Yellow Jacket Drive-In
884 TX-115,
Kermit,
TX
79745
884 TX-115,
Kermit,
TX
79745
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Tower Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The Tower Drive-In in Kermit, TX was opened in 1949. By 1952 when it was operated by J.L. Slaughter. In 1953 it was taken over by new operators and renamed Yellow Jacket Drive-In. It had closed by 1996 and only the ramps and the foundation of the projectors booth remain the actual projectors booth and all the speaker poles were removed in the 2010’s.
Contributed by
daniel
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
The drive in was named for the High School mascot.
where did you hear that drive-inf fan. just curious i want proof! because if you lived in the area when the drive-in existed and the drive-in owners or school staff told you so then i’d believe you but if you didn’t grow up in the area i want proof!
dansdriveintheater….I have been doing research on the Texas drive ins for years. Plus I work with a gentleman who is from Kermit, Texas. There is your proof.
know i’m late but thanks!
Did the high school mascot wear a yellow jacket?
Probably the origin story, from the Aug. 16, 1952 issue of Billboard:
Frank Love Jr., manager of the Kermit Theaters, Kermit, Tex., announces that construction will start there soon on a 500-car capacity drive-in.
In early 2019 a RV Park was opened up on the old drive in property and the concession building was torn down.
Billboard, May 16, 1953: “Paul W. Gay has taken over management of the Oasis, Kermit, Lariat and Tower Drive-In theaters in Kermit, Tex. … He replaces Frank Love Jr., who is retiring.”
The Tower Drive-In Theatre launched in 1949. Sold in 1953, it would become the Yellow Jacket.
My grandfather was Bill b Smith and I grew up in this theater and high school’s mascot was a yellow jacket in fact there was one painted on the tower and that was my first job starting at 8 years old I would count the heads in the car tell my grandmother and she would tell me how much money to ask for me and my brother would get a wheelbarrow and get the letters to put on the Marquee of what was the next movie to be showing and then when I turn 12 I started working at a concession stand and right before they sold it which was a devastating day for me I was learning how to run the projector and what the cigarette burn was all about