson would close while the drive-in was open. As noted above, the Brush’s last show was Sept. 18, 1957.