Mini 5 Drive-In
30166 Olive Drive,
Lebanon,
MO
65536
30166 Olive Drive,
Lebanon,
MO
65536
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Boxoffice, July 24, 1972: “Charles Burton, owner of the new Mini-5 Drive-In located north of Lebanon on Route 5, opened the 80-car airer in early June. The Mini-5, which utilizes a wireless sound system whereby the audio is picked up on patrons' car radios or by a portable radio, will be open nightly through August.”
I just uploaded an aerial photo from 1995. It’s a little grainy, but you can still see the screen (not an autoscope), projector hut and ramps. As Kenmore noted, the ramps are still faintly visible today.
I have wondered if this could possibly have been built as an autoscope drive-in to show adult movies due to the odd shape of the field and the name (Mini 5) being similar to the Mini Drive In in Joplin MO (just down I-44 from Lebanon) which was an autoscope which showed adult movies. The screen in the photo was very basic, and looked almost home made, and might have been added later. Lebanon is also only about 30 miles from Buffalo MO, home of the longest lived autoscope drive-in, so the concept was familiar in the area. I have not been able to uncover any evidence about this however.
A closer address is 30166 Olive Dr, Lebanon, MO. This puts you right at the entrance to the drive-in itself. The drive-in was not present in a 1959 aerial photo, so it was constructed some time after that.
Today, there is little left of the drive-in. You can barely make out the ramps. However, the concession stand/projector booth may still be standing.
https://tinyurl.com/y832mpon