rivest266, was it east/west of the North 11?
Did it make it until 1960 when it would’ve appeared on the aerial?
I’m more than happy to take down my post since I appear to have the wrong drive-in. I’m not finding the North 11 listed on this site, at least in Roanoke. So, that was the cause for my error.
But it would help to know more than simply the “Airport Road” as topo maps from that time show the roads were considerably different compared to today.
A March 2022 Google Street View shows all the houses still present. About the only real change is the size and number of trees has grown in the neighborhood. There is now a large tree in the neighbor’s yard that might block the view of the drive-in screen.
Plus, the small hedge that you see behind the actress on the left is still there as well.
A closer address is 4321 Sherwood Way, San Angelo, TX.
This puts it right on the original entrance road, parts of which can still be seen just on the west side of the Tractor Supply Co.
The drive-in was operational in a 1972 aerial, but by 1984 it had been demolished and stores appear on much of the property. It’s pretty clear that the drive-in had been demolished at least a year before given the completion of the stores, although some of the property was still under development.
So, it did not make it much past a decade, if that.
Today, most of the property is occupied by retail stores. However, you can still see much of the ramps for the south screen.
A closer address is 2025 Old Baton Rouge Hwy, Hammond, LA.
The address is just a few feet from the entrance road of the drive-in. You can see the drive-in in a 1954 aerial looking operational.
However, by 1965 the drive-in may have closed. While still intact, there is a structure behind the screen that appears to partially block the entrance.
By 1974, the drive-in had been partitioned with trailers occupying the east end. By 1998 the entire drive-in had been demolished.
Today, the only remnants of the drive-in is part of the entrance road. A June 2022 Google street view shows the property as empty.
The Burrow Apartments are being built on the site, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining. Although the area immediately surrounding what was the second screen appears to be untouched by the construction.
A closer address is 159 Vine Ln Oak Hill, West Virginia.
I understand that it’s right next to Glen Jean and that works, too. But it does appear that Oak Hill is the proper town for the address.
I also understand that Vine Ln didn’t exist when the drive-in did, but it was the entrance road to the drive-in and the only way I could pin down the address.
The drive-in shows up quite nicely in a 1957 aerial, but is gone by 1970. Today, the property is a trailer park with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The article cited by driveinfan lists the address as 7059 Ramona Blvd, Jacksonville, FL.
In the same article, the owners talked about how the drive-in had been moving over several places within the city until they settled on the Romana Flea Market.
Could the Willow Branch address be an old one? If they hadn’t updated their website, then it could be wrong.
Google has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property.
The original entrance road is still present and being used as the entrance. Only a portion of the exit road still exists which is next to 32nd Street SE.
The projection booth/concession stand also seems to still exist, although it clearly has a new roof.
A February 2022 Google Street View shows the concession stand/projection booth along with the structure behind them as gone. You can see them in a 2021 street view, but it’s clear that they were removed between then and February 2022.
It also seems that the bottom part of the marquee is still standing. The sign on top as seen in photos is gone.
4229 Cusseta Rd, Columbus, GA is the address of the Columbus Complete Car Care Center.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but it is difficult to tell which road is the entrance and exit since no ticket booth can be seen. However, the marquee is next to where the center stands today.
A 1955 topo map designates the Cumberland River as “Lake Cumberland” near Burnside, which addresses one question I had as to why someone would name it “Lakeview” and not “Riverview”.
However, the 1956 aerial shows 15 rows with 18 to 20 speaker poles per row. That’s 300 vehicles maximum capacity, not 520 as claimed in the Commonwealth.
Of course, I’ve run across several capacity claims made by drive-in owners that in no way matched what the property actually held. So, this is not surprising.
I think a “fast construction” is possible if the Lakeview was originally what is now termed a “temporary” drive-in. It’s something that would not be normally be advertised or reported as such, so there may be no indication that it was of that nature in the records. Only a photo would reveal that information.
Given that the 1956 aerial shows evidence of work around the screen, along the fence that sat on either side of the screen, and the back of the drive-in, I’d say it’s possible that it originally was “temporary” or perhaps quite spartan which allowed for a relatively quick construction.
A closer address is 600 14th Ave SE, Devils Lake, ND.
This places it right on the property. The drive-in was still intact in a 1982 aerial, but the screen appears to be gone in a 1990 aerial.
The projector booth/concession stand was gone by 1997.
Today, the property is the site of Monster Lawn Hydroseeding & Landscaping with all traces of the drive-in now gone.
Wouldn’t it be more possible that the drive-in was quickly constructed and then improved over the next few years? The 1956 aerial certainly looks like some recent work had been made for expansion and perhaps a new screen. Perhaps its original incarnation was a temporary drive-in that was common at the time?
The screen in the 1956 aerial looks to be unchanged throughout the rest of the life of the drive-in. Since the widescreen seems to have been put in before the 1956 aerial, that would be a good excuse to “complete” or remodel the rest of the drive-in. Admittedly, it would greatly help to see the drive-in in its first year of operation.
I’m not saying it’s true, but given that aerials are normally stamped with the year they were taken, it makes it difficult to believe that it would be 1950. And with leaves on the trees, that seems to rule out January or February and even March depending on when spring arrived.
50sSNIPES - On what basis do you say that the aerial listed as 1951 was taken a year earlier? Aerial photos are stamped to the year they were taken.
I know what your other information states, but unless the aerial photo can be shown to be taken the year before, then it was taken in 1951.
That does not contradict this location being the drive-in. It simply means that the drive-in might’ve been a quick construction or perhaps completed enough to allow for a grand opening.
I’ve seen plenty of buildings in which the “grand opening” was weeks, if not months before they were fully operational. Especially since it looks in the 1956 aerial as practically brand new with scraped ground around the screen and on the east end as if it had just been built.
A 1951 aerial shows nothing at the location. Now, it’s impossible to tell exactly when the aerial was taken, but there are leaves on the trees so it had to be at least spring.
If this opened in June of 1951, it has to be one of the fastest constructions on record.
The drive-in is operational in a 1956 aerial. By 1972 it had been closed and demolished. Most of the property appears to be private with trailers that line the back of it.
The marquee appears in a 2007 Google Street View, albeit surrounded by trees with only the top of the sign sticking out. By 2012, it was gone along with some of the trees. That opened up the old entrance road of the drive-in. It’s quite probable that the few feet of concrete pavement which directly connects to the street dates back to the drive-in.
The old projection booth/concession stand is still present, but has been upgraded with new siding. If you never knew a drive-in stood there, you’d probably never guess what the building originally was looking at it from the street.
A 1985 aerial shows a distinctive fan-shaped drive-in outline that sits to the north of the Starlite Drive-In. It it impossible to tell where the entrance road was, but a reasonable guess is where the strip mall currently stands.
The area is now totally changed with new roads and several buildings that sit on the property. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 8775 Commercial Blvd, Pevely, MO.
This puts it right on the projection booth/concession stand. For whatever reason, Google Maps has difficulty with the HWY 61/67 address.
https://tinyurl.com/2u34bb4r
The screen wasn’t fully removed. A December 2021 Google Street View shows part of the base is still present under the trees.
It wouldn’t surprise me if it had fallen over given its poor condition and they hauled off the debris while leaving the rest of it in place.
rivest266, was it east/west of the North 11? Did it make it until 1960 when it would’ve appeared on the aerial?
I’m more than happy to take down my post since I appear to have the wrong drive-in. I’m not finding the North 11 listed on this site, at least in Roanoke. So, that was the cause for my error.
But it would help to know more than simply the “Airport Road” as topo maps from that time show the roads were considerably different compared to today.
A 1971 aerial shows the screen to be gone, so it doesn’t appear that the drive-in made it to the end of its lease.
Today, the property has not been developed. It appears to be a storage area for gas or propane equipment. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
It has been replaced by a Walmart. But the property does retain the shape of the drive-in and entrance road.
A March 2022 Google Street View shows all the houses still present. About the only real change is the size and number of trees has grown in the neighborhood. There is now a large tree in the neighbor’s yard that might block the view of the drive-in screen.
Plus, the small hedge that you see behind the actress on the left is still there as well.
A closer address is 4321 Sherwood Way, San Angelo, TX.
This puts it right on the original entrance road, parts of which can still be seen just on the west side of the Tractor Supply Co.
The drive-in was operational in a 1972 aerial, but by 1984 it had been demolished and stores appear on much of the property. It’s pretty clear that the drive-in had been demolished at least a year before given the completion of the stores, although some of the property was still under development.
So, it did not make it much past a decade, if that.
Today, most of the property is occupied by retail stores. However, you can still see much of the ramps for the south screen.
https://tinyurl.com/2d7vcnw9
A closer address is 2025 Old Baton Rouge Hwy, Hammond, LA.
The address is just a few feet from the entrance road of the drive-in. You can see the drive-in in a 1954 aerial looking operational.
However, by 1965 the drive-in may have closed. While still intact, there is a structure behind the screen that appears to partially block the entrance.
By 1974, the drive-in had been partitioned with trailers occupying the east end. By 1998 the entire drive-in had been demolished.
Today, the only remnants of the drive-in is part of the entrance road. A June 2022 Google street view shows the property as empty.
https://tinyurl.com/4z7cp4wz
A closer address is 325 Natchez St, Hammond, LA.
The Burrow Apartments are being built on the site, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining. Although the area immediately surrounding what was the second screen appears to be untouched by the construction.
https://tinyurl.com/vpyhvtmc
A closer address is 159 Vine Ln Oak Hill, West Virginia.
I understand that it’s right next to Glen Jean and that works, too. But it does appear that Oak Hill is the proper town for the address.
I also understand that Vine Ln didn’t exist when the drive-in did, but it was the entrance road to the drive-in and the only way I could pin down the address.
The drive-in shows up quite nicely in a 1957 aerial, but is gone by 1970. Today, the property is a trailer park with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/5c9knnv2
The article cited by driveinfan lists the address as 7059 Ramona Blvd, Jacksonville, FL.
In the same article, the owners talked about how the drive-in had been moving over several places within the city until they settled on the Romana Flea Market.
Could the Willow Branch address be an old one? If they hadn’t updated their website, then it could be wrong.
Also, is it “Sun Rays” or “Sun Ray”?
A closer address is 3183 ND-20, Jamestown, ND.
Google has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property.
The original entrance road is still present and being used as the entrance. Only a portion of the exit road still exists which is next to 32nd Street SE.
The projection booth/concession stand also seems to still exist, although it clearly has a new roof.
A February 2022 Google Street View shows the concession stand/projection booth along with the structure behind them as gone. You can see them in a 2021 street view, but it’s clear that they were removed between then and February 2022.
It also seems that the bottom part of the marquee is still standing. The sign on top as seen in photos is gone.
Drive-in was still intact in a 1984 aerial, but gone by 1994.
4229 Cusseta Rd, Columbus, GA is the address of the Columbus Complete Car Care Center.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but it is difficult to tell which road is the entrance and exit since no ticket booth can be seen. However, the marquee is next to where the center stands today.
https://tinyurl.com/yckfzzys
Given the condition of the marquee from a 2019 Google Street View, taking it down would consist of a light push once the vegetation is cleared away.
A 1955 topo map designates the Cumberland River as “Lake Cumberland” near Burnside, which addresses one question I had as to why someone would name it “Lakeview” and not “Riverview”.
However, the 1956 aerial shows 15 rows with 18 to 20 speaker poles per row. That’s 300 vehicles maximum capacity, not 520 as claimed in the Commonwealth.
Of course, I’ve run across several capacity claims made by drive-in owners that in no way matched what the property actually held. So, this is not surprising.
I think a “fast construction” is possible if the Lakeview was originally what is now termed a “temporary” drive-in. It’s something that would not be normally be advertised or reported as such, so there may be no indication that it was of that nature in the records. Only a photo would reveal that information.
Given that the 1956 aerial shows evidence of work around the screen, along the fence that sat on either side of the screen, and the back of the drive-in, I’d say it’s possible that it originally was “temporary” or perhaps quite spartan which allowed for a relatively quick construction.
A closer address is 600 14th Ave SE, Devils Lake, ND.
This places it right on the property. The drive-in was still intact in a 1982 aerial, but the screen appears to be gone in a 1990 aerial. The projector booth/concession stand was gone by 1997.
Today, the property is the site of Monster Lawn Hydroseeding & Landscaping with all traces of the drive-in now gone.
https://tinyurl.com/4zeht8e5
Wouldn’t it be more possible that the drive-in was quickly constructed and then improved over the next few years? The 1956 aerial certainly looks like some recent work had been made for expansion and perhaps a new screen. Perhaps its original incarnation was a temporary drive-in that was common at the time?
The screen in the 1956 aerial looks to be unchanged throughout the rest of the life of the drive-in. Since the widescreen seems to have been put in before the 1956 aerial, that would be a good excuse to “complete” or remodel the rest of the drive-in. Admittedly, it would greatly help to see the drive-in in its first year of operation.
I’m not saying it’s true, but given that aerials are normally stamped with the year they were taken, it makes it difficult to believe that it would be 1950. And with leaves on the trees, that seems to rule out January or February and even March depending on when spring arrived.
50sSNIPES - On what basis do you say that the aerial listed as 1951 was taken a year earlier? Aerial photos are stamped to the year they were taken.
I know what your other information states, but unless the aerial photo can be shown to be taken the year before, then it was taken in 1951.
That does not contradict this location being the drive-in. It simply means that the drive-in might’ve been a quick construction or perhaps completed enough to allow for a grand opening.
I’ve seen plenty of buildings in which the “grand opening” was weeks, if not months before they were fully operational. Especially since it looks in the 1956 aerial as practically brand new with scraped ground around the screen and on the east end as if it had just been built.
A 1951 aerial shows nothing at the location. Now, it’s impossible to tell exactly when the aerial was taken, but there are leaves on the trees so it had to be at least spring.
If this opened in June of 1951, it has to be one of the fastest constructions on record.
Found It!
The address is 1753 GA-76, Nashville, GA.
The drive-in is operational in a 1956 aerial. By 1972 it had been closed and demolished. Most of the property appears to be private with trailers that line the back of it.
https://tinyurl.com/wkju48jv
The marquee appears in a 2007 Google Street View, albeit surrounded by trees with only the top of the sign sticking out. By 2012, it was gone along with some of the trees. That opened up the old entrance road of the drive-in. It’s quite probable that the few feet of concrete pavement which directly connects to the street dates back to the drive-in.
The old projection booth/concession stand is still present, but has been upgraded with new siding. If you never knew a drive-in stood there, you’d probably never guess what the building originally was looking at it from the street.
A closer address is 3108 S Broadway, Minot, ND.
A 1985 aerial shows a distinctive fan-shaped drive-in outline that sits to the north of the Starlite Drive-In. It it impossible to tell where the entrance road was, but a reasonable guess is where the strip mall currently stands.
The area is now totally changed with new roads and several buildings that sit on the property. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/yjf48byh