Lycinda Drive-In

MichaelKilgore on March 28, 2023 at 6:02 am

Joe Osborne, former owner and operator of the Lycinda Drive-In Theatre and Joe’s Lycinda grocery at Viper, died at the age of 80 on March 28, 1995, based on a short obituary the next day in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Joe Lycinda True Value hardware in Viper still exists today.

As for the drive-in, looks like it opened in the summer of 1955.

Independent Film Journal, May 14, 1955: “Noah Campbell’s new Lycinda Drive-In, going up in Fusonia, Ky., is expected to be ready by the 1st of June. Located between Whitesburg and Hazard, it will be equipped for CinemaScope and hold 300 cars.”

Motion Picture Exhibitor, June 1, 1955: “According to Floyd Morrow, Morrow Theatre Service, a buying and booking service for drive-in theatres, he will handle the buying and booking for Noah Campbell’s Lycinda Drive-In, Fusonia, Ky., which was scheduled to open on May 27.”

50sSNIPES on October 5, 2022 at 11:30 am

It appears that the theater opened in 1954. A 1953 aerial shows that the theater hasn’t been built yet.