Community Drive-In

The Community Drive-In opened its gates on August 26, 1948 with Larry Parks in “The Swordsman” along with a few unnamed short subjects and cartoons. The theater is located 4 miles east of Kittanning, and 20 miles west of Indiana (PA). The original screen is a 40x50ft deck and contains RCA sound equipment. A playground was also equipped as well.

On November 5, 1954, 3 Drive-Ins including the Community Drive-In’s owners sought $4,575,000 in damages from the country’s top movie companies in a dispute over the showing of films.

On January 28, 1960, former buyer of the theater, David E. Edwards of Pleasant Hills, has sued Kittanning’s own Community Drive-In including its own ownership due to an effort on them getting back the money he paid since he bought the theater 3 years prior in 1957. Edwards claimed weekly gross receipts at the theater which were misrepresented when he purchased the theater. He said that he bought the establishment on the basis of figures showing a cost of $14,701 receipts a week, but apparently that a recent audit revealed the receipts were only about $10,000. The suit is asking a return of $26,000 in instalment payments and $27,000 for operating the theater, bringing a total of the theater $80,000 in total.

On May 5, 1964, Firemen from the Kittanning Hose Company 6 and Rayburn Township Volunteer Fire Departments took a response call at a grass fire near the property of the Community Drive-In. There were no damage to the theater.

This theater was home to a few deadly vehicle accidents in the 1960s:

First, On August 23, 1964, a vehicle accident took place after a car spun out of control near the theater. A truck driver following the eastbound of a look-a-like Chevrolet dropped off the new paving on a slight curve near the Community Drive-In Theater then ended up going out of control when the driver attempted to pull back, smashing the front rear of the car. 2 people from Indiana (PA) were confirmed dead, all between the ages of 70 and 73; and 4 people were injured, all between the ages of 17 and 19.

And lastly, on Valentines Day 1965, another deadly accident occurred near the Community Drive-In. This time, 2 20-year-olds confirmed dead and 1 remains in critical condition, a 23-year-old from Sagamore. The car (a look-a-like Ford or Chevrolet) was going east on Route 422 when it came upon a patch of ice on the road, formed by water seepage from an embankment. The car skidded and ran to the right of the road, off the highway and is believe to have overturned several times, striking a road marker and a natural gas meter while travelled 100 feet off the road. The 23-year-old and one of the 20-year-olds were thrown off the vehicle. The estimated $1,500 damage was incurred to the vehicle.

On June 3, 1967, the manager of the theater, Al November, took over the operation at the Community Drive-In and the theater has been remodeled and renovated.

On the morning of May 12, 1968 at 12:55 PM EDT, a barn was destroyed by a 1-alarm fire located at least a one-half mile away from the Community Drive-In, estimating a $8,000 structure damage. The property owned by Ernest Stern Associated Drive-Ins of Pittsburgh rented the place from time to time until this happened and was vacant at the time of the fire, and the cause has not been determined yet.

On June 29, 1968, minor damage was reported at a brush fire in the vicinity of the Community Drive-In causing all 3 departments to respond. A similar brush fire occurs also in that area on June 4, 1977.

A new screen was built on August 23, 1970.

On August 2, 1973, section 15 of PennDOT’s funds involves an extended roadway from a bridge for a distance of 3 miles to the vicinity of the Community Drive-In along with its Route 422 estimated a cost of $8,000,000.

The Community Drive-In closed its gates for the final time on August 15, 1977 with “The Deep” and “Fun With Dick And Jane” as their last films. Approximately though, the theater became a flea market 2 months prior to its closing. It had been demolished by 1993.

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