From the web site: The Pheasant Drive-In was built at its current location in 1960. Ron Maier, the current owner, has been running the Drive-In since 1976.
June of 2012 the screen was blown down during a micro burst and the Drive-In was closed for six weeks until it was repaired.
In June of 2014 the Drive-In made the conversion to a digital projector.
The Sky-Vu web site says Leonard Novak bought the place in 1971 from Bixby Knight. He’s owned it ever since. “Nothing much has changed at the SkyVu since the 1950s except that the movies have more special effects and the sound comes over your car’s FM stereo.”
Add me as another voter for “2nd run” films. This Memorial Day weekend, they’ve got a triple feature of movies that came out on April 7, January 6, and November 4.
The Town of Wolseley web site says: “Wolseley is home to Saskatchewan’s first drive-in theatre. Stan Zaba, with the help of a few local people, built the drive-in which opened in June of 1954 accommodating 225 cars. 50 years later, the Twilite Drive-in is still going, operated by Stan’s son, Don.”
Looking at the aerial view, I’m more inclined to believe a capacity of 225 rather than 436.
Also, a 2016 CBC article quotes owner Don Zaba about the need for a digital projector in 2013. “We did a fundraiser in the town of Wolseley which was a success. We ended up buying the projector and a sound system and we’re operating today,” he said.
Aha! Found the Big Island web site, complete with movie listings. Its About section says “The Big Island Drive In was created in 1957 by the Ernest family and operated into the 80’s before it changed hands into the Leefe and Eastman families and operated until 2015.”
Then the next section says “Realizing how important this venue is for the community and surrounding area, Dawn and Dan Hlady purchased the drive in and went forward with the digital conversion so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for years to come. After more than 60 years in operation, this landmark is an asset to the community and the Hlady’s look forward to keeping history alive!”
In a June 2015 article in The Reminder of Flin Flon, owner Bill Leefe was just installing a digital projection system. It also mentioned that the Big Island opened in 1957.
Great photo of the screen ruins + rainbow in this article:
https://www.discoverwestman.com/local/34744-brighter-times-ahead-for-killarney-s-shamrock-drive-in
On a metaphysical note, how long should a theater stay inactive before marking it Closed? I know I always drag my feet before inactivating a drive-in at Carload, but you can always reinstate it if it bounces back.
A June 2016 article by the CBC said the Shamrock “was preparing for their first season with a digital projector” when a storm knocked down its screen. They had replaced the screen in 2015 after it was hit by lightning.
The article said “they are determined to open up next year.” Meaning 2017. But their New Screen Drive FundRazr campaign is but 17% toward its goal after running for 100 weeks.
The long-as-your-arm domain amusementparkdriveinonline.com, active last year, is now just parked. Looks like it’s keeping its Now Showing updates on Facebook.
The Internet Archive captured the old site’s History page in painful all caps. I’ll paste it here for posterity:
THE AMUSEMENT PARK DRIVE-IN SCREEN, MARQUEE, AND SIGN ARE FROM THE OLD PARK DRIVE-IN FROM CODY, WYOMING. (WHICH OPENED IN 1946 AND RAN THRU 2003). WE TORE DOWN THE WOODEN SCREEN TOWERS, MARQUEE, AND SIGN AND HAULED ALL TO BILLINGS. WE RE-BUILT THE SCREEN AND BUILT THE REST OF THE DRIVE-IN DURING 2004 AND 2005 AND OPENED IN JULY OF 2005.
SHOWING MOVIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE SCREEN IS OUR OWN CONCEPT. THE FRONT PROJECTION BOOTH IS A 1909 WOODEN CABOOSE THAT I HAVE OWNED FOR 20 YEARS. MY FRIEND AND PROJECTIONIST, CHARLES CARON AND I HAVE MOVED IT 4 TIMES THRU THE YEARS. MY WIFE WOULD BRING IT UP WHENEVER WE HAD A DISAGREEMENT “WE HAVE A CABOOSE”. SO YOU CAN SEE WHY I HAD TO USE IT! THE BACK PROJECTION BOOTH IS A 1938 CIRCUS TRUCK THAT I BOUGHT OUT OF THE BILLINGS GAZETTE FOR $300.00 AND REBUILT IN OUR SHOP. WE LIKE TO DO THINGS THAT MAKE US DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE.
OUR AMUSEMENT PARK CONSISTS OF SEVERAL RIDES WE USED ON THE CARNIVAL AND WE ARE WORKING ON ADDING MORE THIS SUMMER. WE ARE ALSO THE ONLY DRIVE-IN WITH A ROLLER COASTER THAT GOES ALL THE WAY AROUND OUR SCREEN!!
THIS DRIVE-IN HAS BEEN A LABOR OF LOVE FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS SO THAT YOUR FAMILY CAN ENJOY A TRUE AMERICAN FAMILY EXPERIENCE!!
The Casper Star Tribune wrote in 2013 that Scott and Kathleen Heny were the buyers in 2004. They installed a digital projector in 2013.
That article references a Saturday night in late August 2013 when “(s)lightly more than 70 cars had shown up for the evening show, a strong turnout.” So maybe they were having trouble filling that 200-car lot.
The Theatre Catalog lists Paul McCalmon for Paul’s in 1949. Capacity 200.
The IMPAs continued to list it as “Pauls” through 1976. Still capacity 200. By 1982, it was the Vali, run by A. Mercer, who also ran the “Cory” in Basin WY.
Facebook commenter “Joann Bentz” wrote “My husband and I were the second owners of the drive in and built the new snack bar/box office in 1971. … We also owned and operated the West drive in in Cody.”
The only drive-in listed for Butte in the 1982 IMPA was the single-screen Motor Vu, capacity 500. (Ditto through 1988.) But the 1972 & 1976 IMPAs listed the Motor Vu with two other Butte-based drive-ins, so I’m guessing that they just overlooked the Silver Bow.
According to Wikipedia (yeah, I know), Silver Bow is just a neighborhood in Butte. Considering that the theater lists its address as Butte, IMHO this listing needs to be moved under Butte.
The official web site says “The Silver Bow Drive-In has been family owned and operated by the Hansen Family since 1977 when it was first built with a single screen tower. A second screen was added in 1980 creating the first twin drive-in theater in Montana. Later in 2004 the second screen was rebuilt and expanded. Allowing for a total capacity of close to 500 cars.
“The concession stand and projection booth, built by Jens Hansen I, was originally part of a drive-in located near Deer Lodge, MT from 1949-1973. The building was moved to its present location in 1977 by the current owners.”
And we need to change that comment to almost no R-rated films. This weekend, they’re showing Snatched, an R-rated Mothers Day movie.
This YouTube video relates how in the early 2000s, projectionist Paul Lindquist “noticed a run-down, abandoned movie theater,” found a couple of partners and “re-opened” the place in 2002.
“When we first came to the property, there was a 1963 Century projector, one of those workhorses of the film industry,” Lindquist said.
So there was some sort of dead drive-in here before Lindquist and friends revived it. My 1976 IMPA doesn’t list anything for Enderby and no “Starlight” (but several “Starlite"s) for British Columbia. After that, the "International” MPAs stopped including Canadian drive-ins in its lists.
I’ve never understood how restricting photography benefits any drive-in. Does it have something to hide? Does it want to avoid patrons sharing their photos of having fun?
I can better understand trying to prevent outside food, (seeing a Pizza Hut box must be annoying), but I think that policy’s short-sighted as well. Is a drive-in really going to check cars and throw out violators? Anyone caught like that isn’t going to play by the rules next time – they just won’t come back. A much better idea is to encourage patrons to buy from the concession stand, then sell high-quality food that makes them glad they did.
In general, any business that treats its customers like criminals has the wrong attitude about building long-term loyalty. A smart business swallows its minor annoyances, staying friendly and confident about its ability to keep profitable patrons coming back.
On a surely unrelated note, WNDU just ran a story on the Tri-Way. It bought those four digital projectors, now it needs more cash to pay off the loan. So the theater is asking for folks to please come by and buy some popcorn and a drink. Video here.
An old obituary in the Whidbey News-Times says the Blue Fox was built and owned by Woodrow “Woody” Cecil and his wife Charlotte. Another article said Woody “partnered with George Dickson” to build it.
A 2006 article there said Darrell and Lori Bratt purchased the theater in 1988. In 1990, it switched to FM sound. The screen went down in a 1998 windstorm, but obviously they fixed that.
There’s a superb drone video of the place on YouTube.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed it with a capacity of 320, which can’t have been accurate. Could it be that it was including the seats in the Wheel-In’s indoor viewing area?
From its first listing in the IMPAs into the 1970s, the Wheel-In was given a capacity of 200. By 1982, it was down to 190.
Here’s the link to its National Register of Historic Places entry: https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/14000401.htm
The Newberg Graphic said in a 2016 article that there had been a twin-screen indoor theater on the drive-in property. It showed hand-me-down prints from the downtown Cameo and the 99W. When both went digital, they “opted to close the twin theaters and utilize some of the freed-up space for additional parking for the drive-in screen.” But even with that, the Graphic said that only “(b)etween 250 and 300 cars can fit in the drive-in space”.
From the web site:
The Pheasant Drive-In was built at its current location in 1960. Ron Maier, the current owner, has been running the Drive-In since 1976.
June of 2012 the screen was blown down during a micro burst and the Drive-In was closed for six weeks until it was repaired.
In June of 2014 the Drive-In made the conversion to a digital projector.
The Sky-Vu web site says Leonard Novak bought the place in 1971 from Bixby Knight. He’s owned it ever since. “Nothing much has changed at the SkyVu since the 1950s except that the movies have more special effects and the sound comes over your car’s FM stereo.”
Add me as another voter for “2nd run” films. This Memorial Day weekend, they’ve got a triple feature of movies that came out on April 7, January 6, and November 4.
The Town of Wolseley web site says: “Wolseley is home to Saskatchewan’s first drive-in theatre. Stan Zaba, with the help of a few local people, built the drive-in which opened in June of 1954 accommodating 225 cars. 50 years later, the Twilite Drive-in is still going, operated by Stan’s son, Don.”
http://www.wolseley.ca/business-directory/view/listing/Twilite-Drive-In/
Looking at the aerial view, I’m more inclined to believe a capacity of 225 rather than 436.
Also, a 2016 CBC article quotes owner Don Zaba about the need for a digital projector in 2013. “We did a fundraiser in the town of Wolseley which was a success. We ended up buying the projector and a sound system and we’re operating today,” he said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/twilite-drive-in-movies-1.3546164
The Prairie Dog has converted to digital. And for some reason it has moved its web site.
http://www.mysundial.ca/pddit/movies.htm
Aha! Found the Big Island web site, complete with movie listings. Its About section says “The Big Island Drive In was created in 1957 by the Ernest family and operated into the 80’s before it changed hands into the Leefe and Eastman families and operated until 2015.”
Then the next section says “Realizing how important this venue is for the community and surrounding area, Dawn and Dan Hlady purchased the drive in and went forward with the digital conversion so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for years to come. After more than 60 years in operation, this landmark is an asset to the community and the Hlady’s look forward to keeping history alive!”
https://www.bigislanddrivein.com/about
In a June 2015 article in The Reminder of Flin Flon, owner Bill Leefe was just installing a digital projection system. It also mentioned that the Big Island opened in 1957.
http://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/flin-flon-s-drive-in-theatre-will-reopen-but-date-unknown-1.1959099
Great photo of the screen ruins + rainbow in this article: https://www.discoverwestman.com/local/34744-brighter-times-ahead-for-killarney-s-shamrock-drive-in
On a metaphysical note, how long should a theater stay inactive before marking it Closed? I know I always drag my feet before inactivating a drive-in at Carload, but you can always reinstate it if it bounces back.
A June 2016 article by the CBC said the Shamrock “was preparing for their first season with a digital projector” when a storm knocked down its screen. They had replaced the screen in 2015 after it was hit by lightning.
The article said “they are determined to open up next year.” Meaning 2017. But their New Screen Drive FundRazr campaign is but 17% toward its goal after running for 100 weeks.
There’s a gorgeous aerial shot, circa 2000, of the forest reclaiming the old Thunderbird site.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/48793782@N08/5353603424/
The poster wrote that it was on Konnoak Drive right before it meets South Main Street.
The folks who ran the Jubilee moved in February 2017 after they couldn’t renew the lease with the landowner. They’re now showing movies in Lumsden SK.
See this story in Global News: http://globalnews.ca/news/3246859/drive-in-movie-theatre-coming-to-lumsden-sask/
The old location and screen still exist, but it’s currently closed.
The long-as-your-arm domain amusementparkdriveinonline.com, active last year, is now just parked. Looks like it’s keeping its Now Showing updates on Facebook.
The Internet Archive captured the old site’s History page in painful all caps. I’ll paste it here for posterity:
THE AMUSEMENT PARK DRIVE-IN SCREEN, MARQUEE, AND SIGN ARE FROM THE OLD PARK DRIVE-IN FROM CODY, WYOMING. (WHICH OPENED IN 1946 AND RAN THRU 2003). WE TORE DOWN THE WOODEN SCREEN TOWERS, MARQUEE, AND SIGN AND HAULED ALL TO BILLINGS. WE RE-BUILT THE SCREEN AND BUILT THE REST OF THE DRIVE-IN DURING 2004 AND 2005 AND OPENED IN JULY OF 2005.
SHOWING MOVIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE SCREEN IS OUR OWN CONCEPT. THE FRONT PROJECTION BOOTH IS A 1909 WOODEN CABOOSE THAT I HAVE OWNED FOR 20 YEARS. MY FRIEND AND PROJECTIONIST, CHARLES CARON AND I HAVE MOVED IT 4 TIMES THRU THE YEARS. MY WIFE WOULD BRING IT UP WHENEVER WE HAD A DISAGREEMENT “WE HAVE A CABOOSE”. SO YOU CAN SEE WHY I HAD TO USE IT! THE BACK PROJECTION BOOTH IS A 1938 CIRCUS TRUCK THAT I BOUGHT OUT OF THE BILLINGS GAZETTE FOR $300.00 AND REBUILT IN OUR SHOP. WE LIKE TO DO THINGS THAT MAKE US DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE.
OUR AMUSEMENT PARK CONSISTS OF SEVERAL RIDES WE USED ON THE CARNIVAL AND WE ARE WORKING ON ADDING MORE THIS SUMMER. WE ARE ALSO THE ONLY DRIVE-IN WITH A ROLLER COASTER THAT GOES ALL THE WAY AROUND OUR SCREEN!!
THIS DRIVE-IN HAS BEEN A LABOR OF LOVE FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS SO THAT YOUR FAMILY CAN ENJOY A TRUE AMERICAN FAMILY EXPERIENCE!!
WE WILL SEE YOU “AT THE MOVIES UNDER THE STARS”
The Casper Star Tribune wrote in 2013 that Scott and Kathleen Heny were the buyers in 2004. They installed a digital projector in 2013.
That article references a Saturday night in late August 2013 when “(s)lightly more than 70 cars had shown up for the evening show, a strong turnout.” So maybe they were having trouble filling that 200-car lot.
The Theatre Catalog lists Paul McCalmon for Paul’s in 1949. Capacity 200.
The IMPAs continued to list it as “Pauls” through 1976. Still capacity 200. By 1982, it was the Vali, run by A. Mercer, who also ran the “Cory” in Basin WY.
Facebook commenter “Joann Bentz” wrote “My husband and I were the second owners of the drive in and built the new snack bar/box office in 1971. … We also owned and operated the West drive in in Cody.”
The 1976 IMPA still listed the Crest Motor Vu, capacity 470.
The 1976 IMPA still listed the Bridgeway, capacity 520.
The 1988 IMPA, the last edition to list drive-ins, still showed the Motor Vu.
The only drive-in listed for Butte in the 1982 IMPA was the single-screen Motor Vu, capacity 500. (Ditto through 1988.) But the 1972 & 1976 IMPAs listed the Motor Vu with two other Butte-based drive-ins, so I’m guessing that they just overlooked the Silver Bow.
According to Wikipedia (yeah, I know), Silver Bow is just a neighborhood in Butte. Considering that the theater lists its address as Butte, IMHO this listing needs to be moved under Butte.
The official web site says “The Silver Bow Drive-In has been family owned and operated by the Hansen Family since 1977 when it was first built with a single screen tower. A second screen was added in 1980 creating the first twin drive-in theater in Montana. Later in 2004 the second screen was rebuilt and expanded. Allowing for a total capacity of close to 500 cars.
“The concession stand and projection booth, built by Jens Hansen I, was originally part of a drive-in located near Deer Lodge, MT from 1949-1973. The building was moved to its present location in 1977 by the current owners.”
And we need to change that comment to almost no R-rated films. This weekend, they’re showing Snatched, an R-rated Mothers Day movie.
Based on its Facebook timeline, the Auto Vue finished rebuilding its screen in June 2015 and opened soon after.
They switched to digital projection just before opening for the 2016 season. As of May 2017, it’s still going strong.
This YouTube video relates how in the early 2000s, projectionist Paul Lindquist “noticed a run-down, abandoned movie theater,” found a couple of partners and “re-opened” the place in 2002.
“When we first came to the property, there was a 1963 Century projector, one of those workhorses of the film industry,” Lindquist said.
So there was some sort of dead drive-in here before Lindquist and friends revived it. My 1976 IMPA doesn’t list anything for Enderby and no “Starlight” (but several “Starlite"s) for British Columbia. After that, the "International” MPAs stopped including Canadian drive-ins in its lists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIWm3OxHTGM
I’ve never understood how restricting photography benefits any drive-in. Does it have something to hide? Does it want to avoid patrons sharing their photos of having fun?
I can better understand trying to prevent outside food, (seeing a Pizza Hut box must be annoying), but I think that policy’s short-sighted as well. Is a drive-in really going to check cars and throw out violators? Anyone caught like that isn’t going to play by the rules next time – they just won’t come back. A much better idea is to encourage patrons to buy from the concession stand, then sell high-quality food that makes them glad they did.
In general, any business that treats its customers like criminals has the wrong attitude about building long-term loyalty. A smart business swallows its minor annoyances, staying friendly and confident about its ability to keep profitable patrons coming back.
On a surely unrelated note, WNDU just ran a story on the Tri-Way. It bought those four digital projectors, now it needs more cash to pay off the loan. So the theater is asking for folks to please come by and buy some popcorn and a drink. Video here.
An old obituary in the Whidbey News-Times says the Blue Fox was built and owned by Woodrow “Woody” Cecil and his wife Charlotte. Another article said Woody “partnered with George Dickson” to build it.
A 2006 article there said Darrell and Lori Bratt purchased the theater in 1988. In 1990, it switched to FM sound. The screen went down in a 1998 windstorm, but obviously they fixed that.
There’s a superb drone video of the place on YouTube.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed it with a capacity of 320, which can’t have been accurate. Could it be that it was including the seats in the Wheel-In’s indoor viewing area?
From its first listing in the IMPAs into the 1970s, the Wheel-In was given a capacity of 200. By 1982, it was down to 190.
Here’s the link to its National Register of Historic Places entry: https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/14000401.htm
The Newberg Graphic said in a 2016 article that there had been a twin-screen indoor theater on the drive-in property. It showed hand-me-down prints from the downtown Cameo and the 99W. When both went digital, they “opted to close the twin theaters and utilize some of the freed-up space for additional parking for the drive-in screen.” But even with that, the Graphic said that only “(b)etween 250 and 300 cars can fit in the drive-in space”.