The quote you used has at least two mistakes, the wrong town and wrong direction. It’s actually closer to say the Y Drive-In was south of Poteau, not west of it.
Based on a 1955 aerial, I’m rather dubious that the drive-in could’ve held 200 vehicles, much less 300. But then again the information provided was probably provided by those who wanted the drive-in to sound more impressive than it was.
It is the empty grass field that sits on the NE corner of Midway Avenue and Speedway Avenue. Traces of the outline and ramps remained until 2005, but by 2009 the field had been plowed over, so no trace of the drive-in remains.
The closest address I can get (at least on Google) is
2906 US-41, Manchester, TN. This is across the street from the drive-in. The drive-in appears intact in a 1981 aerial, but by 1997 it was demolished.
Today, it is private property with a house and a couple of buildings. But you can easily see the outline and ramps.
It lasted less than two months. Being next to an ammonia plant may explain why.
Unfortunately, I cannot find any evidence of a drive-in south of Henderson along HWY 60 on a 1950 aerial. So, it was probably totally demolished quickly and perhaps a building added to the property.
If you are talking about the rectangular property just north of what appears to be a house and barn in the 1958 photo, it doesn’t look nearly big enough even for a 130 car drive-in. But then again I’ve seen so-called “official” information be wrong before, so it could have been smaller.
At least my guess about it being totally demolished before 1958 seems to be right. Which means that information should be added to the description.
I think I’m going blind looking at the 1958 aerial photo of Lennox. Even a 130 car drive-in should stand out if it was anywhere in or near that small town.
Is it possible that it closed well before 1958 and was demolished or someone built something over it? Cause I’m thinking that is possible.
A closer address (at least for Google) is 29576 US-6, Brush, CO which is across the road and home to the High Plains Cattle Supply. I could not get a fix on Google Maps for the actual address. Today, the property appears to be home to highway maintenance.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining apart from what might be the screen foundation and faint hint of ramps on the east side of the property.
After looking at the 1966 aerial, there is no trace of anything at the location you cited.
I might believe that a drive-in would be totally demolished without a building being put up, but the trees at the location indicate that nothing was built there at the time.
Plus, I cannot find anything resembling a drive-in along HWY281, be it 30 or 300 cars anywhere near Johnson City. Now, it may be hiding in plain sight, so I’m not discounting anything, but I’ve seen nothing close so far.
Whatever the case, more information is needed about it’s location.
I’ve seen “twilight, "Twi-Light”, and Twilite" spelled in different ways. Not all that uncommon with newspaper ads, especially when updating them on the phone.
As I said before, I’ve yet to locate the drive-in on a 1958 aerial. But my eyes are not the greatest, so it could be shining like a beacon for all I know. Any help in nailing down the location would be helpful in getting an address.
Looks like the drive-in was already demolished by 1954. An aerial photo shows the screen and projector booth/concession stand gone. Today, there is no evidence of the drive-in remaining.
A 1958 aerial of the town does not reveal any drive-in theater nearby that I can see.
Of course it may be hiding in plain sight, so I’m not trying to say it doesn’t exist. But any information that can help nail down the address would be helpful.
If the bridge is not going to be repaired, then the city or county can establish an access as it is their responsibility. In fact, they would have to if the bridge is deemed unsafe which its not far away from that.
Plus, there is plenty of room between the VFW and the glass company to create a two-lane access road with no need to cut into the drive-in.
Despite that, I think that they will have to repair the bridge even with all the cost involved.
Unless the bridge is restored, I’m not seeing why anyone would reopen the drive-in.
One possible solution which would be far less expensive compared to fixing the bridge, although it may be harder to accomplish, is creating a public access road on the west side of the VFW parking lot. It bypasses the bridge and allows direct access to the road leading to the drive-in.
Whatever solution is chosen, it’s going to take a long time to accomplish. Which means that the fate of the drive-in will still be in limbo.
A more accurate address (at least for Google) is 5911 S M L King Jr Pkwy, Beaumont, Texas. It seems that the Port Arthur Road changed names at some point to the MLK. Then, another road was named Port Arthur Road just to make things confusing.
The South Park Drive-In made it at least to 1970. Today, the property has been paved over and appears to be used for storing items. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining apart from its general shape and entrance/exit roads.
https://tinyurl.com/y5pchcmc
Interestingly enough, a 1959 aerial shows a demolished drive-in on the opposite side of the road. Anyone know what that drive-in was?
Fixing the bridge will take considerably more.
The 1964 aerial photograph shows the screen is gone. No trace of the drive-in remains today.
The 1966 aerial shows the screen is gone, so it appears to have closed well before 1966.
The quote you used has at least two mistakes, the wrong town and wrong direction. It’s actually closer to say the Y Drive-In was south of Poteau, not west of it.
Based on a 1955 aerial, I’m rather dubious that the drive-in could’ve held 200 vehicles, much less 300. But then again the information provided was probably provided by those who wanted the drive-in to sound more impressive than it was.
It is the empty grass field that sits on the NE corner of Midway Avenue and Speedway Avenue. Traces of the outline and ramps remained until 2005, but by 2009 the field had been plowed over, so no trace of the drive-in remains.
MichaelKilgore, do you mean Pryor, Oklahoma? That is about 100 miles from Poteau.
Found It!
The closest address I can get (at least on Google) is 2906 US-41, Manchester, TN. This is across the street from the drive-in. The drive-in appears intact in a 1981 aerial, but by 1997 it was demolished.
Today, it is private property with a house and a couple of buildings. But you can easily see the outline and ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/yxtbe9oz
It lasted less than two months. Being next to an ammonia plant may explain why.
Unfortunately, I cannot find any evidence of a drive-in south of Henderson along HWY 60 on a 1950 aerial. So, it was probably totally demolished quickly and perhaps a building added to the property.
If you are talking about the rectangular property just north of what appears to be a house and barn in the 1958 photo, it doesn’t look nearly big enough even for a 130 car drive-in. But then again I’ve seen so-called “official” information be wrong before, so it could have been smaller.
At least my guess about it being totally demolished before 1958 seems to be right. Which means that information should be added to the description.
I think I’m going blind looking at the 1958 aerial photo of Lennox. Even a 130 car drive-in should stand out if it was anywhere in or near that small town.
Is it possible that it closed well before 1958 and was demolished or someone built something over it? Cause I’m thinking that is possible.
A closer address (at least for Google) is 29576 US-6, Brush, CO which is across the road and home to the High Plains Cattle Supply. I could not get a fix on Google Maps for the actual address. Today, the property appears to be home to highway maintenance.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining apart from what might be the screen foundation and faint hint of ramps on the east side of the property.
https://tinyurl.com/y4gtlfpr
After looking at the 1966 aerial, there is no trace of anything at the location you cited.
I might believe that a drive-in would be totally demolished without a building being put up, but the trees at the location indicate that nothing was built there at the time.
Plus, I cannot find anything resembling a drive-in along HWY281, be it 30 or 300 cars anywhere near Johnson City. Now, it may be hiding in plain sight, so I’m not discounting anything, but I’ve seen nothing close so far.
Whatever the case, more information is needed about it’s location.
It’s private property with a home and pool. There is no trace, not even a hint of ramps remaining.
I imagine that “fair business” dried up when the 61 Drive-In opened in 1951.
I’ve seen “twilight, "Twi-Light”, and Twilite" spelled in different ways. Not all that uncommon with newspaper ads, especially when updating them on the phone.
As I said before, I’ve yet to locate the drive-in on a 1958 aerial. But my eyes are not the greatest, so it could be shining like a beacon for all I know. Any help in nailing down the location would be helpful in getting an address.
Looks like the drive-in was already demolished by 1954. An aerial photo shows the screen and projector booth/concession stand gone. Today, there is no evidence of the drive-in remaining.
Crown Auto World is in Bristow, not Tulsa.
As the address indicates, the area is empty save for a cell phone tower that stands about where the concession stand/projection booth was located.
Apart from faint hints of the entrance and exit roads, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A 1958 aerial of the town does not reveal any drive-in theater nearby that I can see.
Of course it may be hiding in plain sight, so I’m not trying to say it doesn’t exist. But any information that can help nail down the address would be helpful.
If the bridge is not going to be repaired, then the city or county can establish an access as it is their responsibility. In fact, they would have to if the bridge is deemed unsafe which its not far away from that.
Plus, there is plenty of room between the VFW and the glass company to create a two-lane access road with no need to cut into the drive-in.
Despite that, I think that they will have to repair the bridge even with all the cost involved.
Unless the bridge is restored, I’m not seeing why anyone would reopen the drive-in.
One possible solution which would be far less expensive compared to fixing the bridge, although it may be harder to accomplish, is creating a public access road on the west side of the VFW parking lot. It bypasses the bridge and allows direct access to the road leading to the drive-in.
Whatever solution is chosen, it’s going to take a long time to accomplish. Which means that the fate of the drive-in will still be in limbo.
A closer address (at least for Google Maps) is 5980 S M L King Jr Pkwy, Beaumont, TX.
A 1959 aerial shows the demolished drive-in. Today, ASCO Equipment sits on the property with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/y64h56md
A more accurate address (at least for Google) is 5911 S M L King Jr Pkwy, Beaumont, Texas. It seems that the Port Arthur Road changed names at some point to the MLK. Then, another road was named Port Arthur Road just to make things confusing.
The South Park Drive-In made it at least to 1970. Today, the property has been paved over and appears to be used for storing items. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining apart from its general shape and entrance/exit roads.
https://tinyurl.com/y5pchcmc
Interestingly enough, a 1959 aerial shows a demolished drive-in on the opposite side of the road. Anyone know what that drive-in was?
A 1972 aerial shows the screen gone.
Today, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
What may be the base of the marquee is still standing next to Spring Creek Road.
Found It!
The address is 294 Spring Creek Road, Mitchell, NE
You can see the drive-in on a 1962 aerial intact and apparently open. By the next aerial in 1993 it had been totally demolished.
Today, it is private property with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/y5ld28vp