On review, it’s apparent Louisville renumbered Main Street between 1932 and 1959, when the Times referred to the old Rialto location as in the 800 block. (Directories from the 1920s showed both theaters in the 300 block.) That would put the Rialto across the street from the Rex, with an approximate modern-day address of 826 Main Street.
According to a retrospective in the Louisville Times, the Rialto was built around 1906 by H. H. Fischer for Tom Metz. In 1922, Metz sold the Rialto to S. G. Biella, who would later buy the Rex a couple doors down. The Louisville directory showed the Rialto’s address at 326 Main Street.
Apparently, the Rialto was a silent-only theater. Biella installed sound equipment in the Rex in 1929 and closed the Rialto in late 1931 or early 1932. The building became a grocery, then a woodshop before being town down in 1959.
Thanks to the fine folks at the Louisville Historial Museum, who helped find these details about the Rialto.
Specifically, part of a three-page spread about the little “auditorium” that ran in the Jan. 7, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which is apparently in the public domain.
Based on some of the newspaper ads posted here, plus the following magazine clip, it appears that the drive-in dropped the hyphen by the 1960s, becoming the Rimar. I would rename the listing according to that final version of the name, leaving Ri-Mar as an alternate.
Also, Google Maps shows the old Rimar site outside the Orlando city limits. That would explain why it was described as being in Lockhart, a nearby census-designated place.
Boxoffice, Aug. 17, 1964: “Dixie Drive-In Theatres has taken over booking duties for the Rimar Drive-In at Lockhart, formerly booked by C. H. Deaver.”
I believe that vfilippone’s clipping is pretty close to the end. A story, about Pasadena’s challenges, in the Oct. 29, 1989 Houston Chronicle mentioned, “The Red Bluff Drive-In is out of business and up for sale.”
And if you had any doubt, it was the VCR that killed the Red Bluff and other adult movie businesses, per a Jan. 19, 1987 article in the Chronicle. For privacy, there’s no place like home. “It’s not the price… Admission charges for the movies range from $2 on Monday and Tuesday at the Red Bluff Drive-In and $4 on other nights to $6.50 at most of the walk-in theaters.”
This is a crisp, clear photo. Where did it come from, and more importantly, which drive-in is its subject? It’s not Addison’s Sky-Hi. The ramp patterns and mid-field concession building in this picture bear little resemblence to the confirmed photos of a twinned drive-in with a concession stand between the viewing fields.
Addison’s Sky-Hi was advertised as a Twin from the day it opened. Its second screen was under construction even in its first weeks when it only showed movies on the east screen. Perhaps this photo is of a different Sky-Hi?
I’m not sure why you asked, but per the LA Times, the Stadium was the only drive-in in Orange that showed “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in its opening week. The older Orange Drive-In showed the double feature of “Big” and “Broadcast News” at that time.
The story of John Margolies is just amazing - one guy who drove all over America in the 1970s and 1980s taking photos of interesting roadside features. You really ought to check it out!
My guess is that it’s probable that Margolies took more than one photo at this stop, but this is the only Chief photo in the Library of Congress collection.
I love your research, 50sSnipes, though I have seen so many references to the spelling Leeson, including an interview with his son.
I’m so glad that you found an opening date, which lines up well with the Boxoffice note. Where did you find it? If it’s a grand opening ad, could you post it?
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “Grinnell, Iowa - The new drive-in on Highway 146 near here is to open not later than June 1.”
Boxoffice, July 18, 1953: (in a list of drive-ins opened in the first half of 1953) “Grinnell - Grinnell, George Mart, manager”
Boxoffice, Aug. 1, 1953: “Grinnell, Iowa - Grinnell Drive-In opened with George Mart as manager.”
Boxoffice, July 8, 1963: “Nature put on quite a performance with an early evening windstorm Friday, June 29 … two Central States airers lost their screen towers - at Grinnell and Ottumwa.”
Boxoffice, July 29, 1968: “A Junior Chamber of Commerce benefit night was held at the Grinnell Drive-In.”
Boxoffice, July 8, 1963: “Nature put on quite a performance with an early evening windstorm Friday, June 29 … two Central States airers lost their screen towers - at Grinnell and Ottumwa. Manager Earl Rolison rigged up a 30x50-foot canvas "screen” between two poles and Ottumwa was in operation despite the downed tower."
Boxoffice, July 8, 1963: “Nature put on quite a performance with an early evening windstorm Friday, June 29 … the Pioneer’s attractions board was a crumpled shambles following the 70-mile-an-hour blow.”
Sounds like the Airway widened its screen a lot later than most drive-ins.
Boxoffice, July 1, 1963: “At (Dick) Davis' other airer, the Airways (sic?) in Memphis, Mo., workmen have been busy widening the screen and generally redecorating.”
Boxoffice, July 1, 1963: “Two area drive-ins are rushing to get open by mid-June. Pounding the nails and sawing the boards at a frantic clip are workmen at Gabe Dilhuery’s skytop at Prior Lake ad Reno Wilk’s second drive-in at Minot, N.D. Both are being equipped by Minneapolis Theatre Supply.”
Boxoffice, July 1, 1963: “Two area drive-ins are rushing to get open by mid-June. Pounding the nails and sawing the boards at a frantic clip are workmen at Gabe Dilhuery’s skytop at Prior Lake ad Reno Wilk’s second drive-in at Minot, N.D. Both are being equipped by Minneapolis Theatre Supply.”
Wentzville Union, July 26, 1978: “For 21 years, visitors and Osage Beach residents alike have pulled off the highway to attend the interdenominational service. A group of lay Christians first organized services at the Osage Beach Glaize Drive-In Theater to attract vacationers who "neglected to pack suitable church attire” and who would only attend an early service because of “action-packed days.” Nine years later, when up to 300 persons attended, the services were moved across the highway to the present location of Hope Chapel."
Boxoffice’s Feb. 17, 1951 roundup of drive-in projects indicated that a 306-car drive-in in Denison was already operating. Unless it showed movies during an Iowa winter, the Denison probably opened in 1950. Owners were listed as Ted Krogh and Cecil Crouse. That pair had sold the Carroll (IA) Drive-In in the summer of 1949.
Independent Film Journal, June 12, 1954: “An explosion at the Denison Drive-In occurred recently while Ted Krogh was in process of cleaning the film projectors. Theatre is owned by Cecil Crouse.
Boxoffice, Aug. 7, 1961: “Fred Ballantyne is contemplating a complete remodeling job for his drive-in theatre at Denison, Iowa.”
Carroll (IA) Times Herald, June 22, 1974: “Damages were scattered as last night’s storm passed through Denison. A large section of the screen at the Denison drive-in theater was disengaged”
Boxoffice, June 4, 1949: Reynolds Drive-In near Transfer, Pa., has installed an electric clock on the large screen tower. This clock, facing the highway, has a six-foot dial, with neon-lighted hands and figures. Carl T. McKnight and Carl C. Blake, owners of the theatre, will run advertising lines on the clock such as: “For the Correct Time and Your Best Time Look to the Picture Tower of the Reynolds Drive-In Theatre.”
The Galva Autovue Facebook page says its final night was Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015, with “Inside Out” and “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”. In 2018, someone stole its marquee sign. Google Street View shows the screens still up, but few other signs of life. Maybe mark this drive-in closed?
For the closing date, the last active listing I could find in the Arizona Republic was for the weekend of Sept. 10, 1982. That’s when the Thunderbird showed Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Poltergeist.
By 1985, the Republic was running stories about the “vacant” or “defunct” Thunderbird site.
I wrote in the second edition of “Drive-Ins of Route 66,” but neglected to mention here, that the Fair Park apparently closed on Aug. 18, 1948. Its ads in the Black Dispatch ended on Aug. 14, with movies listed through the following Wednesday.
The Black Dispatch is now available on Newspapers.com, and I found a couple more fragments of information there, though still nothing new about the drive-in’s closure.
The Fair Park was slow to open. In its first “opening soon” ad on June 5, 1948, it said “for opening date / see next weeks edition of this newspaper”. That optimistic note was followed by similar ads on (at least) June 12, June 19, and July 3.
On July 17, the date of the Fair Park’s grand opening, the Black Dispatch ran a front-page article on the drive-in’s manager. “Mr. H. R. Fall (sic) of the Southwest Theatres anounced this week his appointment of local hotel man and owner-operator of several eastside enterprises, Winard Norman, as manager of the state’s first Negro outdoor theatre, the Fair Park Drive-In … his new responsibilities entail management of ten employees who serve as ticket sellers, ushers, concession aides, etc.”
Looks like the Chief was another drive-in that failed to open on time, but it looks like it happened sometime in 1950.
Boxoffice, April 8, 1950: (Theatre Openings) “Natchitoches, La. - Chief, 600 seats (sic?), opened by W. R. and George Younger.”
The Exhibitor, May 10, 1950: “Billy Fox Johnson opened his Chief Drive-In, Natchitoches, La.”
The Exhibitor, May 31, 1950: “New drive-ins scheduled for openings are the Prentiss Drive-In, Prentiss, Miss., and Chief Drive-In, Natchitoches, La.”
On review, it’s apparent Louisville renumbered Main Street between 1932 and 1959, when the Times referred to the old Rialto location as in the 800 block. (Directories from the 1920s showed both theaters in the 300 block.) That would put the Rialto across the street from the Rex, with an approximate modern-day address of 826 Main Street.
According to a retrospective in the Louisville Times, the Rialto was built around 1906 by H. H. Fischer for Tom Metz. In 1922, Metz sold the Rialto to S. G. Biella, who would later buy the Rex a couple doors down. The Louisville directory showed the Rialto’s address at 326 Main Street.
Apparently, the Rialto was a silent-only theater. Biella installed sound equipment in the Rex in 1929 and closed the Rialto in late 1931 or early 1932. The building became a grocery, then a woodshop before being town down in 1959.
Thanks to the fine folks at the Louisville Historial Museum, who helped find these details about the Rialto.
Specifically, part of a three-page spread about the little “auditorium” that ran in the Jan. 7, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which is apparently in the public domain.
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 7, 1956: “Reports of (flooding) damage in other areas include … the KaVon drive-in, Napa”
Based on some of the newspaper ads posted here, plus the following magazine clip, it appears that the drive-in dropped the hyphen by the 1960s, becoming the Rimar. I would rename the listing according to that final version of the name, leaving Ri-Mar as an alternate.
Also, Google Maps shows the old Rimar site outside the Orlando city limits. That would explain why it was described as being in Lockhart, a nearby census-designated place.
Boxoffice, Aug. 17, 1964: “Dixie Drive-In Theatres has taken over booking duties for the Rimar Drive-In at Lockhart, formerly booked by C. H. Deaver.”
Google Maps indicates that the Cherry Lane site is well within the city limits of White Settlement, a suburb of Fort Worth.
Since the first Bayou (1949-1965?) was in Texas City, shouldn’t there also be a listing for it under that city?
I believe that vfilippone’s clipping is pretty close to the end. A story, about Pasadena’s challenges, in the Oct. 29, 1989 Houston Chronicle mentioned, “The Red Bluff Drive-In is out of business and up for sale.”
And if you had any doubt, it was the VCR that killed the Red Bluff and other adult movie businesses, per a Jan. 19, 1987 article in the Chronicle. For privacy, there’s no place like home. “It’s not the price… Admission charges for the movies range from $2 on Monday and Tuesday at the Red Bluff Drive-In and $4 on other nights to $6.50 at most of the walk-in theaters.”
This is a crisp, clear photo. Where did it come from, and more importantly, which drive-in is its subject? It’s not Addison’s Sky-Hi. The ramp patterns and mid-field concession building in this picture bear little resemblence to the confirmed photos of a twinned drive-in with a concession stand between the viewing fields.
Addison’s Sky-Hi was advertised as a Twin from the day it opened. Its second screen was under construction even in its first weeks when it only showed movies on the east screen. Perhaps this photo is of a different Sky-Hi?
I’m not sure why you asked, but per the LA Times, the Stadium was the only drive-in in Orange that showed “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in its opening week. The older Orange Drive-In showed the double feature of “Big” and “Broadcast News” at that time.
The story of John Margolies is just amazing - one guy who drove all over America in the 1970s and 1980s taking photos of interesting roadside features. You really ought to check it out!
My guess is that it’s probable that Margolies took more than one photo at this stop, but this is the only Chief photo in the Library of Congress collection.
I love your research, 50sSnipes, though I have seen so many references to the spelling Leeson, including an interview with his son.
I’m so glad that you found an opening date, which lines up well with the Boxoffice note. Where did you find it? If it’s a grand opening ad, could you post it?
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “Grinnell, Iowa - The new drive-in on Highway 146 near here is to open not later than June 1.”
Boxoffice, July 18, 1953: (in a list of drive-ins opened in the first half of 1953) “Grinnell - Grinnell, George Mart, manager”
Boxoffice, Aug. 1, 1953: “Grinnell, Iowa - Grinnell Drive-In opened with George Mart as manager.”
Boxoffice, July 8, 1963: “Nature put on quite a performance with an early evening windstorm Friday, June 29 … two Central States airers lost their screen towers - at Grinnell and Ottumwa.”
Boxoffice, July 29, 1968: “A Junior Chamber of Commerce benefit night was held at the Grinnell Drive-In.”
Boxoffice, July 8, 1963: “Nature put on quite a performance with an early evening windstorm Friday, June 29 … two Central States airers lost their screen towers - at Grinnell and Ottumwa. Manager Earl Rolison rigged up a 30x50-foot canvas "screen” between two poles and Ottumwa was in operation despite the downed tower."
Boxoffice, July 8, 1963: “Nature put on quite a performance with an early evening windstorm Friday, June 29 … the Pioneer’s attractions board was a crumpled shambles following the 70-mile-an-hour blow.”
Sounds like the Airway widened its screen a lot later than most drive-ins.
Boxoffice, July 1, 1963: “At (Dick) Davis' other airer, the Airways (sic?) in Memphis, Mo., workmen have been busy widening the screen and generally redecorating.”
Boxoffice, July 1, 1963: “Two area drive-ins are rushing to get open by mid-June. Pounding the nails and sawing the boards at a frantic clip are workmen at Gabe Dilhuery’s skytop at Prior Lake ad Reno Wilk’s second drive-in at Minot, N.D. Both are being equipped by Minneapolis Theatre Supply.”
Boxoffice, July 1, 1963: “Two area drive-ins are rushing to get open by mid-June. Pounding the nails and sawing the boards at a frantic clip are workmen at Gabe Dilhuery’s skytop at Prior Lake ad Reno Wilk’s second drive-in at Minot, N.D. Both are being equipped by Minneapolis Theatre Supply.”
Wentzville Union, July 26, 1978: “For 21 years, visitors and Osage Beach residents alike have pulled off the highway to attend the interdenominational service. A group of lay Christians first organized services at the Osage Beach Glaize Drive-In Theater to attract vacationers who "neglected to pack suitable church attire” and who would only attend an early service because of “action-packed days.” Nine years later, when up to 300 persons attended, the services were moved across the highway to the present location of Hope Chapel."
Boxoffice’s Feb. 17, 1951 roundup of drive-in projects indicated that a 306-car drive-in in Denison was already operating. Unless it showed movies during an Iowa winter, the Denison probably opened in 1950. Owners were listed as Ted Krogh and Cecil Crouse. That pair had sold the Carroll (IA) Drive-In in the summer of 1949.
Independent Film Journal, June 12, 1954: “An explosion at the Denison Drive-In occurred recently while Ted Krogh was in process of cleaning the film projectors. Theatre is owned by Cecil Crouse.
Boxoffice, Aug. 7, 1961: “Fred Ballantyne is contemplating a complete remodeling job for his drive-in theatre at Denison, Iowa.”
Carroll (IA) Times Herald, June 22, 1974: “Damages were scattered as last night’s storm passed through Denison. A large section of the screen at the Denison drive-in theater was disengaged”
Boxoffice, June 4, 1949: Reynolds Drive-In near Transfer, Pa., has installed an electric clock on the large screen tower. This clock, facing the highway, has a six-foot dial, with neon-lighted hands and figures. Carl T. McKnight and Carl C. Blake, owners of the theatre, will run advertising lines on the clock such as: “For the Correct Time and Your Best Time Look to the Picture Tower of the Reynolds Drive-In Theatre.”
The Galva Autovue Facebook page says its final night was Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015, with “Inside Out” and “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”. In 2018, someone stole its marquee sign. Google Street View shows the screens still up, but few other signs of life. Maybe mark this drive-in closed?
For the closing date, the last active listing I could find in the Arizona Republic was for the weekend of Sept. 10, 1982. That’s when the Thunderbird showed Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Poltergeist.
By 1985, the Republic was running stories about the “vacant” or “defunct” Thunderbird site.
I wrote in the second edition of “Drive-Ins of Route 66,” but neglected to mention here, that the Fair Park apparently closed on Aug. 18, 1948. Its ads in the Black Dispatch ended on Aug. 14, with movies listed through the following Wednesday.
The Black Dispatch is now available on Newspapers.com, and I found a couple more fragments of information there, though still nothing new about the drive-in’s closure.
The Fair Park was slow to open. In its first “opening soon” ad on June 5, 1948, it said “for opening date / see next weeks edition of this newspaper”. That optimistic note was followed by similar ads on (at least) June 12, June 19, and July 3.
On July 17, the date of the Fair Park’s grand opening, the Black Dispatch ran a front-page article on the drive-in’s manager. “Mr. H. R. Fall (sic) of the Southwest Theatres anounced this week his appointment of local hotel man and owner-operator of several eastside enterprises, Winard Norman, as manager of the state’s first Negro outdoor theatre, the Fair Park Drive-In … his new responsibilities entail management of ten employees who serve as ticket sellers, ushers, concession aides, etc.”