Panther Drive-In
1203 S. Third Street,
Jal,
NM
88252
1203 S. Third Street,
Jal,
NM
88252
1 person
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The Panther Drive-In was opened in the summer of 1952 when it was operated by R.I. Payne & Theatre Enterprises. From 1955 it was operated by Frontier Theatres. Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook’s of 1956, 1964 & 1968. It was closed in 1975.
Contributed by
A.L. Vazquez-Hernandez
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Found It!
The address (according to Google) is 1203 South 3rd Street, Jal, NM. Today, the property holds a private residence and what appears to be a business.
You can still see the ramps, entrance/exit road, and the ticket booth is still standing.
http://tinyurl.com/ycznldfy
The Hobbs News-Sun had a lengthy story about the Panther, picked by the AP and printed in the March 26, 1984 Carlsbad Current-Angus. It said that the Panther opened “more than 30 years ago,” and was purchased by Larry Stapler in 1977 “on the spur of the moment.” Stapler jerry-rigged an AM radio broadcasting system and took down the speaker poles. The drive-in’s only real problem was caused “about 15 years ago by a tornado that blew down the screen and knocked out the concession windows.”
Probably named for the High School athletic team.
The front page of the July 30, 1953 Jal Record had a short story on the Panther (yes, the same name as the local high school mascot). “Emilu Betty has announced special prices at the Panther Drive-In will be offered through the month of August … She stated the feature price is … to express … deep appreciation for the splendid patronage enjoyed since the Panther Drive-In was opened in the summer of ‘52.”
What’s weird about that is that I never found any mention of the Panther Drive-In in 1952 issues of the Record, which ran weekly ads for the indoor Rex and noted the opening of the Lariat Drive-In in Kermit TX during that period. The Panther was advertising in 1953.