Fort Teepee Outdoor Theatre
530 Highway 45 S,
Eagle River,
WI
54521
530 Highway 45 S,
Eagle River,
WI
54521
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The 100-car capacity Fort Teepee Outdoor Theatre was located at the far south portion of Eagle River near Clearwater Lake. Unfortunately I cannot find the opening date to this theatre at all, but I can find an aerial shot of the theatre dating back to 1966. So its opening date has not been found yet.
After nearly two or three decades of operation, the theatre sat abandoned for a while after closing in the 1980;s. The screen was later removed and the trace of the theatre remain attached until being overgrown throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
As of 2023, only a chunk of the former theatre was replaced by the Canvas Products of Eagle River.
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50sSNIPES
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The Motion Picture Almanac’s first listing for the Fort Tepee Outdoor, located at Clearwater Lake, was when the MPA refreshed its drive-in list for its 1977 edition after a decade of relative inattention. The Fort Tepee’s capacity was list as 100, its owner as J. P. Cozzuol.
The only other hint I could find was in the July 12, 1976 issue of Boxoffice: “The Towne Theatre in New Holstein presented its last show recently and is now for sale. Operator Joe Cozzuolo (sic?), however, has another unit, the Fort Tepee Outdoor at Clearwater Lake in Vilas County, which we understand is doing very well” (Another Boxoffice note in August 1976 on the Towne’s closure spelled the owner’s name Cuzzuol.)
The Fort Tepee’s final appearance in the MPA drive-in list was the 1984 edition, suggesting an earlier closure.
Oh, and the location of the Fort Tepee was just south of O Neil Road from the Clearwater Lake Seventh Day Adventist Church, which is still there. The church’s address is 3770 O Neil Rd, Eagle River, WI 54521.
A small drive-in appeared there on a 1972 topo map but not in a 1966 aerial photo, more clues to the opening date. The map indicated a screen at the northwest corner, but I don’t see it in 1966, 1980, or 1981 aerials of the site.
The Eagle River post office delivers its mail, but the church and the drive-in site are clearly part of the unincorporated area known as Clearwater Lake.
Since you found the location of the Fort Teepee on 2149 O Neil Rd, Eagle River, WI 54521 then I think I found the Eagle River Drive-In on 530 Highway 45 S, Eagle River, WI 54521, which I believe the Eagle River had a little more larger car capacity than the Fort Teepee.