The Plymouth may have closed in early 1954. From the Feb. 20, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
The Plymouth theatre, the only house in Plymouth, Ohio, has closed permanently “because of television competition, high taxes and other similar factors,” according to the owner, Ed Ramsey, who also operates a drive-in in the vicinity, which will remain in operation.
Ownership note from the Feb. 13, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
“The Edwards drive-in theatre, formerly operated by the Edwards Theatres, has been acquired by the Cal Pac Corp.”
Too bad the Motion Picture Almanac’s drive-in lists didn’t notice the ownership change until 1960. Which reminds me that I could list all of the Edwards' mentions in the MPA, which had it under Los Angeles until 1977:
1950-59: capacity 750, owner Edwards Theatres, by Myrl Kavanaugh
Hi MC! Love that Crawling Thing ad you uploaded – I wonder how the flying and creeping critters played out at a drive-in?
I agree completely that newspapers err, but look at that same ad. In advertisements, paid for by a business, that business approves everything. Years of those ads with a consistent spelling sway me into believing that’s how that business wanted to be known, which is my definition of a name. Then again, the marquee is fixed in metal, so maybe that’s how this drive-in should be remembered.
Name-change date hint from the Jan. 9, 1954 Motion Picture Herald under the Oklahoma City header: “A new screen has been installed at Twilight Gardens drive-in theatre.”
Pedantic note: Since Cinema Treasures' style is to list a theater by its final name, the Twilight Gardens should be spelled that way here, without a hyphen. I’ve seen references both ways, but the final newspaper ads and mentions had those two complete words.
Mrs. S. E. Allen expects to open her new 300-car drive-in at Lordsburg, N. M., in the early spring, and about the same opening date has been set for J. C. West’s 300-car drive-in, Grants, N. M.
Fun note in the Motion Picture Herald from Oct. 9, 1937:
E. M. Loew, circuit theatre owner in New England, is complaining bitterly to police that spectators in boats are forming non-paying audiences at his new Drive-In theatre on a filled-in march site outside of Lynn, Mass. The Lynn police, however, not having a navy, are at a complete loss on how to proceed, and Mr. Loew may be forced to build a navy himself, or at least a string of flatboats. Anyway, he could change the name to the Sail-In theatre.
“Guy Douthwaite, operator of the open-air Drive-in theatre in Hollywood, is applying for patents on horns which he invented when complaints about noise forced him to abandon a loudspeaker. In his invention, sound is carried by wire to each car and is released through horns placed in front of the radiators.”
Some interesting contemporary details from F. H. Richardson, writing in the Motion Picture Herald’s June 8, 1935 issue. He had been meeting with Larry Ruch, manager of the Liberty theater in Camden.
“Ruch then escorted me to the location, just outside the city, of the Drive-In theater, which accommodates 430 autos on seven ramps. R. H. Smythe is manager. The screen image is 50 feet wide. The projection distance is 178 feet. The projection room is partly sunken, lens and observation port bottoms about even with ground level. The projection angle is upward, of course. Projection room is equipped with Simplex projectors, Hall and Connolly H. I. lamps and RCA sound. This theatre was opening that night for its third season. It has made more than expenses, though financially I was advised it was no world-beater.”
Eldon’s “Drive-In” made its first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book’s 1947 edition, one of only four drive-ins in Missouri. But it didn’t show up in the Theatre Catalog until its 1952 edition, listed with a capacity of 300 and owners Tom Edwards and Frank Plumlee. By the 1955-56 edition, the name had changed from the Eldon to the Corral.
The Motion Picture Almanac, often slow to notice change, only began including the drive-in in the 1953-54 edition and switched from calling it the Eldon to the Corral in its 1960 edition. All MPA drive-in list mentions:
I believe that at some point, maybe when they built the marquee sign I just uploaded, that this drive-in’s name changed to Tri-Cities. From the town names, it’s the same place as the grand opening ad, but you can’t deny that sign. Not that it’s proof, but in the 1953-54 edition the Motion Picture Almanacs switched to calling this 565-car, Comerford Circuit drive-in the Tri-Cities of Endwell instead of the George F of Endicott.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog also listed it as the Tri-Cities of Endwell, capacity 600.
The Riverside closed after the 1980 season, per a Sept. 27, 1981 article in The Daily Oklahoman. Elvin B. Anderson, who had owned the Riverside for 32 years, decided not to reopen in 1981. “Vandalism and lack of first-run films were the primary reasons for the closing, he said.”
I’ll see whorton’s dead link observation and raise him one: When you find a wonderful web page, save it to the Internet Archive then link to the Archive’s version of the page. That’s much more likely to survive, especially for newspaper article links.
Anyway, his June 1, 1981 obituary in The Daily Oklahoman said that Farris S. Shanbour built the Hillcrest “which at that time was the largest drive-in theater in the state of OK.” He later built the Winchester Drive-In, Park Terrace Theaters, and Quail Twin Theater.
If you look at the layout, the entrance and ticket booth were at the back of the viewing area. Anyone know any other examples of drive-ins like that?
Anyway, the Cinema 70 debuted on the Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists in the 1967 edition. All MPA list mentions:
1967-76: Cinema 70 MM, capacity 1,400.
1977-79: off the list (but still advertising in The Daily Oklahoman)
1980-82: Cinema 70, cap. 400, owner G. Shanbour
1983-84: Cinema 70, 1 screen, C. Shadid
1985-: off the list
With its likely-to-close story on Sept. 27, 1981, The Daily Oklahoman ran an aerial photo that showed the layout looking just the same as in the 1969 aerial; I’m suspicious of that capacity downgrade in 1980. The article said that Heritage Theaters, quoting president George Grube, owned the Cinema 70 but didn’t own the land, which was up for sale.
I just noticed that between 1951 and 1967 the Tesuque moved its screen from north-facing to northeast-facing. Offhand, I can’t think of another single-screen drive-in that ever moved its screen. Anybody have other examples?
A quick Google search led to a Wikipedia page about the place, the pueblo, and the literary references to Tesuque.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog shows the Tesuque with a capacity of 320, owner Cliff Butler. The 1955-56 edition includes the Tesuque Twin (cap. 850, Marlin Butler), but none of the aerial photos or topo maps show a second screen. I think someone at the catalog got it mixed up with the Terrace Twin.
The Joplin Globe reported on April 18, 1948, “Formal opening of the Tri-State Drive-In theater, west of the city, proved to be a success last night as motor cars filled the large arena to capacity to witness the ceremonies, an elaborate fireworks display and the screen attractions.” The article went on to say that the drive-in could handle 650 cars and the movie was Home in Indiana, a 1944 film starring Walter Brennan.
Through the decades, every reference in the Globe listed the name as Tri-State, although a couple of reference works got it wrong.
The drive-in’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book was in the 1948 edition as Drive-In, changed in the 1949 edition to Tri-States (sic).
The first Theatre Catalog drive-in list, in the 1948-49 edition, included the Tri-States (sic), capacity 500, owner Jack Braunagle, Tri-States Drive-In Corp. The next year, the capacity changed to 583 and the owner to Commonwealth Theatres Ct. That number returned to 500 in the 1952-56 editions.
The Tri-State was in the Motion Picture Almanac’s first drive-in list in 1950-51, and in the Theatre Circuits section, Commonwealth Theatres included it among its holdings. All MPA drive-in list appearances:
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Webb City with a capacity of 400, owner Howard Larsen.
Appearances in the Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists:
1955-59: Drive-In, no capacity, no owner info
1960-66: Drive-In, 400, W. Brandfield
1967-76: Drive-In, 400 (no owner info)
1977-82: Webb City Drive In, 350, Dickinson
1983-88: Webb City Drive In, 1 screen, Dickinson
The Salina (KS) Journal reported on Sept. 18, 1994 that some projection equipment from a closed Dickinson theater there was going “to a drive-in theater in Webb City, Mo.”
In a 1996 aerial, the drive-in still looked active. A Facebook photo collection includes the marquee advertising Kingpin, which came out in late July 1996.
Per another aerial, the drive-in was completely gone by 2003.
The Sunset’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book drive-in list was the 1951 edition.
In the 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs, the Sunset was owned by Commonwealth, capacity 520.
The Sunset’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists was the 1951-52 edition, capacity 546, owner Commonwealth. That’s how it stayed till 1977, when the capacity changed to 520. Despite its earlier demise, the Sunset stayed on the MPA list through its final edition in 1988.
The Little Dixie Airway opened on August 31, 1950 according to full-page grand opening news reported by the Mexico Ledger two days earlier. The first program was Mickey starring Lois Butler, the short Contest Crazy with Edgar Kennedy, and the cartoon The Coo-Coo Bird Dog.
The Frisina Amusement Co. purchased the site’s 15 acres from John and Ray Hagan on Highway 54 three miles east of Mexico. The screen was 52x42 feet, 260 feet from the projector, and the tower was made of heavy pine timbers sheeted with asbestos. The drive-in accommodated 500 cars, each greeted by a uniformed attendant who directed it to its ramp.
Google and Wikipedia are friends to all of us with questions.
The Shepherd of the Hills was a 1907 novel written by Harold Bell Wright based on his summers in the Ozark Mountains. It was quite popular at the time, and through the years the story was repeatedly adapted to film, including a 1941 movie starring John Wayne.
The “Drive-In” was in the first Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list in the 1950-51 edition. All MPA list mentions:
1950-56: Drive-In, capacity 350, owner S. M. Taft Amusement Corp.
1957: off the list (at a page break, probably a layout typo)
1958-59: Drive-In, 350, S. M. Taft Corp.
1960-66: Springfield, 350, Commonwealth
1967-76: Springfield, 350 (no owner info)
1977-79: Springfield, 400, Commonwealth
1980: off the list
Sure enough, in the Theatre Circuits section of the MPAs, Commonwealth showed the Drive-In / Springfield Drive-In in its holdings beginning in that same 1950-51 edition, even though it took the drive-in list a decade to notice.
DavidZornig, what was the source of your 1973 Mt. Baldy photo? I’m working on a project and could use clearance on some of the pictures you’ve uploaded.
The Plymouth may have closed in early 1954. From the Feb. 20, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
The Plymouth theatre, the only house in Plymouth, Ohio, has closed permanently “because of television competition, high taxes and other similar factors,” according to the owner, Ed Ramsey, who also operates a drive-in in the vicinity, which will remain in operation.
Ownership note from the Feb. 13, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
“The Edwards drive-in theatre, formerly operated by the Edwards Theatres, has been acquired by the Cal Pac Corp.”
Too bad the Motion Picture Almanac’s drive-in lists didn’t notice the ownership change until 1960. Which reminds me that I could list all of the Edwards' mentions in the MPA, which had it under Los Angeles until 1977:
Hi MC! Love that Crawling Thing ad you uploaded – I wonder how the flying and creeping critters played out at a drive-in?
I agree completely that newspapers err, but look at that same ad. In advertisements, paid for by a business, that business approves everything. Years of those ads with a consistent spelling sway me into believing that’s how that business wanted to be known, which is my definition of a name. Then again, the marquee is fixed in metal, so maybe that’s how this drive-in should be remembered.
Name-change date hint from the Jan. 9, 1954 Motion Picture Herald under the Oklahoma City header: “A new screen has been installed at Twilight Gardens drive-in theatre.”
Pedantic note: Since Cinema Treasures' style is to list a theater by its final name, the Twilight Gardens should be spelled that way here, without a hyphen. I’ve seen references both ways, but the final newspaper ads and mentions had those two complete words.
From the Jan. 2, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
Mrs. S. E. Allen expects to open her new 300-car drive-in at Lordsburg, N. M., in the early spring, and about the same opening date has been set for J. C. West’s 300-car drive-in, Grants, N. M.
Fun note in the Motion Picture Herald from Oct. 9, 1937:
E. M. Loew, circuit theatre owner in New England, is complaining bitterly to police that spectators in boats are forming non-paying audiences at his new Drive-In theatre on a filled-in march site outside of Lynn, Mass. The Lynn police, however, not having a navy, are at a complete loss on how to proceed, and Mr. Loew may be forced to build a navy himself, or at least a string of flatboats. Anyway, he could change the name to the Sail-In theatre.
From the Motion Picture Herald, Feb. 8, 1936:
“Guy Douthwaite, operator of the open-air Drive-in theatre in Hollywood, is applying for patents on horns which he invented when complaints about noise forced him to abandon a loudspeaker. In his invention, sound is carried by wire to each car and is released through horns placed in front of the radiators.”
Some interesting contemporary details from F. H. Richardson, writing in the Motion Picture Herald’s June 8, 1935 issue. He had been meeting with Larry Ruch, manager of the Liberty theater in Camden.
“Ruch then escorted me to the location, just outside the city, of the Drive-In theater, which accommodates 430 autos on seven ramps. R. H. Smythe is manager. The screen image is 50 feet wide. The projection distance is 178 feet. The projection room is partly sunken, lens and observation port bottoms about even with ground level. The projection angle is upward, of course. Projection room is equipped with Simplex projectors, Hall and Connolly H. I. lamps and RCA sound. This theatre was opening that night for its third season. It has made more than expenses, though financially I was advised it was no world-beater.”
Eldon’s “Drive-In” made its first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book’s 1947 edition, one of only four drive-ins in Missouri. But it didn’t show up in the Theatre Catalog until its 1952 edition, listed with a capacity of 300 and owners Tom Edwards and Frank Plumlee. By the 1955-56 edition, the name had changed from the Eldon to the Corral.
The Motion Picture Almanac, often slow to notice change, only began including the drive-in in the 1953-54 edition and switched from calling it the Eldon to the Corral in its 1960 edition. All MPA drive-in list mentions:
Thanks for keeping me straight, Kenmore. As always, the thing I’m surest of is how much I don’t know.
I believe that at some point, maybe when they built the marquee sign I just uploaded, that this drive-in’s name changed to Tri-Cities. From the town names, it’s the same place as the grand opening ad, but you can’t deny that sign. Not that it’s proof, but in the 1953-54 edition the Motion Picture Almanacs switched to calling this 565-car, Comerford Circuit drive-in the Tri-Cities of Endwell instead of the George F of Endicott.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog also listed it as the Tri-Cities of Endwell, capacity 600.
The Riverside closed after the 1980 season, per a Sept. 27, 1981 article in The Daily Oklahoman. Elvin B. Anderson, who had owned the Riverside for 32 years, decided not to reopen in 1981. “Vandalism and lack of first-run films were the primary reasons for the closing, he said.”
I’ll see whorton’s dead link observation and raise him one: When you find a wonderful web page, save it to the Internet Archive then link to the Archive’s version of the page. That’s much more likely to survive, especially for newspaper article links.
Anyway, his June 1, 1981 obituary in The Daily Oklahoman said that Farris S. Shanbour built the Hillcrest “which at that time was the largest drive-in theater in the state of OK.” He later built the Winchester Drive-In, Park Terrace Theaters, and Quail Twin Theater.
If you look at the layout, the entrance and ticket booth were at the back of the viewing area. Anyone know any other examples of drive-ins like that?
Anyway, the Cinema 70 debuted on the Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists in the 1967 edition. All MPA list mentions:
With its likely-to-close story on Sept. 27, 1981, The Daily Oklahoman ran an aerial photo that showed the layout looking just the same as in the 1969 aerial; I’m suspicious of that capacity downgrade in 1980. The article said that Heritage Theaters, quoting president George Grube, owned the Cinema 70 but didn’t own the land, which was up for sale.
I just noticed that between 1951 and 1967 the Tesuque moved its screen from north-facing to northeast-facing. Offhand, I can’t think of another single-screen drive-in that ever moved its screen. Anybody have other examples?
A quick Google search led to a Wikipedia page about the place, the pueblo, and the literary references to Tesuque.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog shows the Tesuque with a capacity of 320, owner Cliff Butler. The 1955-56 edition includes the Tesuque Twin (cap. 850, Marlin Butler), but none of the aerial photos or topo maps show a second screen. I think someone at the catalog got it mixed up with the Terrace Twin.
Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list appearances:
The Joplin Globe reported on April 18, 1948, “Formal opening of the Tri-State Drive-In theater, west of the city, proved to be a success last night as motor cars filled the large arena to capacity to witness the ceremonies, an elaborate fireworks display and the screen attractions.” The article went on to say that the drive-in could handle 650 cars and the movie was Home in Indiana, a 1944 film starring Walter Brennan.
Through the decades, every reference in the Globe listed the name as Tri-State, although a couple of reference works got it wrong.
The drive-in’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book was in the 1948 edition as Drive-In, changed in the 1949 edition to Tri-States (sic).
The first Theatre Catalog drive-in list, in the 1948-49 edition, included the Tri-States (sic), capacity 500, owner Jack Braunagle, Tri-States Drive-In Corp. The next year, the capacity changed to 583 and the owner to Commonwealth Theatres Ct. That number returned to 500 in the 1952-56 editions.
The Tri-State was in the Motion Picture Almanac’s first drive-in list in 1950-51, and in the Theatre Circuits section, Commonwealth Theatres included it among its holdings. All MPA drive-in list appearances:
The Globe ad on Aug. 25, 1988 listed the Tri-State under Commonwealth Theatres. I can’t find references to any other owner.
On June 26, 1998, in an article about active drive-ins, the Joplin Globe mentioned, “More recently, Webb City Drive-In closed.”
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Webb City with a capacity of 400, owner Howard Larsen.
Appearances in the Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists:
The Salina (KS) Journal reported on Sept. 18, 1994 that some projection equipment from a closed Dickinson theater there was going “to a drive-in theater in Webb City, Mo.”
In a 1996 aerial, the drive-in still looked active. A Facebook photo collection includes the marquee advertising Kingpin, which came out in late July 1996.
Per another aerial, the drive-in was completely gone by 2003.
The Sunset’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book drive-in list was the 1951 edition.
In the 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs, the Sunset was owned by Commonwealth, capacity 520.
The Sunset’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists was the 1951-52 edition, capacity 546, owner Commonwealth. That’s how it stayed till 1977, when the capacity changed to 520. Despite its earlier demise, the Sunset stayed on the MPA list through its final edition in 1988.
The Little Dixie Airway opened on August 31, 1950 according to full-page grand opening news reported by the Mexico Ledger two days earlier. The first program was Mickey starring Lois Butler, the short Contest Crazy with Edgar Kennedy, and the cartoon The Coo-Coo Bird Dog.
The Frisina Amusement Co. purchased the site’s 15 acres from John and Ray Hagan on Highway 54 three miles east of Mexico. The screen was 52x42 feet, 260 feet from the projector, and the tower was made of heavy pine timbers sheeted with asbestos. The drive-in accommodated 500 cars, each greeted by a uniformed attendant who directed it to its ramp.
Google and Wikipedia are friends to all of us with questions.
The Shepherd of the Hills was a 1907 novel written by Harold Bell Wright based on his summers in the Ozark Mountains. It was quite popular at the time, and through the years the story was repeatedly adapted to film, including a 1941 movie starring John Wayne.
The first appearance of a Springfield MO drive-in in the Film Daily Year Book was the “Park-In” in the 1948 edition.
The “Drive-In” was in the first Theatre Catalog drive-in list in the 1948-49 edition. Selected Theatre Catalog list mentions:
The “Drive-In” was in the first Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list in the 1950-51 edition. All MPA list mentions:
Sure enough, in the Theatre Circuits section of the MPAs, Commonwealth showed the Drive-In / Springfield Drive-In in its holdings beginning in that same 1950-51 edition, even though it took the drive-in list a decade to notice.
The “Sixty-Six” first appeared in the Film Daily Year Book in the 1949 edition under nearby La Grange.
The Motion Picture Almanac listed the 66 under LaGrange, then Lyons Township, then La Grange. MPA drive-in list appearances:
DavidZornig, what was the source of your 1973 Mt. Baldy photo? I’m working on a project and could use clearance on some of the pictures you’ve uploaded.
This photo belongs with the Diamond / Starzz / Sedalia drive-in that opened long after the 50 closed.