Airway Twin Drive-In
10634 Saint Charles Rock Road,
St. Ann,
MO
63074
10634 Saint Charles Rock Road,
St. Ann,
MO
63074
7 people
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Update: Airway Centre which replaced this drive-in is now permanently closed.
The Airway opened on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1948, as seen in the ad below. The next day, a similar ad said “Now Open” so that grand opening probably went off okay.
In the autumn of 1974, Wehrenberg Theatres took over operation of the Airway. Less than a year later, they added a second screen, first advertising the Airway Twin on May 21, 1975.
Based on its ads in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Airway’s final night was Sunday, Nov. 2, 1986. The movies were Trick or Treat, Maximum Overdrive, Sky Bandits, and Teen Wolf. It “closed for the season” but never reopened. Several redevelopment plans came and went before the site was demolished in 1992.
Is it the original marquee too(minus the word Drive-in)? The Airway name looks the same too.
The neon sign hasn’t moved, it’s still at the entrance to the shopping center.
The shopping center is called Airway Shopping Center.
Opened with 6 comedy cartoons(not named), and “Song of the south”. The majorette neon sign is similar to the majorette neon sign from the former Campus Drive-in in San Diego, California, not at the shopping center on the site now. Where is the Airway Drive-in majorette neon sign now?
September 23rd, 1948 grand opening ad in photo section.
I used to live in St. Ann. The girl was definitely a majorette! The drive-in looked really cool—I remember it still being open when we first moved there—you could see movies as you drove by (no audio, of course!). I’m very glad they saved the sign, but the shopping center was indeed unremarkable in itself.
More pics (and fond recollections) of the Airway here: St. Louis Flashback Movie & Drive-In Theatres
Can’t help but include this: The date of that newspaper ad was August 11, 1982…which was a Wednesday (source: http://www.timeanddate.com). It was also the year I graduated high school…and that date was about two weeks before I started my first semester of college at UMSL…where do the good times go?
@Chris: I know what you mean…I’ve been sneaking peaks at it all day long!!! That was the peak of the Wehrenberg drive-in dynasty, which was right after Arthur Theaters went bankrupt. However, about four years later, only two of those drive-ins (North Twin and 66) would still be open…
@Kyle: You know I’m doing back flips, somersaults, belly flops and dancing like my 5 year old kid after a few too many candy bars! Pure awesomeness!
Found this on drive-ins.com. It’s a newspaper listing from August 1982 with all Wehrenberg Drive-Ins at that time. The poster’s name is Tim Haye. Does he post on here? If so, I wonder if he could post this on this site…and maybe other newspaper clippings he’s scanned.
Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.drive-ins.com/pictures/motairw015.jpg
The sign depicted a majorette (not a cheerleader). Her baton twirled but I don’t think she ever threw it and caught it. From the neon tubing, it appears that her legs also moved. Here is a nice photo from 2007:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eggsngrits/415967991/
This page shows a small photo of the old sign:
View link
Air-Way Drive-in parked 800 cars and was owned in 1956 by Clarence Kaimann.
Too bad the cheerleader photos do not work anymore.
Last time I was home, the only open business on the site of the Airway was a Shop & Save grocery store. Have they built anything else around it since then?
The first thing to note is the spelling…it is Airway (one word) not Air Way.
Operation began in September 1948 under Henry Halloway. The following year a 30-year lease was negotiated by Midwest Drive-In Theatres…a predecessor General Cinema.
Wehrenberg Theatres took over operation in September 1974…and in May of 1975 the operation was twin-screened.
Wehrenberg operated the drive-in until the closing in November 1986.
On the final night the bills were: Screen #1 – “Trick or Treat” & “Maximum Overdrive”; Screen $ 2 – “Sky Bandits” & “Teen Wolf.”
So many nights and memories here. One of my earliest memories of going to the movies PERIOD was coming here to see “Jaws” in 1975. Saw Disney movies here all the time too.
My fondest memory, though, was when “Star Wars” finally played here after blowing the roof off the Creve Coeur Cine for months. We packed up the car with family, friends, and a truckload of food. We got here and there was a sign reading “Sorry, Filled”. We had to go all the way back home and come here the next night.
I truly do miss this place.