Phoenix Drive-In
16657 B,
Houston,
MO
65483
16657 B,
Houston,
MO
65483
3 people
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Opened on 10th May 1951 with “Stella”.
Looks like they no longer have speakers?
The Jan. 1, 1955 Motion Picture Herald reported:
“The Sunset Drive-In theatre at Houston, Mo., owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Hubert E. Lay since 1951, has been sold to Mr. and Mrs. Dick Fisher of Willow Springs, Mo.”
That lines up with the reference books. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Sunset with capacity 350, Exec: H. E. Lay. The 1955-56 Catalog listed R. D. Fisher as the exec.
The 1951-52 MPA listed the Sunset without further details. The 1952-55 editions had the capacity of 150, “Owner or Booker” was H. E. Lay. The 1956-66 Almanacs listed R. D. Fischer as owner/booker. The MPAs stopped listing owners for a decade, then the 1977 edition listed the Sunset with a capacity of 200, owner Wyatt. That’s how it stayed through the final drive-in list, the 1988 Almanac.
There’s another great article, with a ton of very nice photos, in yesterday’s Houston Herald. Here are a few new details:
Long-time Texas County residents Josh and Jennifer Shelton took ownership of the business in June 2018. The Faith Fellowship youth group painted the projection / concession building on Day One.
The Phoenix “can accommodate close to 150 vehicles”. It still uses FM sound, and there was no reference to leftover speakers.
“The drive-in was open on weekends during the holiday season, and will operate on a week-by-week basis until re-opening for good in the spring and showing movies into late fall.” Since the indoor theater operates pretty much all year, the drive-in appears to run whenever weather permits.
Grand opening ad in the photo section.
I found a great article in the Houston Herald from September 2011. Lots of nice photos, and these timeline clues:
It changed hands “several times over the years”.
Jaretta Lankford owned the drive-in and adjacent indoor theater “for most of the 90s.” The original screen blew down “in the mid-1990s” and was replaced with the screen that endures to at least 2011. That was also when it upgraded to FM sound, keeping a few car speakers too.
It was purchased in February 2010 from someone who “only had it less than a year”.
As of the article, Samantha Thomas owned the Phoenix and ran it with her parents, Richard and Hillary Thomas, and sister Noel.
This drive-in is owned by the same owner as the Phoenix Theatre adjacent to the drive-in.