The drive-in appears intact in a 1957 aerial, but by 1965 the screen was gone. The projection booth/concession stand last appeared in a 1968 aerial, but was gone by 1983.
Today, the area is mostly private property with businesses that line its east side. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
There is no way the area was big enough to hold 100 cars, much less 150. Each ramp might have held 20 cars and there are three ramps in total. The one in the back is right next to the cemetery.
There might have been off-site parking for patrons to walk into the area and sit in the chair or benches.
I’m not sure that is the location of the drive-in. The fan-shaped feature shown in the photo looks like a softball field, not a drive-in.
There is no screen or projector booth, but there appears to be a backstop. A baseball field and softball field appear in roughly the same location in a 1983 aerial.
The advertisements on the NY Drive-In site confirms the entrance was next to the Stone Bridge which is at 1170 Main Street, Leeds, NY.
In addition, the information provided on the site says the open air theater opened in 1940 and became a drive-in in 1945. This is backed up by an advert described as the “Grand Opening” on July 26th, 1945.
At 53 Green Lake Road is a small foundation for what may have been the exit sign. There is pipe and conduit present, but I cannot confirm that it has anything to do with the drive-in.
There is an area that I thought was part of the cemetery which may be the drive-in. It looks like it could hold about 50 cars. The screen sat right on the bank with the projection booth bracketed by outdoor seats. The three ramps are unusual because they are parallel and all behind the booth. As if patrons were to get out of their vehicles and sit in the seats.
There is an access road that sits on Main Street which, as funny as it looks, appears to be the entrance. There is what appears to be a small exit road that runs on the north side of the cemetery. But that appears considerably smaller than the access road from Main Street.
Very little is left today. There is a large rock where the projection booth once sat. Faint hints of the parallel ramps, and a small structure on the north side next to the creek that may be the “refreshment stand”.
A 1952 and 1956 aerial does not reveal any area large enough to be a drive-in holding 150 vehicles. Of course, I could be missing something, but is there a more exact location other than Green Lake Road?
A 1963 aerial shows the property almost fully razed with only a hint of a few ramps remaining. The large concrete base for the screen that was present in a 1958 aerial was removed as well.
Normally, a property that is razed like that is being prepped for a large structure. And while a building was constructed on the south edge, most of the property remained vacant or just used for parking a few trailers until about a decade ago.
MichaelKilgore Maybe. There is nothing to disprove the drive-in being the Rainbow. And the other photos of the drive-in are close when comparing them to the 1984 aerial.
The sign however still seems problematic to me.
The 1984 aerial shows the road being the first one in town when coming in from the west. Why name the road when “next right” or “first right” is simpler for out-of-towners?
The marquee indicates that there had to be a parking area near the sign, probably where the picture was taken.
The only candidate I see is the old auto repair shop about 200 feet to the SW of the intersection. The 1984 aerial doesn’t show anything resembling a sign of that size in that location.
And when you go further west, the railroad runs next to the highway with no safe parking visible for miles.
Having said all that, I do believe it is the Rainbow Drive-In. It’s just that the sign does seem off to me.
The marquee is no longer at the corner of Sykes Mountain Avenue and North Main Street. The intersection was transformed and expanded to include a roundabout. The result was that the sign was removed. Where it is now I do not know.
There is a drive-in about ¼ mile east of Pacific Street Northwest & 422nd Place, Aitkin Township, Aitkin, Minnesota.
It sat on the north side of the road and appears in a 1984 aerial intact. By 1992 it had been demolished. Currently, a business sits on the property, but I cannot map the address correctly, so the intersection will have to do for now.
However, if the picture of the Rainbow Drive-In sign is correct, then this is probably not the drive-in. I cannot find a “Cemetery Road” in Aitkin.
It’s not exact, but it does have the old drive-in on the north side.
In addition, the blue and white pillar at the entrance with “Storage” written on each side may have held the sign of the drive-in at the top. A sign that is now gone, but the pillar remains. It is in the exact location of the old drive-in sign in historic aerials.
I’m not sure the drive-in was still open by the 1980s. Although it is clearly intact, there is trail that is on the right or east side of the drive-in entrance in the 1982 aerial which is not present in the 1974 aerial.
Normally, the addition of new trails outside of the entrance/exit is an indication that a drive-in is closed. Especially since the new trail makes no sense in terms of traffic into or out of the drive-in.
I know it’s not proof, but the drive-in does not look as well-kept in the ‘82 photo. So, it may have closed by the late 1970s.
A 1955 aerial shows the school looking to be newly constructed at the location. The field behind the school is empty. There is no drive-in at that intersection or in the surrounding area that I can see.
The drive-in appears intact in a 1957 aerial, but by 1965 the screen was gone. The projection booth/concession stand last appeared in a 1968 aerial, but was gone by 1983.
Today, the area is mostly private property with businesses that line its east side. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 1236 S Ralls Hwy, Floydada, TX.
The address places it right on the property. The drive-in was intact in a 1996 aerial, but was screen was gone by 2004.
Today, it appears to be private property with the projection booth/concession stand still intact. You can also clearly see the ramps.
There is no way the area was big enough to hold 100 cars, much less 150. Each ramp might have held 20 cars and there are three ramps in total. The one in the back is right next to the cemetery.
There might have been off-site parking for patrons to walk into the area and sit in the chair or benches.
I’m not sure that is the location of the drive-in. The fan-shaped feature shown in the photo looks like a softball field, not a drive-in.
There is no screen or projector booth, but there appears to be a backstop. A baseball field and softball field appear in roughly the same location in a 1983 aerial.
I’m not sure that is the drive-in. You can see the same shape in a 1953 aerial which is before the drive-in was built.
Plus, the object at the point or southern end of the shape is way too small to be a screen. You can see that in the 1953 aerial as well.
I don’t know what it is, but there is no screen or projection booth, so it doesn’t appear to be a drive-in at least not in the photo.
Considering that baseball fields were created in the same area as seen in a 1983 aerial, that’s what it may be.
The advertisements on the NY Drive-In site confirms the entrance was next to the Stone Bridge which is at 1170 Main Street, Leeds, NY.
In addition, the information provided on the site says the open air theater opened in 1940 and became a drive-in in 1945. This is backed up by an advert described as the “Grand Opening” on July 26th, 1945.
At 53 Green Lake Road is a small foundation for what may have been the exit sign. There is pipe and conduit present, but I cannot confirm that it has anything to do with the drive-in.
http://www.newyorkdriveins.com/catskillsregion/leeds/leeds.php
A possible address is 1170 Main St, Leeds, NY.
There is an area that I thought was part of the cemetery which may be the drive-in. It looks like it could hold about 50 cars. The screen sat right on the bank with the projection booth bracketed by outdoor seats. The three ramps are unusual because they are parallel and all behind the booth. As if patrons were to get out of their vehicles and sit in the seats.
There is an access road that sits on Main Street which, as funny as it looks, appears to be the entrance. There is what appears to be a small exit road that runs on the north side of the cemetery. But that appears considerably smaller than the access road from Main Street.
Very little is left today. There is a large rock where the projection booth once sat. Faint hints of the parallel ramps, and a small structure on the north side next to the creek that may be the “refreshment stand”.
https://tinyurl.com/3pvb2ps8
A 1952 and 1956 aerial does not reveal any area large enough to be a drive-in holding 150 vehicles. Of course, I could be missing something, but is there a more exact location other than Green Lake Road?
The marquee, which last appeared in an April 2019 Google Street View was removed by March 2021.
A closer address is 4814 NY-23, Norwich, NY.
The drive-in was intact in 1982, but was totally gone by 1995.
https://tinyurl.com/3wmmvjkm
A closer address is 3178 20, Richfield, NY.
The property is mostly empty with a propane company occupying a small area. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/5n8sfnwp
A closer address is 1882 New Scotland Rd, Slingerlands, NY.
The property is now a housing edition. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/yzsh9rhn
A 1963 aerial shows the property almost fully razed with only a hint of a few ramps remaining. The large concrete base for the screen that was present in a 1958 aerial was removed as well.
Normally, a property that is razed like that is being prepped for a large structure. And while a building was constructed on the south edge, most of the property remained vacant or just used for parking a few trailers until about a decade ago.
A closer address is 245 U.S. Hwy 190, Eldorado, TX.
This places it around where the screen and entrance road use to be.
A June 2022 Google Street View shows what’s left of the concession stand/projector booth which is a big pile of wood.
https://tinyurl.com/2u858yjt
A closer address is 411 South Amherst Road, Earth, TX.
Google Maps has recently added the address, which sits right on the property.
https://tinyurl.com/ym8jcx6c
Looks like the foundation of the ticket booth is still present on what’s left of the entrance road.
MichaelKilgore Maybe. There is nothing to disprove the drive-in being the Rainbow. And the other photos of the drive-in are close when comparing them to the 1984 aerial.
The sign however still seems problematic to me.
The 1984 aerial shows the road being the first one in town when coming in from the west. Why name the road when “next right” or “first right” is simpler for out-of-towners?
The marquee indicates that there had to be a parking area near the sign, probably where the picture was taken.
The only candidate I see is the old auto repair shop about 200 feet to the SW of the intersection. The 1984 aerial doesn’t show anything resembling a sign of that size in that location. And when you go further west, the railroad runs next to the highway with no safe parking visible for miles.
Having said all that, I do believe it is the Rainbow Drive-In. It’s just that the sign does seem off to me.
The marquee is no longer at the corner of Sykes Mountain Avenue and North Main Street. The intersection was transformed and expanded to include a roundabout. The result was that the sign was removed. Where it is now I do not know.
There is a drive-in about ¼ mile east of Pacific Street Northwest & 422nd Place, Aitkin Township, Aitkin, Minnesota.
It sat on the north side of the road and appears in a 1984 aerial intact. By 1992 it had been demolished. Currently, a business sits on the property, but I cannot map the address correctly, so the intersection will have to do for now.
However, if the picture of the Rainbow Drive-In sign is correct, then this is probably not the drive-in. I cannot find a “Cemetery Road” in Aitkin.
https://tinyurl.com/3c62wbe4
A May 2022 Google Street View shows the property to be empty save for the screens. All structures have been removed.
A closer address is 1100 W 4th Ave, Holdrege, NE.
It’s not exact, but it does have the old drive-in on the north side.
In addition, the blue and white pillar at the entrance with “Storage” written on each side may have held the sign of the drive-in at the top. A sign that is now gone, but the pillar remains. It is in the exact location of the old drive-in sign in historic aerials.
https://tinyurl.com/fhcaasn2
I’m not sure the drive-in was still open by the 1980s. Although it is clearly intact, there is trail that is on the right or east side of the drive-in entrance in the 1982 aerial which is not present in the 1974 aerial.
Normally, the addition of new trails outside of the entrance/exit is an indication that a drive-in is closed. Especially since the new trail makes no sense in terms of traffic into or out of the drive-in.
I know it’s not proof, but the drive-in does not look as well-kept in the ‘82 photo. So, it may have closed by the late 1970s.
That makes a lot more sense as the address currently listed in the description is four miles off.
The correct address is, as MichaelKilgore states, 8614 E US Hwy 64, Thomasville, NC.
A 1955 aerial shows the school looking to be newly constructed at the location. The field behind the school is empty. There is no drive-in at that intersection or in the surrounding area that I can see.
A house now sits on the property about where the screen was located. You can still see the outline of the ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/28j8k8vs