The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog had the sketchy listing: “Bishop, Cal., NEW D. I. Exec: C. A. Ford. (–)”
The Bishop’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1957 edition, capacity 460, owner F. C. Amistoso
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 5, 1958: “Louis Wudke and Ned Shafer have sold their Bishop Drive-In, Bishop, to a syndicate.”
Boxoffice, March 30, 1964: “Exhibitors Service, headed by Harry Rackin and Syd Lehman, is booking and buying for Merton Pond’s Bishop Drive-In”
Boxoffice, April 24, 1967: “Merton Pond of the Bishop Theatre and Bishop Drive-In” visited Los Angeles Film Row.
The generally reliable 1977 edition of the MPA still showed the Bishop, now with a capacity of 342 and owner M.H. Pond. It stayed that way through 1979, then dropped off the 1980 MPA drive-in list.
I couldn’t find many mentions of the Lucky. The Sept. 22, 1951 issue of Boxoffice noted that Clayton Gran had obtained a building permit for the drive-in, which was “expected to be completed within six months.”
Boxoffice, June 28, 1952: “Co-owners Clayton Gran and Fremon Klint have opened their new $55,000 drive-in on Fulkerth road north of the Stanislaus district fair grounds. The theatre was named the Lucky Drive-In and it has a self-service snack bar.”
The Lucky was still operating in July 1967, when “The Weird World of LSD,” a black-and-white film directed by Robert Ground, had a record-breaking run there.
The 1978 Motion Picture Almanac, which tended to be reasonably accurate, still included the Lucky, run by R. Laykin. In the 1980 edition, the owner changed to Maestri, which is how it stayed through its final MPA appearance in 1982.
The San Jose held its grand opening on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1954. An earlier article in the Albuquerque Journal quoted co-owner Robert E. Morley that the drive-in’s nightly feature would be one Spanish-language movie and “one American picture”. Opening night matched that promise, with Pedro Armendáriz in “Por Querer a Una Mujer” (For Loving a Woman) and Maria Montez in “Cobra Woman”, plus a cartoon.
Boxoffice, April 28, 1951: “TERRELL, TEX. - The Terrell Drive-In, just west of the city, has reopened for the season with a new screen tower. Manager Leaman Marshall said a children’s playground would be opened soon.”
Looks like the Bordertown once had a different working title.
Boxoffice, April 28, 1951: “EL PASO - A $75,000 twin drive-in, with capacity for 800 cars, will be built on the Carlsbad road by John Blocker. It will be the second twin drive-in in Texas, the first one being built by Blocker in Wichita Falls and sold recently. The El Paso airer will be called the Carlsbad Road Drive-In.”
Boxoffice, April 21, 1951: “The Sheppard Drive-In, formerly the Open-Air Drive-In, has opened after complete remodeling. It is west of the city on the Iowa Park road. Charles W. Weisenburg is owner. A mural of a B-36 is on the front and there is a new marquee. There are new ramps, RCA equipment, new wiring, lights on every speaker post and curb lights. There are spaces for 400 cars, doubled capacity over last year.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1947: “Bill Morrow will open his new drive-in between Gladewater and Longview around August 1.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 23, 1947: “The Colonial, W. M. Morrow’s new drive-in theatre, located on the Longview-Gladewater highway, had its formal opening August 5. The opening screen attraction was "Boom Town.” "
Same drive-in? Boxoffice, Aug. 23, 1947: “BURLINGAME, CALIF. – Robert L. Lippert added another house to his 36-theatre chain August 6 when he acquired the new Belmont Drive-In near this city. Lippert will take over operation immediately and plans a big opening August 25. The Belmont parks 700 cars.”
Boxoffice, July 19, 1947: “ST. JOSEPH, MO. - After a last-minute power scramble, Missouri Motor Movies, consisting of L. E. Pope, W. E. Whaley and C. H. Martin jr., all of Kansas City, opened their Belt Drive-In at the intersection of highways 71 and 36, one-half mile east of here with capacity crowds at three shows last Friday night. A party at Hotel Robidoux followed the first performance. Although three shows were offered opening night, the outdoorer will offer two shows nightly with a 50-cent admission. Although screen mountings and landscaping were still incomplete opening night, all equipment, including in-car speakers were installed. Six hundred cars in the 18-acre tract face the 30 by 40 foot screen.”
Boxoffice, July 19, 1947: “The new K&K Drive-In Theatre, first drive-in in the Boise valley, was to have opened July 16, according to J. F. Knuth, builder and manager. The new 500-car drive-in stands on a 12-acre plot of former farm land two and a half miles east of Meridian on Highway 30 and seven miles from Boise. It is equipped with in-car speakers.”
This photo is part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright holder is undetermined.
This photo, probably from 1959, is part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright holder and status is undetermined.
This 1959 photo is part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright holder and status is undetermined.
This photo was taken Aug. 23, 1948 by the Delmar L. Curtis Aerial Photo Service. It’s part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright ownership is undetermined.
This photo was taken Aug. 23, 1948 by the Delmar L. Curtis Aerial Photo Service. It’s part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright ownership is undetermined.
According to History San Jose, this photo was taken by Shirlie Montgomery. It didn’t say when, but I’d guess late 1966, when the spicy films Dear John and Moonlighting Wives were released in the US.
I wonder where this fits.
Boxoffice classified ad, Dec. 29, 1956: “For sale, complete drive-in theatre. Dirt cheap, must be moved. M. D. Otterback, Wellington, Kas.”
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog had the sketchy listing: “Bishop, Cal., NEW D. I. Exec: C. A. Ford. (–)”
The Bishop’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1957 edition, capacity 460, owner F. C. Amistoso
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 5, 1958: “Louis Wudke and Ned Shafer have sold their Bishop Drive-In, Bishop, to a syndicate.”
Boxoffice, March 30, 1964: “Exhibitors Service, headed by Harry Rackin and Syd Lehman, is booking and buying for Merton Pond’s Bishop Drive-In”
Boxoffice, April 24, 1967: “Merton Pond of the Bishop Theatre and Bishop Drive-In” visited Los Angeles Film Row.
The generally reliable 1977 edition of the MPA still showed the Bishop, now with a capacity of 342 and owner M.H. Pond. It stayed that way through 1979, then dropped off the 1980 MPA drive-in list.
I couldn’t find many mentions of the Lucky. The Sept. 22, 1951 issue of Boxoffice noted that Clayton Gran had obtained a building permit for the drive-in, which was “expected to be completed within six months.”
Boxoffice, June 28, 1952: “Co-owners Clayton Gran and Fremon Klint have opened their new $55,000 drive-in on Fulkerth road north of the Stanislaus district fair grounds. The theatre was named the Lucky Drive-In and it has a self-service snack bar.”
The Lucky was still operating in July 1967, when “The Weird World of LSD,” a black-and-white film directed by Robert Ground, had a record-breaking run there.
The 1978 Motion Picture Almanac, which tended to be reasonably accurate, still included the Lucky, run by R. Laykin. In the 1980 edition, the owner changed to Maestri, which is how it stayed through its final MPA appearance in 1982.
Update: This photo appears to have been taken by Flickr user Commstock, who holds the copyright.
Theatre Catalog, 1952: “Hill’s D. I., P. O. Box 206. Exec: Dr. Gerald Hill, and Giles E. Turner. (—)”
That was from the front page of the Aug. 30, 1956 edition of the Shamrock Texan, accessed through the Texas Digital Newspaper Program.
The San Jose held its grand opening on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1954. An earlier article in the Albuquerque Journal quoted co-owner Robert E. Morley that the drive-in’s nightly feature would be one Spanish-language movie and “one American picture”. Opening night matched that promise, with Pedro Armendáriz in “Por Querer a Una Mujer” (For Loving a Woman) and Maria Montez in “Cobra Woman”, plus a cartoon.
There’s a nice 1981 plane’s-eye view of the Hi Way 13 Drive-In at Vintage Aerial.
Boxoffice, April 28, 1951: “TERRELL, TEX. - The Terrell Drive-In, just west of the city, has reopened for the season with a new screen tower. Manager Leaman Marshall said a children’s playground would be opened soon.”
Looks like the Bordertown once had a different working title.
Boxoffice, April 28, 1951: “EL PASO - A $75,000 twin drive-in, with capacity for 800 cars, will be built on the Carlsbad road by John Blocker. It will be the second twin drive-in in Texas, the first one being built by Blocker in Wichita Falls and sold recently. The El Paso airer will be called the Carlsbad Road Drive-In.”
Boxoffice, April 21, 1951: “The Sheppard Drive-In, formerly the Open-Air Drive-In, has opened after complete remodeling. It is west of the city on the Iowa Park road. Charles W. Weisenburg is owner. A mural of a B-36 is on the front and there is a new marquee. There are new ramps, RCA equipment, new wiring, lights on every speaker post and curb lights. There are spaces for 400 cars, doubled capacity over last year.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1947: “Bill Morrow will open his new drive-in between Gladewater and Longview around August 1.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 23, 1947: “The Colonial, W. M. Morrow’s new drive-in theatre, located on the Longview-Gladewater highway, had its formal opening August 5. The opening screen attraction was "Boom Town.” "
Same drive-in? Boxoffice, Aug. 23, 1947: “Perish Woodson plans to open his drive-in in Topeka within two weeks.”
Sometimes Boxoffice jumped the gun in its opening announcements. I wonder if this was one of those times.
Boxoffice, Aug. 23, 1947: “O. F. Sullivan’s second outdoor theatre in Wichita, with a capacity of 750 cars, … opened this week.”
Same drive-in? Boxoffice, Aug. 23, 1947: “BURLINGAME, CALIF. – Robert L. Lippert added another house to his 36-theatre chain August 6 when he acquired the new Belmont Drive-In near this city. Lippert will take over operation immediately and plans a big opening August 25. The Belmont parks 700 cars.”
Boxoffice, July 19, 1947: “ST. JOSEPH, MO. - After a last-minute power scramble, Missouri Motor Movies, consisting of L. E. Pope, W. E. Whaley and C. H. Martin jr., all of Kansas City, opened their Belt Drive-In at the intersection of highways 71 and 36, one-half mile east of here with capacity crowds at three shows last Friday night. A party at Hotel Robidoux followed the first performance. Although three shows were offered opening night, the outdoorer will offer two shows nightly with a 50-cent admission. Although screen mountings and landscaping were still incomplete opening night, all equipment, including in-car speakers were installed. Six hundred cars in the 18-acre tract face the 30 by 40 foot screen.”
Boxoffice, July 19, 1947: “The new K&K Drive-In Theatre, first drive-in in the Boise valley, was to have opened July 16, according to J. F. Knuth, builder and manager. The new 500-car drive-in stands on a 12-acre plot of former farm land two and a half miles east of Meridian on Highway 30 and seven miles from Boise. It is equipped with in-car speakers.”
The April 14, 1951 edition of Boxoffice reported that Melvin L. Blackledge had purchased the Frontier Drive-In in Atchison.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Frontier Drive-In under Atchison KS, owned by Charles Potter with a capacity of 350 cars.
This photo is part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright holder is undetermined.
The link to the original moved. To semi-permanently capture it, the Internet Archive capture of its latest location is here.
This photo, probably from 1959, is part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright holder and status is undetermined.
This 1959 photo is part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright holder and status is undetermined.
This photo was taken Aug. 23, 1948 by the Delmar L. Curtis Aerial Photo Service. It’s part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright ownership is undetermined.
This photo was taken Aug. 23, 1948 by the Delmar L. Curtis Aerial Photo Service. It’s part of the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society, which says that its copyright ownership is undetermined.
According to History San Jose, this photo was taken by Shirlie Montgomery. It didn’t say when, but I’d guess late 1966, when the spicy films Dear John and Moonlighting Wives were released in the US.