Oakley Drive-In
5033 Madison Road,
Cincinnati,
OH
45227
5033 Madison Road,
Cincinnati,
OH
45227
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: National Amusements, Redstone Drive-In Theaters
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
In early-April 1955, plans were being drawn up by the Oakley Drive-In Theatre Inc. on Madison Road for a new ozoner. The residents in the area and the Children’s Home on the opposite side of the road waged an unsuccessful legal fight to prevent construction of the new drive-in. They cited the noise, traffic congestion, debris and other objectionable features that are produced by such establishments. In 1956, Judge Carson Hoy refused to grant an injunction between the Children’s Home and the residents against the Oakley Drive-In Theatre Inc. from the construction of the drive-in. The litigants appealed the ruling in the First District Court of Appeals which refused to change it, so they lost. The Oakley Drive-In opened on September 6, 1956 with a screening of the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock directed drama/thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much” with James Stewart and Doris Day. The second feature was the 1956 western “The Proud Ones” with Robert Ryan, Virginia Mayo and Jeffrey Hunter.
The new ozoner was opened by Oakley Drive-In Theatre Inc. (dba Mid-States Theatres from Cincinnati, OH). The theatre operators were thinking of running wires for the sound to some nearby residences that had a full view of the screen. It sounds likely they were trying to get on the good side of the residences, after the legal battle they had with them about the building of the drive-in. In May 1963, the Oakley Drive-In was sold to Redstone Management/National Amusement Inc. from Boston, MA. National Amusement finally closed the Oakley Drive-In on July 22, 2006. It was the last airer in the city of Cincinnati to be operating.
In the late-1980’s National Amusement had started closing their drive-in theatres because of not being profitable anymore. They converted some of the sites into Showcase Cinemas, Cinema de Lux Theatres and other venues. Some of the drive-in’s they just sold the properties. The Oakley Drive-In property was sold and is now a pet salon and assisted living community.
Contributed by
Randy Studer, Jay Cooper
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
The Oakley was still standing as of June 2007. Construction on some building had begun on the lot but one screen, the ticket booths, and some speaker poles were still standing. You can see pictures of it in its current state here…
View link
Here is a 2002 view of the marquee. XXX refers to the Vin Diesel film, not an adult movie.
http://tinyurl.com/yt79ev
Here is a December 2005 article about the redevelopment of the property. Status should be closed, if not closed/demolshed:
http://tinyurl.com/275nca
My father lived on nearby Oaklawn Drive at one time and he says when it opened the gave or installed speaker to residents who could see the screen from their backyards…anyone know if this is true?
It is amazing how many Drive-in Theatres were in this city in 1974. August 9 1974 your OAKLEY Drive-in was playing that horrible movie “BORN LOSERS” which was playing day and date with several other walk-in and Drive-in Theatres. The second feature was a DICK VAN DYKE comedy which shows crazy bookings, “COLD TURKEY” both rated PG.
Thanks again Mike.
This page has some pictures of the Oakley Drive-in after new construction had begun; scan down to see them: View link
Read this article about drive-ins. View link
5033 is the correct address..
Closed on July 22, 2006.
The Oakley Drive-In’s screen snapped on September 9, 1992 when a thunderstorm pounded it with straight-line tornadic winds. As its supports fractured, a huge section of the structure pancaked and crashed into the parking lot.
Oakley fans naturally feared the owner, National Amusements, wouldn’t reopen in 1993 or ever, despite an outpouring of community appeals. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵 quoted Joe Bob Briggs, who was then the host of TNT’s 𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘣'𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, saying he’d heard about the Oakley’s destruction and planned to monitor and support preservation efforts.
To the delight and surprise of many, however, National Amusements responded by building an updated, more heavily reinforced screen. One result was that the theater remained open for the 1995 release of Martin Scorsese’s 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘰, whose cast included none another than Joe Bob himself.
All told, the Oakley continued in business for a dozen years after the deluge, before closing forever amid a perfect storm of economic realities.