A drive-in with a 300 car capacity seems awfully large for small towns and hilly countryside, let alone 450+.
A 1963 topo map reveals nothing and neither does a 1968 aerial photo. If it did exist, it is either quite far away from Garberville or it was demolished immediately so that the area was unrecognizable as a drive-in. Or perhaps we have the wrong Garberville.
In any case, some more info to at least narrow down its location would be nice.
Actually, almost all of the drive-in is gone. You can only see a faint outline of the drive-in behind the Country Inn & Suites.
The lines just to the west that reach to 31st Street SE are from an auto salvage yard that was built on the property after the drive-in had closed. The salvage yard is closed and the building demolished.
Either the bridge will have to be fixed or an access road cut behind the bridge. Coming from the other direction would create a substantial mess.
Unless they cut a deal with the VFW to allow access through their parking area. It would help with the overflow of traffic, but the VFW would have to be convinced to do it.
It seems to have closed long before the mid-1970s, at least at the 1400 Natchitoches St. location. A 1955 aerial shows a drive-in, but in 1969 I-20 occupies most of the land with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The address was 212 Briley Ave, Opelousas, LA. The drive-in was located north of Opelousas. A 1969 aerial shows the drive-in demolished. I’m pretty sure this is the drive-in since the exit road is now called “Midway Exit Drive”.
The drive-in was somewhat unusual as a row of houses sat between the entrance and the HWY 182. So technically, the entrance address would be at the end of Briley Avenue and not from the highway itself.
Today, a business sits on the property with no trace left.
After comparing the site with a 1967 aerial photo, it appears that the projection booth/concession stand has a new roof.
The ticket booth is another matter since the small building near the road did not exist in the ‘67 photo as the screen was on that spot. That small structure does not appear until a 2003 aerial.
It does appear that a ticket booth sat just to the south of the screen in the ‘67 photo, but it was gone along with the screen by 1982.
Although the overhead on Google Maps still shows the ramps, the street view shows that houses have been built on the site. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is US-385 & Co Rd 310, Littlefield, TX.
The property sat just to the south of the intersection on the east side of US-385. Today, it is private property, but you can still make out the remnants of the ramps in the back.
A 1993 aerial shows the ramps, but the drive-in had been closed for a considerable length of time. Sometime after 2012, the land was finally purchased and transformed. Today, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 27734 NY-12, Watertown, New York
Today, you can still see the remains of the outline, ramps, entrance and exit roads, and the snack bar/projection booth is still somewhat intact, although in pretty bad shape.
There is no trace of the Harlem Drive-In remaining. It is mostly an open field, but there are no ramps or any indication that a drive-in was once there.
A closer address is Massena-Massena Center Rd & Meadowview Ln
Massena, NY.
The drive-in sat on the east side of this intersection. Today, it appears to be private property, but you can still make out the ramps and the foundation of the concession stand/projector booth.
An August 2019 Google Street View shows no marquee on the site. Only a temporary sign at the entrance. The “Space for Rent” sign to the west of the entrance does not appear in a 1995 aerial photo, so I’d say that if there was a marquee, it is long gone.
It should be noted that the area didn’t go without a drive-in for very long. The Transit Drive-In began in 1952 and is about a mile south of where the Nite-Way Drive-In was located. The Transit Drive-In is still open.
The site, which sat on the SW corner of the intersection, is home to Heritage Structures. A number of sheds for purchase or “rent to own” are on the lot.
It appears that the marquee still remained until at least 2003. However, by 2006 the entire area was changed which included the entrance road. There does not appear to be anything left of marquee.
Something is happening to the property as a February 2020 Google Street View shows considerable clearing going on.
Google maps show the drive-in has been demolished and replaced with a housing edition.
The only reminder is the main street is named “Airline Drive”.
A drive-in with a 300 car capacity seems awfully large for small towns and hilly countryside, let alone 450+.
A 1963 topo map reveals nothing and neither does a 1968 aerial photo. If it did exist, it is either quite far away from Garberville or it was demolished immediately so that the area was unrecognizable as a drive-in. Or perhaps we have the wrong Garberville.
In any case, some more info to at least narrow down its location would be nice.
Actually, almost all of the drive-in is gone. You can only see a faint outline of the drive-in behind the Country Inn & Suites.
The lines just to the west that reach to 31st Street SE are from an auto salvage yard that was built on the property after the drive-in had closed. The salvage yard is closed and the building demolished.
Either the bridge will have to be fixed or an access road cut behind the bridge. Coming from the other direction would create a substantial mess.
Unless they cut a deal with the VFW to allow access through their parking area. It would help with the overflow of traffic, but the VFW would have to be convinced to do it.
It seems to have closed long before the mid-1970s, at least at the 1400 Natchitoches St. location. A 1955 aerial shows a drive-in, but in 1969 I-20 occupies most of the land with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The drive-in appears intact in a 1983 aerial photo, although that is not an indication it was open.
By 1993, it was completely demolished with virtually all traces removed. Today, most of the land is still open.
Found It!
The address was 212 Briley Ave, Opelousas, LA. The drive-in was located north of Opelousas. A 1969 aerial shows the drive-in demolished. I’m pretty sure this is the drive-in since the exit road is now called “Midway Exit Drive”.
The drive-in was somewhat unusual as a row of houses sat between the entrance and the HWY 182. So technically, the entrance address would be at the end of Briley Avenue and not from the highway itself.
Today, a business sits on the property with no trace left.
tinyurl.com/1muf6kwp
After comparing the site with a 1967 aerial photo, it appears that the projection booth/concession stand has a new roof.
The ticket booth is another matter since the small building near the road did not exist in the ‘67 photo as the screen was on that spot. That small structure does not appear until a 2003 aerial.
It does appear that a ticket booth sat just to the south of the screen in the ‘67 photo, but it was gone along with the screen by 1982.
A closer address is 4572 Old State Hwy 95, Lake Havasu City, AZ.
A 1981 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but by 1992 it had been demolished.
Today, it is an empty field with the feint remains of the ramps and foundations of the screen and projection booth/concession stand remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/y7t6kcdy
You can still make out the faint hint of ramps and where the concession stand/projection booth once stood.
Although the overhead on Google Maps still shows the ramps, the street view shows that houses have been built on the site. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is US-385 & Co Rd 310, Littlefield, TX.
The property sat just to the south of the intersection on the east side of US-385. Today, it is private property, but you can still make out the remnants of the ramps in the back.
A closer address is Co Rd 181 & FM 54, Littlefield, Texas. This is about ¼ west of the drive-in which sat on the north side of FM-54.
For some reason, Google Maps does not like to include “Littlefield” in the address.
A 1993 aerial shows the ramps, but the drive-in had been closed for a considerable length of time. Sometime after 2012, the land was finally purchased and transformed. Today, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 27734 NY-12, Watertown, New York
Today, you can still see the remains of the outline, ramps, entrance and exit roads, and the snack bar/projection booth is still somewhat intact, although in pretty bad shape.
https://tinyurl.com/y5h9pk5n
There is no trace of the Harlem Drive-In remaining. It is mostly an open field, but there are no ramps or any indication that a drive-in was once there.
The latest overhead view from Google shows the area stripped of trees and the screen, too. There is nothing left but the outline and hints of ramps.
A closer address is Massena-Massena Center Rd & Meadowview Ln Massena, NY.
The drive-in sat on the east side of this intersection. Today, it appears to be private property, but you can still make out the ramps and the foundation of the concession stand/projector booth.
https://tinyurl.com/y44lpdx5
Wehrie Drive is the name of the street that runs along the north side of the drive-in. Perhaps that is where it got its name.
An August 2019 Google Street View shows no marquee on the site. Only a temporary sign at the entrance. The “Space for Rent” sign to the west of the entrance does not appear in a 1995 aerial photo, so I’d say that if there was a marquee, it is long gone.
It should be noted that the area didn’t go without a drive-in for very long. The Transit Drive-In began in 1952 and is about a mile south of where the Nite-Way Drive-In was located. The Transit Drive-In is still open.
The site, which sat on the SW corner of the intersection, is home to Heritage Structures. A number of sheds for purchase or “rent to own” are on the lot.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
It appears that the marquee still remained until at least 2003. However, by 2006 the entire area was changed which included the entrance road. There does not appear to be anything left of marquee.
The address for the drive-in is across the street from the high school to the northeast.