I’m not sure what the single wall foundation is that is located near where the projection booth/concession stand used to be, but it does not appear in any aerial photos until 1999. So, whatever it is, it has nothing to do with the drive-in.
Can’t say exactly when the drive-in closed, but the 1969 aerial indicates that it had been demolished for some time. Everything, including the entrance and exit roads are overgrown which generally takes a few years.
A 1957 aerial does show a speed track, possibly a go kart track just south of the drive in. By 1981, the track was long closed and overgrown. Today, that area is quite overgrown with trees. But you can see the outline of the track.
A 1994 aerial is not very clear, but it does appear that the screen is gone. If that is the case, then it would be hard to believe that they would set up the screen after the 1987 tornado only to tear it down again a few years later. Although that possibility cannot be discounted.
I’m not trying to change the address of the drive in.
I’m pointing out that the old entrance/exit roads connect the drive in to HWY 81, not Richland Ave.
A 1954 and 1981 aerials show that when the drive in was operational, it was not connected to Richland Ave. The access to Richland Ave didn’t show up until a 2008 aerial.
2602 S Van Buren St, Enid, OK puts the Google marker right on the entrance roads. But again, I’m not making the argument that the address should be changed given that the entrance roads have debris and appear not to be usable at this time.
A closer address is 2876 Fort Worth Drive, Denton, TX.
As mentioned by driveinfan, the drive in was just south of the mobile home park. The entrance road is gone, but a Google Street View from February 2021 shows an entrance in place, even if no road extends into the property.
All indications of ramps are now totally gone. It is just an empty field. There are faint remnants of the entrance road as it comes off the street. Otherwise, no traces of the drive in remains.
There are now three businesses on the property and no trace of the drive in remaining. Even the foundation for the original screen seems to have been removed or buried despite being on an unused part of the property.
I know that Econo Lane did not exist when the drive in was open, but it does work as an intersection for locating it on Google Maps.
A 1963 aerial shows the screen, ramps, and projection booth/concession stand. But it doesn’t look open to me. Sometime between 1994 and 2000, the entire area was leveled.
Today, it is an empty field with no trace of the drive in remaining.
A 1983 aerial shows the drive in jammed with trailers. There is no indicated of a screen or a projection booth. It looks like the property has been in use as a trailer sales or storage park for some time.
Assuming the aerial was taken in 83, then it appears the drive in closed at an earlier date.
A 1955 aerial shows what appears to be the beginning stages of construction. The foundation for the projection booth/concession stand is in place along with the entrance road.
A 1958 aerial shows the drive in complete and operational. It is still intact in a 1986 aerial, though that does not mean it was operational. By 1996, it had been demolished.
Today, almost all traces of the drive in are gone. However, what appears to be the brick foundation of the marquee is still present.
The address is 2652 Lincoln Hwy E, Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
The drive in was located NE of Coatesville along Route 30. A 1950 aerial shows the drive in still in the construction phase. It was still intact and seemingly active in a 1969 aerial. However, by 1981 it had been demolished.
Today, a strip mall sits on the front part of the property with three stores. The back part is overgrown with trees. There is no trace of the drive in visible on Google Maps today, but some of the ramps may still exist under the trees.
A 600 car capacity for a drive in between two small towns? Especially given that the Cactus Drive In, which was built in 1946 in the larger town of Pharr just to the west of San Juan was just 450 car capacity.
And no trace remaining, despite a sunken projection booth and 2,000 yards of gravel? It’s quite rare for any drive in to be not only demolished, but having all traces removed without some large structure being put in its place.
The only candidate that seems remotely close is at 1222 US-83 BUS, Alamo, TX on the north side.
In 1955, the access road to the location branches off into the property. That is rather unusual given that the property seems to have just one decent size building. But most of the land is open and no trace of anything being previous built exists.
More information is definitely needed for this one.
I see no evidence of a light pole with two lights near the carpark of the Park Place of Harper Woods that would date back to the 1970s. By 1983, most of the property was redeveloped. By 1999, all traces of the drive in were gone.
About the only thing that may have existed when the drive in was operation that still remains is the telephone poles that run along the SW edge of the property.
An August 2021 Google Street View of the drive in shows several containers and some RVs along the back of the property next to the projection booth/concession stand.
From the Google Maps overhead, the screen appears to be intact, but the concession stand/projector booth may not be in the same shape.
Even the ramps have faded considerably. The addition of houses has made finding the entrance road difficult as well.
I’m surprised it closed in 2002 since from what we see on the Google Maps overhead, it appears to have been closed a decade or two earlier than that given the trees and weathering.
A closer address is 4611 Walker Rd, Windsor, ON N8W 3T6, Canada.
This is the address of the SilverCity Windsor Cinemas which is located at the intersection of Walker and Essex County Rd 4 or Provincial Road. There is no trace of the drive in remaining.
5020 N Washington St, Stillwater, OK is a closer address.
The old entrance road is now used (in part) by Patriot Storage which shares the same address. You can still see the remainder of the old entrance road as it stretches to what is now a housing edition.
I’m not sure what the single wall foundation is that is located near where the projection booth/concession stand used to be, but it does not appear in any aerial photos until 1999. So, whatever it is, it has nothing to do with the drive-in.
Can’t say exactly when the drive-in closed, but the 1969 aerial indicates that it had been demolished for some time. Everything, including the entrance and exit roads are overgrown which generally takes a few years.
There is a large concrete block that sits on the old entrance road. At first, I thought it might be part of the old ticket booth.
But if that is true, someone would’ve had to move it up the road a distance before leaving it there.
Part of the entrance road is all that remains of the drive in.
A 1957 aerial does show a speed track, possibly a go kart track just south of the drive in. By 1981, the track was long closed and overgrown. Today, that area is quite overgrown with trees. But you can see the outline of the track.
A 1994 aerial is not very clear, but it does appear that the screen is gone. If that is the case, then it would be hard to believe that they would set up the screen after the 1987 tornado only to tear it down again a few years later. Although that possibility cannot be discounted.
I’m not trying to change the address of the drive in.
I’m pointing out that the old entrance/exit roads connect the drive in to HWY 81, not Richland Ave.
A 1954 and 1981 aerials show that when the drive in was operational, it was not connected to Richland Ave. The access to Richland Ave didn’t show up until a 2008 aerial.
2602 S Van Buren St, Enid, OK puts the Google marker right on the entrance roads. But again, I’m not making the argument that the address should be changed given that the entrance roads have debris and appear not to be usable at this time.
The photo is not the Skyway, this is the Lakeview Drive In.
A closer address is 2876 Fort Worth Drive, Denton, TX.
As mentioned by driveinfan, the drive in was just south of the mobile home park. The entrance road is gone, but a Google Street View from February 2021 shows an entrance in place, even if no road extends into the property.
All indications of ramps are now totally gone. It is just an empty field. There are faint remnants of the entrance road as it comes off the street. Otherwise, no traces of the drive in remains.
There are now three businesses on the property and no trace of the drive in remaining. Even the foundation for the original screen seems to have been removed or buried despite being on an unused part of the property.
Found It.
Econo Ln & US-11, Lexington, VA.
I know that Econo Lane did not exist when the drive in was open, but it does work as an intersection for locating it on Google Maps.
A 1963 aerial shows the screen, ramps, and projection booth/concession stand. But it doesn’t look open to me. Sometime between 1994 and 2000, the entire area was leveled.
Today, it is an empty field with no trace of the drive in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/mpjpm7av
A 1983 aerial shows the drive in jammed with trailers. There is no indicated of a screen or a projection booth. It looks like the property has been in use as a trailer sales or storage park for some time.
Assuming the aerial was taken in 83, then it appears the drive in closed at an earlier date.
I will be happy to find the drive in on a topo map or aerial photo. Is there any indication of where in Marietta in might be located?
A 1955 aerial shows what appears to be the beginning stages of construction. The foundation for the projection booth/concession stand is in place along with the entrance road.
A 1958 aerial shows the drive in complete and operational. It is still intact in a 1986 aerial, though that does not mean it was operational. By 1996, it had been demolished.
Today, almost all traces of the drive in are gone. However, what appears to be the brick foundation of the marquee is still present.
Only the frame of the marquee, a light pole, and the pole supporting the “Welcome” sign remain.
The drive in was still intact in 1984. However, by 1996 it had been demolished.
Today, you can still see the entrance and some of the ramps.
The marquee, although damaged and in disrepair, still has the name Tommies Drive In prominently featured on top.
A 1984 aerial shows the drive in intact, although whether it was operational is another matter. By 1994, it had been demolished.
Only parch marks that show the ramps remain from the aerial views.
Found It.
The address is 2652 Lincoln Hwy E, Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
The drive in was located NE of Coatesville along Route 30. A 1950 aerial shows the drive in still in the construction phase. It was still intact and seemingly active in a 1969 aerial. However, by 1981 it had been demolished.
Today, a strip mall sits on the front part of the property with three stores. The back part is overgrown with trees. There is no trace of the drive in visible on Google Maps today, but some of the ramps may still exist under the trees.
https://tinyurl.com/2s37d7d7
A 600 car capacity for a drive in between two small towns? Especially given that the Cactus Drive In, which was built in 1946 in the larger town of Pharr just to the west of San Juan was just 450 car capacity.
And no trace remaining, despite a sunken projection booth and 2,000 yards of gravel? It’s quite rare for any drive in to be not only demolished, but having all traces removed without some large structure being put in its place.
The only candidate that seems remotely close is at 1222 US-83 BUS, Alamo, TX on the north side.
In 1955, the access road to the location branches off into the property. That is rather unusual given that the property seems to have just one decent size building. But most of the land is open and no trace of anything being previous built exists.
More information is definitely needed for this one.
I see no evidence of a light pole with two lights near the carpark of the Park Place of Harper Woods that would date back to the 1970s. By 1983, most of the property was redeveloped. By 1999, all traces of the drive in were gone.
About the only thing that may have existed when the drive in was operation that still remains is the telephone poles that run along the SW edge of the property.
An August 2021 Google Street View of the drive in shows several containers and some RVs along the back of the property next to the projection booth/concession stand.
It seems that the storage business is picking up.
From the Google Maps overhead, the screen appears to be intact, but the concession stand/projector booth may not be in the same shape.
Even the ramps have faded considerably. The addition of houses has made finding the entrance road difficult as well.
I’m surprised it closed in 2002 since from what we see on the Google Maps overhead, it appears to have been closed a decade or two earlier than that given the trees and weathering.
A closer address is 4611 Walker Rd, Windsor, ON N8W 3T6, Canada.
This is the address of the SilverCity Windsor Cinemas which is located at the intersection of Walker and Essex County Rd 4 or Provincial Road. There is no trace of the drive in remaining.
Is HWY 98 known as something else now? I’m not getting it to map on Google Maps.
A 1984 aerial shows the drive in intact, but it may have been closed as several trucks/containers (hard to tell) are sitting near the entrance.
By 1994, the screen was gone.
Sold as a “drive in movie location” in 2020, that is the definition of “technically true”.
5020 N Washington St, Stillwater, OK is a closer address.
The old entrance road is now used (in part) by Patriot Storage which shares the same address. You can still see the remainder of the old entrance road as it stretches to what is now a housing edition.
https://tinyurl.com/yj46ymfz