I drove by this theatre in April, when it was closed and for sale, but they have reopened, and are showing MEGAMIND and SECRETARIAT this week according to Moviefone. Don’t think they have a website yet.
The Summit Plaza has recently expanded to 3 screens, adding a “movie lounge” that seats 60 with comfortable couches and a wall to wall screen. Saw a movie there this weekend, and it is excellent environment. They seem to be showing more “offbeat” movies there that never make it to nearby Jefferson City, so I hope they are successful with it.
I have never been inside this theatre, but have driven past it. If I recall correctly, the entrance to the 3rd auditorium is actually around the corner from the main entrance, and faces the side street. The entrance to the 1st and 2nd auditoriums are inside the front entrance, as shown in the photo above.
Mike I would love to see a photo too, but have never run across one. The had a huge lighted marquee that you could see for miles down Clinton Highway. I also remember that the entrance was actually on a side street, and they had a very long curving driveway that wound around to the boxoffice, which was modern A frame building with an office upstairs. The manager actually lived in a trailer that was located on the property.
I hope the Granite City Cinema succeeds in helping to bring some much needed life back to downtown Granite City, which has suffered badly over the past 30 years. The first time I was ever in Granite City, in the early 1980’s, downtown was still thriving, with the Star Theatre, Washington Theatre, and blocks of open businesses, virtually all of which are now gone. Traffic was bumper to bumper on Friday afternoons. Now it looks like a ghost town. Not only most of the businesses are gone, but the buildings are gone too. I drove by the Granite City Cinema a week before it opened, and it is a beautiful small theater, not one of the ugly multiplexes. I think it is also the first new theater in the Metro East communities that border the Mississippi River (Granite City, Madison, Venice, East St Louis, and Cahokia) in probably over 40 years and maybe longer. The Nakeomi Twin in Granite City, which closed in 2005 was the last remaining open theater in any of those towns.
That would be the Circle Autoscope Drive-In Theatre in Albuquerque, which I think is the only other one listed in Cinema Treasures besides the ones in Urbana and Buffalo. I have heard mention of an autoscope drive in in LaCenter KY, but have been unable to verify any other information about it.
Thanks for the link to the Boxoffice article about Tom Smith. I know he was still alive as recently as 1997. He would be about 84 if he is still alive. From talking to people who knew him, he really enjoyed the mechanical part of creating things more than he did the actual business of running a drive in.
You have to remember that in 1953, all television screens were tiny, and virtually all television programming was in black and white. Even if the show was broadcast in color, most of us had black and white televisions. So the concept of being able to see a movie in color on what would then have been considered a huge television screen would have been much more appealing at the time, especially in a small rural town. It has occurred to me you could reconstruct an autoscope with big screen television sets and DVD’s today! I have seen some of the equipment that was used to create the autoscopes, and it was a very complicated system that required lots of maintenance. I knew the people who eventually owned the Buffalo Autoscope, and that was the primary reason they converted to a conventional drive in after it had operated for about 20 years as an autoscope. The primary advantage of the autoscopes in the 50’s was that you could being a drive in theater to a very small town without a large investment. Later in the 70’s, there was an advantage that if you wanted to show “adult” movies at a drive in, you could do it without “offending” community morals, and being targetted by the authorities, as often happened to conventional “adult” drive ins, with their huge screens. The creation of VCR’s moved these movies to home video, and pretty much killed all of the “adult” theaters.
I have been trying to trace the history and existance of autoscopes, but since they were usually in small towns and/or short lived, it is difficult. I believe over the years there were actually quite a few.
The Starlite has indeed reopened, and website above now has current features showing along with some nice photos of the drive-in. It is a really nice rural drive in that was originally one screen, but later added a second. I saw THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and HAPPY MADISON here in 1996, and have driven by it often. It was only closed for about a year, I believe, and I’m glad it has reopened. Other than the Sky View Drive-In in Belleville IL, it is probably the next closest drive in to St Louis, and is well worth the drive.
The Lake Theatre was owned by John White (who also owned Jon’s Theatre and the Camdenton Drive-In at various times), but I don’t think it was ever called the White Theatre.
The Lake Theatre building was recently reopened as a night club called “The Underground”.
I lived in East Tennessee, in and around Knoxville, from 1972 until 1978. One of the great things about the KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL at the time was that in Friday’s paper, in addition to ads for the Knoxville theaters and drive-ins, they also had a feature called “showing at area drive-ins” where you could find out what was showing at drive-ins in the surrounding small towns. There were so many of them then. I would have never believed at the time that virtually all of them would have disappeared so fast!
Actually, I liked SHADOW OF THE HAWK a lot, but it does seem to have disappeared. One of the forgotten horror movies in the 70’s. I saw it again once on TV probably in the late 70’s, and have never seen in since. Jan Michael Vincent was actually very good in it, but Chief Dan George was great! It weas influenced by the Carlos Casteneda books that were popular at the time. I would love to see it again.
Mike, I haven’t driven through Newport since the mid 1970’s, but I am fairly sure that at the time, the Woodzco and the Scenic were the 2 drive-ins that were next to each other on the edge of town, and the newer drive-in, which was closer to the center of town was called the Newport Drive-In. All 3 were open at the time. I have also seen mention of the Scenic Drive-In as the Scenic Newport Drive-In. Maybe either a) what I knew as the Scenic Drive In was originally called Newport Drive-In and changed names when the Newport Drive In opened or b) The Newport Drive-In closed before the Scenic Drive-In, and the Scenic Drive-In renamed itself the Newport Drive-In. Something similar happened in East St Louis IL when the Cahokia Drive-in in East St Louis closed, and a nearby drive-in (actually in the town of Cahokia) assumed the name Cahokia Drive-In.
The Capitol 4 did indeed close on Aug 27, 2009. Article in Jefferson City News Tribune stated that Goodrich Quality Theatres plans to upgrade the Capitol 8, and in classic doublespeak stated that closing 4 screens wll actually increase the variety of movies they show(?!).The Capitol 4 had been running second run discount features for several months now, but there is another second run theater in Jefferson City (Truman 4), and they often showed the exact same movies. It would have been nice if they had converted to independent and/or “art film” format like Ragtag Cinema in Columbia to show films that currently never get close to Jefferson City. Maybe someone will. They did not actually lose their lease at the mall, but lease expired, and Goodrich Quality did not renew. The Capitol Mall, like many indoor malls, is going through hard times right now, and many, if not most, of the smaller stores inside are empty.
I have seen mention of a Dixie Lee Drive-In Theatre in Lenoir City TN, but I am assuming it is this same drive-in, as it was actually located closer to the small town of Lenoir City that it was Knoxville
What a week of movies! Everything from Cary Grant to the Bowery Boys and a Jimmy Wakely western. Not to mention cartoons, shorts, and newsreels. Sure you can see all those movies on TV, videos, and DVD’s today, but it sure doesn’t equal the experience of going to the movies back in those days!
At the link below is a newspaper ad for the movie “SATAN” OR “THE DRAMA OF HUMANITY” showing at the Opera House in 1913. The movie, which is a retitled version of an Italian movie named SATANA was produced in 1912
According to a history of Greenfield, the Palace Theater was operated by Ruffin Amusements from 1937 until 1963. It appears there was an earlier Palace Theater that showed silent movies from 1918 until 1930, but I am not sure whether or not it was in the same building.
I drove by this theatre in April, when it was closed and for sale, but they have reopened, and are showing MEGAMIND and SECRETARIAT this week according to Moviefone. Don’t think they have a website yet.
The Summit Plaza has recently expanded to 3 screens, adding a “movie lounge” that seats 60 with comfortable couches and a wall to wall screen. Saw a movie there this weekend, and it is excellent environment. They seem to be showing more “offbeat” movies there that never make it to nearby Jefferson City, so I hope they are successful with it.
Below is a link to story about haunted history of the Ritz Theatre:
View link
Below is link to article about reopening of Marshall Cinema 3:
http://marshallnews.com/blogs/1132/entry/37769/
I have never been inside this theatre, but have driven past it. If I recall correctly, the entrance to the 3rd auditorium is actually around the corner from the main entrance, and faces the side street. The entrance to the 1st and 2nd auditoriums are inside the front entrance, as shown in the photo above.
Mike I would love to see a photo too, but have never run across one. The had a huge lighted marquee that you could see for miles down Clinton Highway. I also remember that the entrance was actually on a side street, and they had a very long curving driveway that wound around to the boxoffice, which was modern A frame building with an office upstairs. The manager actually lived in a trailer that was located on the property.
I hope the Granite City Cinema succeeds in helping to bring some much needed life back to downtown Granite City, which has suffered badly over the past 30 years. The first time I was ever in Granite City, in the early 1980’s, downtown was still thriving, with the Star Theatre, Washington Theatre, and blocks of open businesses, virtually all of which are now gone. Traffic was bumper to bumper on Friday afternoons. Now it looks like a ghost town. Not only most of the businesses are gone, but the buildings are gone too. I drove by the Granite City Cinema a week before it opened, and it is a beautiful small theater, not one of the ugly multiplexes. I think it is also the first new theater in the Metro East communities that border the Mississippi River (Granite City, Madison, Venice, East St Louis, and Cahokia) in probably over 40 years and maybe longer. The Nakeomi Twin in Granite City, which closed in 2005 was the last remaining open theater in any of those towns.
That would be the Circle Autoscope Drive-In Theatre in Albuquerque, which I think is the only other one listed in Cinema Treasures besides the ones in Urbana and Buffalo. I have heard mention of an autoscope drive in in LaCenter KY, but have been unable to verify any other information about it.
Thanks for the link to the Boxoffice article about Tom Smith. I know he was still alive as recently as 1997. He would be about 84 if he is still alive. From talking to people who knew him, he really enjoyed the mechanical part of creating things more than he did the actual business of running a drive in.
Below is link to article (with a nice photo) about recent trip to the Sky View by St Louis Post Dispatch entertainment editor Joe Williams
View link
You have to remember that in 1953, all television screens were tiny, and virtually all television programming was in black and white. Even if the show was broadcast in color, most of us had black and white televisions. So the concept of being able to see a movie in color on what would then have been considered a huge television screen would have been much more appealing at the time, especially in a small rural town. It has occurred to me you could reconstruct an autoscope with big screen television sets and DVD’s today! I have seen some of the equipment that was used to create the autoscopes, and it was a very complicated system that required lots of maintenance. I knew the people who eventually owned the Buffalo Autoscope, and that was the primary reason they converted to a conventional drive in after it had operated for about 20 years as an autoscope. The primary advantage of the autoscopes in the 50’s was that you could being a drive in theater to a very small town without a large investment. Later in the 70’s, there was an advantage that if you wanted to show “adult” movies at a drive in, you could do it without “offending” community morals, and being targetted by the authorities, as often happened to conventional “adult” drive ins, with their huge screens. The creation of VCR’s moved these movies to home video, and pretty much killed all of the “adult” theaters.
I have been trying to trace the history and existance of autoscopes, but since they were usually in small towns and/or short lived, it is difficult. I believe over the years there were actually quite a few.
The Starlite has indeed reopened, and website above now has current features showing along with some nice photos of the drive-in. It is a really nice rural drive in that was originally one screen, but later added a second. I saw THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and HAPPY MADISON here in 1996, and have driven by it often. It was only closed for about a year, I believe, and I’m glad it has reopened. Other than the Sky View Drive-In in Belleville IL, it is probably the next closest drive in to St Louis, and is well worth the drive.
The Opera House Theatre has reopened,and if you go to the website noted above, you can see their schedule.
The Lake Theatre was owned by John White (who also owned Jon’s Theatre and the Camdenton Drive-In at various times), but I don’t think it was ever called the White Theatre.
The Lake Theatre building was recently reopened as a night club called “The Underground”.
There is also a still open Judy Drive In in Mt Sterling KY. I wonder if they had the same owner.
I lived in East Tennessee, in and around Knoxville, from 1972 until 1978. One of the great things about the KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL at the time was that in Friday’s paper, in addition to ads for the Knoxville theaters and drive-ins, they also had a feature called “showing at area drive-ins” where you could find out what was showing at drive-ins in the surrounding small towns. There were so many of them then. I would have never believed at the time that virtually all of them would have disappeared so fast!
Actually, I liked SHADOW OF THE HAWK a lot, but it does seem to have disappeared. One of the forgotten horror movies in the 70’s. I saw it again once on TV probably in the late 70’s, and have never seen in since. Jan Michael Vincent was actually very good in it, but Chief Dan George was great! It weas influenced by the Carlos Casteneda books that were popular at the time. I would love to see it again.
Mike, I haven’t driven through Newport since the mid 1970’s, but I am fairly sure that at the time, the Woodzco and the Scenic were the 2 drive-ins that were next to each other on the edge of town, and the newer drive-in, which was closer to the center of town was called the Newport Drive-In. All 3 were open at the time. I have also seen mention of the Scenic Drive-In as the Scenic Newport Drive-In. Maybe either a) what I knew as the Scenic Drive In was originally called Newport Drive-In and changed names when the Newport Drive In opened or b) The Newport Drive-In closed before the Scenic Drive-In, and the Scenic Drive-In renamed itself the Newport Drive-In. Something similar happened in East St Louis IL when the Cahokia Drive-in in East St Louis closed, and a nearby drive-in (actually in the town of Cahokia) assumed the name Cahokia Drive-In.
The Capitol 4 did indeed close on Aug 27, 2009. Article in Jefferson City News Tribune stated that Goodrich Quality Theatres plans to upgrade the Capitol 8, and in classic doublespeak stated that closing 4 screens wll actually increase the variety of movies they show(?!).The Capitol 4 had been running second run discount features for several months now, but there is another second run theater in Jefferson City (Truman 4), and they often showed the exact same movies. It would have been nice if they had converted to independent and/or “art film” format like Ragtag Cinema in Columbia to show films that currently never get close to Jefferson City. Maybe someone will. They did not actually lose their lease at the mall, but lease expired, and Goodrich Quality did not renew. The Capitol Mall, like many indoor malls, is going through hard times right now, and many, if not most, of the smaller stores inside are empty.
The Raco Drive-In was part of the Covington’s Ruffin Theatre chain through much of its history. I beleve it closed sometime in the 70’s or 80’s.
I have seen mention of a Dixie Lee Drive-In Theatre in Lenoir City TN, but I am assuming it is this same drive-in, as it was actually located closer to the small town of Lenoir City that it was Knoxville
At the link below is the movie list for the Sharon Theatre for a week in April (probably 1949, since most of the movies listed were released in 1948):
View link
What a week of movies! Everything from Cary Grant to the Bowery Boys and a Jimmy Wakely western. Not to mention cartoons, shorts, and newsreels. Sure you can see all those movies on TV, videos, and DVD’s today, but it sure doesn’t equal the experience of going to the movies back in those days!
At the link below is a newspaper ad for the movie “SATAN” OR “THE DRAMA OF HUMANITY” showing at the Opera House in 1913. The movie, which is a retitled version of an Italian movie named SATANA was produced in 1912
View link
According to the website below, The Gem Theatre was the first theatre to show GONE WITH THE WIND in Paris.
http://myparismagazine.com/who_knew.htm
The whole RESTORE KNOXVILLE website seems to be down. Hopefully it’s just temporary. I’ll let you know when and if it comes back up.
According to a history of Greenfield, the Palace Theater was operated by Ruffin Amusements from 1937 until 1963. It appears there was an earlier Palace Theater that showed silent movies from 1918 until 1930, but I am not sure whether or not it was in the same building.
I believe that the Capitol was originally named the Dixie Theatre, but don’t know when the name was changed.