Thanx hispeed54! This is amazing. At first glance I thought this was the Hillsboro D/I in Tampa. The marquee, entrance layout, and screen tower are identical although the width on this screen looks to be just slightly less wide than the Hillsboro. The “Drive-In Theatre” neon target sign is also identical although the target design is more pronounced on this screen.
I saw “Titanic” and “Gone With the Wind” here. A friend told me just about the entire community of Lutz was there on opening day. Hard to believe a 20-screen complex with a life span of only 3 years. It’s understandable the theatre was said to be in an “underperforming location.” When Cobb opened Hollywood 20 much of the surrounding area was still underbuilt and underdeveloped. And Regal filing bankruptcy during that time doomed Hollywood 20 to a short life span.
Rivest266: Great nice size photos of this rare theatre! I had posted a link above showing these same shots but they were much smaller. I couldn’t enlarge them without losing a good deal of the focus. Thanx for posting. Not a bad set-up for a 16mm theatre.
Rivest266: Thanx for posting the nice ad. Is this from the St. Petersburg Times? I have the opening day ad from the Tampa Tribune which is much too large to scan. It’s a huge 2-page spread advertising both Loew’s Theatre and the opening attraction “Candy.”
Mike, If you haven’t yet searched the theatre listings on microfilm from Augusta’s major newspaper I would start there. If you have some extra time you may be able to find the name providing they advertised in the local papers. If not then this theatre’s name is destined to remain a mystery probably forever. I would began the search around 1935 and advance one year at a time from there. Good luck!
Rivest266, Floriland never became an AMC theatre. It opened under Budco and was later purchased by Cobb who added a third screen. Sometime before closing it again became a Budco theatre although not for very long. When it finally closed as a movie house it became a dinner theatre for a short while and was later absorbed into the Floriland Indoor Flea Market.
Horizon Park 4 opened on August 26, 1971 and closed on September 29, 1997. Remember Twin Bays 4 in South Tampa right behind the Britton Theatre? It also opened on the same day as Horizon Park 4 and ironically closed just one month later on September 28, 1997. Both theatres were open for just over 26 years.
Thanks for the nice photo Chuck. The house to the left of the theatre still stands today. The theatre was demolished years ago and the property sat vacant for several years. A building was constructed on the site just within the past few years. A friend tells me the Garden Theatre was originally a church. When the church closed the theatre opened with the church pews still in place and were used as seating for theatre patrons. They were eventually removed and replaced with theatre seating.
Thanx for the photo. The Hillsboro 8 was a beautiful and plush theatre when first opened. Yes, I believe the ad did have the tagline “Return of the Elegant Theatre” or something very similar. Matter of fact I remember copying the opening day ad. Will post it here if I can find it.
Welcome back Mike! Nice to see you on CT once again. Hardly ever see you on the site anymore.
Thanks John. The Tower signage was definitely one of the most original in town. Glad I was able to find the ad. The first time I visited the Tower was in 1968 when “Planet of the Apes” was playing. I’ll never forget the line of cars awaiting entrance which went down Bird Street towards Florida Avenue, wrapped around the corner on Florida Avenue, and went over the Hillsborough River bridge. Great times!
Mikeoaklandpark, The Tower’s screen was the standard size found in many drive-ins that didn’t have a Scope screen. But the worst one of all was the original screen at the Dale Mabry D/I. It was not only small but almost squarish and smaller then the Tower’s. Check the photo on the Dale Mabry D/I page and you can see how small it was for a drive-in the size of the Dale Mabry. It was finally replaced in 1964 with a larger & wider curved steel screen.
Mike, I haven’t seen you on CT for some time now…glad you’re back on!
Wow! I didn’t think the slope was that extreme but if cars were flooded that bad it was much worse than I thought. I also saw “Superman” here in 1978. It was one of the opening attractions at the Hillsboro after the theatre had been divided into two auditoriums. Do you remember the original large theatre before they sliced it up?
I hadn’t noticed it in the aerial before but you’re right. I see the Biff Burger and the playground behind it. On several occasions when I couldn’t convince my parents to go to the drive-in, I had my father drop me off at Biff Burger. From the playground you had a nice view of the screen. Sitting on the swings I watched as the cars lined up at the box-office wishing I was in one of them as they entered the theatre. Although you could barely hear the movie from the playground it was the next best thing to actually being inside the drive-in!
Dan, Here are two congratulatory ads including Cinchett Neon Signs that was published on the day of the Tower’s grand opening on October 22, 1952.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritzyritznick/6310839137/
Thanks for the TampaPix link above. Sure brings back some great memories!
Just verified that “Star!” opened on December 19, 1968 and ran through March 19, 1969. Interestingly when “The Illustrated Man” played at the Palms, the ads contained a notice stating that no one under 18 will be admitted due to the previews of our next attraction. Since when does a theatre restrict admittance to under 18 because of previews? If the studio that released “The Illustrated Man” was aware of this they probably would have yanked the picture out of the Palms. The previews were for Russ Meyer’s “Vixen.”
It looks like the Park Cinema “n” Drafthouse was a different theatre. I just verified the address for the Palms Theatre which was at 4191 74th Ave. I think this is the site of the current storage facility. The Park Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse had to have been across the street based on the address of 4110.
I remember driving past the Palms Theatre several times during the 1960s. It was on the right side of the road a short distance after coming down from the Highway 19 overpass into Pinellas Park. The Palms Theatre had the exclusive 70mm roadshow engagement of “STAR!” which opened around February 1969.
Dan, I need to check the Tower ad again. I researched the opening day by going through the Tribune theatre listings on microfilm at the library. When I found the opening day ad there was at least one full page of congratulatory ads as I recall. There may have been a Chichett Neon Sign ad although I didn’t look through all of them. I’ll be heading back to the library this week so I’ll check again. I’ll be able to locate the ad quickly since I have the Tower’s opening date. If I find a Chinchett ad would you like me to add it to the Tower page or do you just need to know they did the signage?
I forgot about the curve but you’re right. The Mustang did have a curved screen. I think if you were to cut about a 4th off the top of the Mustang’s screen it would then be true scope projection.
These drive-ins in Tampa also had a curved steel screen installed that replaced their original screens: Dale Mabry, Skyway, and Hillsboro. The Dale Mabry and Hillsboro were 100-foot wide and the Skyway was 60-foot wide. These screens were also tilted slightly downward at an angle aimed towards the booth for a more direct projection throw and better viewing from ground level.
I would say very close to scope although not true CinemaScope. As I understand it original CinemaScope had a ratio of 2 to 1 but the process was later refined to a less wider image, and Panavision eventually replaced CinemaScope. Although the Mustang’s screen was larger it still doesn’t look quite as wide as the 20th Century’s. So I’d say the 20th Century had true scope capability with the Mustang coming close.
Check out the Mustang page on CT under Pinellas Park. Just yesterday someone posted a short YouTube video showing the lot when it was a flea market. The 120-foot wide screen is still standing. It looks massive but not quite as wide as the 20th Century’s screen.
According to an ad in Box-Office magazine from 1964, the screen at the 20th Century Drive-In was in excess of 110 feet wide. Certainly one of the largest at the time until the Mustang D/I opened in St. Petersburg with its 120-foot wide steel screen that they proudly advertised.
Mike, Screen 4 was the last one put up and is actually built on the side fence if you can believe it. It’s slightly wider than the other three so you’re probably seeing about as much of the picture as you would in a standard indoor theatre with a wide screen. Screens 1 2 & 3 are about the same size (ratio-wise) with screen 4 being the smallest but widest (probably about 20-25 feet wide.)
This newest screen on the fence has to rank as the cheapest/tackiest set-up I’ve ever seen for a drive-in. Projection is from the original booth in the center of lot with the lens aimed at the screen from the top of the booth door. On the other 3 screens you’re probably missing about a 3rd of the image on Scope films since the picture projects off the sides into the darkness.
Thanks for the great write-up Stan! Very interesting to hear about presentations in various theatres even though most of them made me cringe. Evidently it was left up to the theatres to place an intermission (if they so desired) wherever they chose. The first showing I saw at the Florida Theatre in Tampa in 1962 was 35mm with a mono soundtrack. The Florida had an intermission at a very unusual spot in the film. It was right after the outdoor stairway scene on the balcony just after Tony & Maria sing “Tonight.” An Intermission card was flashed on the screen and the curtain was lowered. Up until then I had never seen a movie with an intermission within the film itself so I was stunned.
When it later played at the Ritz Theatre there was no intermission at all. I can’t recall now if there was an intermission at the countless other theatrical showings I saw. And I don’t remember an intermission at any of the drive-in showings.
The Tampa Theatre has since played the film several times since reopening in 1977. One of those early showings in the late 1970s was in 16mm. But the absolute worst print I saw was in 2001 at the Tampa although it wasn’t the fault of the projectionist but rather the print itself. It was a junk print, bady worn and battered with lines, splices, and most of the print had a soft-focus look, color was slightly fading, and the soundtrack was scratchy with an annoying background hiss. Worst of all the entire musical prologue at the beginning was missing. The film opened with a one-second flash of the tile, then jumped-cut to the overhead shot of New York. For those who had never seen the film before (lots of well-behaved teens and young people in attendance) that was not a good way to be introduced to the film.
The last time the Tampa ran “West Side Story” was in 2004. As part of the celebration of the new digital marquee they presented a free showing of the film to the sold-out theatre. It was a restored print with Dolby Digital sound. The print was a beauty with a sharp image. A flawless presention nearly all the way through. But alas something had to mar the showing during the changeover to the last reel. Tony has been shot and Maria approaches Chino and he places the gun in her hand. At that point the changeover was made and the picture begins fluttering on-screen for a few seconds and the picture goes off the screen and the soundtrack slowly grounds to a halt. Apparently the film was not threaded properly and lost it’s loop or the pressure plate in the appature wasn’t fully closed.
For this to occur anywhere else in the film would have been bad enough but at that exact scene…the climax! Well you can imagine the audience reaction! After about a minute the picture hits the screen again but with the frame line showing in the center but this was quickly corrected. The projectionist must have been sweating bullets!
I was 11 when I first saw WEST SIDE STORY. It was the opening attraction at the remodeled Florida Theatre in Tampa. Although advertised as “Exclusive Florida West Coast Engagement” there were no reserved seats so it wasn’t the true roadshow attraction. It played for 11 weeks at the Florida. I remember being excited in seeing how the newly renovated theatre looked as well as finally seeing WEST SIDE STORY which I knew very little about (other than it had won 10 Academy Awards.)
Little did I realize that first viewing was the beginning of a 50-year love affair. I’ve since seen it countless times from first-run to second-run theaters, drive-ins, network broadcasts, and video. Whenever it played locally in theatres I was there. My biggest disappointment and regret is unfortunately I’ve never seen it in 70MM.
As Mike can attest to the balcony-to-backstage tour is very informative and enjoyable. And for those interested in seeing the booth (if you’re willing and able to climb about three flights of steep stairs) a trip to the booth is a real treat. The Tampa has two 35mm machines in addition to the platter setup with DTS and Dolby Digital sound systems.
The orchestra pit no longer exists. Sometime after the grand reopening in 1977 the stage that sat over the pit was completely torn out. It was replaced with the current stage which was constructed a little higher than the original one had been. It was also built outward at the center very slightly extending just a little more towards the audience.
I had a chance to see the orchestra pit after the stage had been torn out and the new one was being built. The floor of the pit had been excavated and enlarged somewhat. The huge beams that support the stage now sit in the foundation of what was once the orchestra pit.
You can see both stages under the photos tab. The first two photos show the screen that sat on the old stage. Compare these photo with the more recent one showing the current stage without the screen. Notice how the stage is slighlty higher and extends a little more outward at the center.
Thanx hispeed54! This is amazing. At first glance I thought this was the Hillsboro D/I in Tampa. The marquee, entrance layout, and screen tower are identical although the width on this screen looks to be just slightly less wide than the Hillsboro. The “Drive-In Theatre” neon target sign is also identical although the target design is more pronounced on this screen.
I saw “Titanic” and “Gone With the Wind” here. A friend told me just about the entire community of Lutz was there on opening day. Hard to believe a 20-screen complex with a life span of only 3 years. It’s understandable the theatre was said to be in an “underperforming location.” When Cobb opened Hollywood 20 much of the surrounding area was still underbuilt and underdeveloped. And Regal filing bankruptcy during that time doomed Hollywood 20 to a short life span.
Rivest266: Great nice size photos of this rare theatre! I had posted a link above showing these same shots but they were much smaller. I couldn’t enlarge them without losing a good deal of the focus. Thanx for posting. Not a bad set-up for a 16mm theatre.
Rivest266: Thanx for posting the nice ad. Is this from the St. Petersburg Times? I have the opening day ad from the Tampa Tribune which is much too large to scan. It’s a huge 2-page spread advertising both Loew’s Theatre and the opening attraction “Candy.”
Mike, If you haven’t yet searched the theatre listings on microfilm from Augusta’s major newspaper I would start there. If you have some extra time you may be able to find the name providing they advertised in the local papers. If not then this theatre’s name is destined to remain a mystery probably forever. I would began the search around 1935 and advance one year at a time from there. Good luck!
Rivest266, Floriland never became an AMC theatre. It opened under Budco and was later purchased by Cobb who added a third screen. Sometime before closing it again became a Budco theatre although not for very long. When it finally closed as a movie house it became a dinner theatre for a short while and was later absorbed into the Floriland Indoor Flea Market.
Horizon Park 4 opened on August 26, 1971 and closed on September 29, 1997. Remember Twin Bays 4 in South Tampa right behind the Britton Theatre? It also opened on the same day as Horizon Park 4 and ironically closed just one month later on September 28, 1997. Both theatres were open for just over 26 years.
Thanks for the nice photo Chuck. The house to the left of the theatre still stands today. The theatre was demolished years ago and the property sat vacant for several years. A building was constructed on the site just within the past few years. A friend tells me the Garden Theatre was originally a church. When the church closed the theatre opened with the church pews still in place and were used as seating for theatre patrons. They were eventually removed and replaced with theatre seating.
Thanx for the photo. The Hillsboro 8 was a beautiful and plush theatre when first opened. Yes, I believe the ad did have the tagline “Return of the Elegant Theatre” or something very similar. Matter of fact I remember copying the opening day ad. Will post it here if I can find it.
Welcome back Mike! Nice to see you on CT once again. Hardly ever see you on the site anymore.
Thanks John. The Tower signage was definitely one of the most original in town. Glad I was able to find the ad. The first time I visited the Tower was in 1968 when “Planet of the Apes” was playing. I’ll never forget the line of cars awaiting entrance which went down Bird Street towards Florida Avenue, wrapped around the corner on Florida Avenue, and went over the Hillsborough River bridge. Great times!
Mikeoaklandpark, The Tower’s screen was the standard size found in many drive-ins that didn’t have a Scope screen. But the worst one of all was the original screen at the Dale Mabry D/I. It was not only small but almost squarish and smaller then the Tower’s. Check the photo on the Dale Mabry D/I page and you can see how small it was for a drive-in the size of the Dale Mabry. It was finally replaced in 1964 with a larger & wider curved steel screen.
Mike, I haven’t seen you on CT for some time now…glad you’re back on!
Wow! I didn’t think the slope was that extreme but if cars were flooded that bad it was much worse than I thought. I also saw “Superman” here in 1978. It was one of the opening attractions at the Hillsboro after the theatre had been divided into two auditoriums. Do you remember the original large theatre before they sliced it up?
I hadn’t noticed it in the aerial before but you’re right. I see the Biff Burger and the playground behind it. On several occasions when I couldn’t convince my parents to go to the drive-in, I had my father drop me off at Biff Burger. From the playground you had a nice view of the screen. Sitting on the swings I watched as the cars lined up at the box-office wishing I was in one of them as they entered the theatre. Although you could barely hear the movie from the playground it was the next best thing to actually being inside the drive-in!
Dan, Here are two congratulatory ads including Cinchett Neon Signs that was published on the day of the Tower’s grand opening on October 22, 1952. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritzyritznick/6310839137/
Thanks for the TampaPix link above. Sure brings back some great memories!
Just verified that “Star!” opened on December 19, 1968 and ran through March 19, 1969. Interestingly when “The Illustrated Man” played at the Palms, the ads contained a notice stating that no one under 18 will be admitted due to the previews of our next attraction. Since when does a theatre restrict admittance to under 18 because of previews? If the studio that released “The Illustrated Man” was aware of this they probably would have yanked the picture out of the Palms. The previews were for Russ Meyer’s “Vixen.”
It looks like the Park Cinema “n” Drafthouse was a different theatre. I just verified the address for the Palms Theatre which was at 4191 74th Ave. I think this is the site of the current storage facility. The Park Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse had to have been across the street based on the address of 4110.
I remember driving past the Palms Theatre several times during the 1960s. It was on the right side of the road a short distance after coming down from the Highway 19 overpass into Pinellas Park. The Palms Theatre had the exclusive 70mm roadshow engagement of “STAR!” which opened around February 1969.
What happened to the Loew’s marquee photo that was posted on this page?
Dan, I need to check the Tower ad again. I researched the opening day by going through the Tribune theatre listings on microfilm at the library. When I found the opening day ad there was at least one full page of congratulatory ads as I recall. There may have been a Chichett Neon Sign ad although I didn’t look through all of them. I’ll be heading back to the library this week so I’ll check again. I’ll be able to locate the ad quickly since I have the Tower’s opening date. If I find a Chinchett ad would you like me to add it to the Tower page or do you just need to know they did the signage?
I forgot about the curve but you’re right. The Mustang did have a curved screen. I think if you were to cut about a 4th off the top of the Mustang’s screen it would then be true scope projection.
These drive-ins in Tampa also had a curved steel screen installed that replaced their original screens: Dale Mabry, Skyway, and Hillsboro. The Dale Mabry and Hillsboro were 100-foot wide and the Skyway was 60-foot wide. These screens were also tilted slightly downward at an angle aimed towards the booth for a more direct projection throw and better viewing from ground level.
I would say very close to scope although not true CinemaScope. As I understand it original CinemaScope had a ratio of 2 to 1 but the process was later refined to a less wider image, and Panavision eventually replaced CinemaScope. Although the Mustang’s screen was larger it still doesn’t look quite as wide as the 20th Century’s. So I’d say the 20th Century had true scope capability with the Mustang coming close.
Check out the Mustang page on CT under Pinellas Park. Just yesterday someone posted a short YouTube video showing the lot when it was a flea market. The 120-foot wide screen is still standing. It looks massive but not quite as wide as the 20th Century’s screen.
According to an ad in Box-Office magazine from 1964, the screen at the 20th Century Drive-In was in excess of 110 feet wide. Certainly one of the largest at the time until the Mustang D/I opened in St. Petersburg with its 120-foot wide steel screen that they proudly advertised.
Mike, Screen 4 was the last one put up and is actually built on the side fence if you can believe it. It’s slightly wider than the other three so you’re probably seeing about as much of the picture as you would in a standard indoor theatre with a wide screen. Screens 1 2 & 3 are about the same size (ratio-wise) with screen 4 being the smallest but widest (probably about 20-25 feet wide.)
This newest screen on the fence has to rank as the cheapest/tackiest set-up I’ve ever seen for a drive-in. Projection is from the original booth in the center of lot with the lens aimed at the screen from the top of the booth door. On the other 3 screens you’re probably missing about a 3rd of the image on Scope films since the picture projects off the sides into the darkness.
Thanks for the great write-up Stan! Very interesting to hear about presentations in various theatres even though most of them made me cringe. Evidently it was left up to the theatres to place an intermission (if they so desired) wherever they chose. The first showing I saw at the Florida Theatre in Tampa in 1962 was 35mm with a mono soundtrack. The Florida had an intermission at a very unusual spot in the film. It was right after the outdoor stairway scene on the balcony just after Tony & Maria sing “Tonight.” An Intermission card was flashed on the screen and the curtain was lowered. Up until then I had never seen a movie with an intermission within the film itself so I was stunned.
When it later played at the Ritz Theatre there was no intermission at all. I can’t recall now if there was an intermission at the countless other theatrical showings I saw. And I don’t remember an intermission at any of the drive-in showings.
The Tampa Theatre has since played the film several times since reopening in 1977. One of those early showings in the late 1970s was in 16mm. But the absolute worst print I saw was in 2001 at the Tampa although it wasn’t the fault of the projectionist but rather the print itself. It was a junk print, bady worn and battered with lines, splices, and most of the print had a soft-focus look, color was slightly fading, and the soundtrack was scratchy with an annoying background hiss. Worst of all the entire musical prologue at the beginning was missing. The film opened with a one-second flash of the tile, then jumped-cut to the overhead shot of New York. For those who had never seen the film before (lots of well-behaved teens and young people in attendance) that was not a good way to be introduced to the film.
The last time the Tampa ran “West Side Story” was in 2004. As part of the celebration of the new digital marquee they presented a free showing of the film to the sold-out theatre. It was a restored print with Dolby Digital sound. The print was a beauty with a sharp image. A flawless presention nearly all the way through. But alas something had to mar the showing during the changeover to the last reel. Tony has been shot and Maria approaches Chino and he places the gun in her hand. At that point the changeover was made and the picture begins fluttering on-screen for a few seconds and the picture goes off the screen and the soundtrack slowly grounds to a halt. Apparently the film was not threaded properly and lost it’s loop or the pressure plate in the appature wasn’t fully closed.
For this to occur anywhere else in the film would have been bad enough but at that exact scene…the climax! Well you can imagine the audience reaction! After about a minute the picture hits the screen again but with the frame line showing in the center but this was quickly corrected. The projectionist must have been sweating bullets!
I was 11 when I first saw WEST SIDE STORY. It was the opening attraction at the remodeled Florida Theatre in Tampa. Although advertised as “Exclusive Florida West Coast Engagement” there were no reserved seats so it wasn’t the true roadshow attraction. It played for 11 weeks at the Florida. I remember being excited in seeing how the newly renovated theatre looked as well as finally seeing WEST SIDE STORY which I knew very little about (other than it had won 10 Academy Awards.)
Little did I realize that first viewing was the beginning of a 50-year love affair. I’ve since seen it countless times from first-run to second-run theaters, drive-ins, network broadcasts, and video. Whenever it played locally in theatres I was there. My biggest disappointment and regret is unfortunately I’ve never seen it in 70MM.
As Mike can attest to the balcony-to-backstage tour is very informative and enjoyable. And for those interested in seeing the booth (if you’re willing and able to climb about three flights of steep stairs) a trip to the booth is a real treat. The Tampa has two 35mm machines in addition to the platter setup with DTS and Dolby Digital sound systems.
The orchestra pit no longer exists. Sometime after the grand reopening in 1977 the stage that sat over the pit was completely torn out. It was replaced with the current stage which was constructed a little higher than the original one had been. It was also built outward at the center very slightly extending just a little more towards the audience.
I had a chance to see the orchestra pit after the stage had been torn out and the new one was being built. The floor of the pit had been excavated and enlarged somewhat. The huge beams that support the stage now sit in the foundation of what was once the orchestra pit.
You can see both stages under the photos tab. The first two photos show the screen that sat on the old stage. Compare these photo with the more recent one showing the current stage without the screen. Notice how the stage is slighlty higher and extends a little more outward at the center.