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.
This photo was taken in August 1980 by Steve Fitch, who holds the copyright. He seems like a wonderfully nice guy, but I doubt that he’s made it available under a Creative Commons license.
At its grand opening on Sept. 25, 1948, the Mt. Vernon showed “Deep Waters” starring Dana Andrews, “On the Old Spanish Trail” starring Roy Rogers, “plus cartoon and news”.
After co-existing with the newer Zuni Drive-In for just over a year, the Yucca’s final show was probably on July 21, 1958. An ad that ran three days earlier in the Gallup Daily Independent included at the end “Note - Yucca will close for season Monday”. That was the last newspaper ad I could find; the Yucca apparently never reopened after that mid-summer close.
Now that’s weird! An ad for Thompson’s Nursery said that it was “3 blks. north of Comet Drive Inn Screen on West 7th”. But that ad ran in the Clovis News Journal on Feb. 3, 1957.
Clovis News-Journal, July 4, 1982, in a retrospective: “In 1952 (W.O.) Bearden and (Lloyd) Franklin built the LaFonda Drive-In Theater on North Prince and Llano Estacado … In 1974 the LaFonda rebuilt a mile north of the old location and in 1979 leased to Commonwealth Theaters, Inc.”
Clovis News Journal, April 22, 2002, in an extended interview with Loyd Franklin: “The partners (Franklin and Bearden) also built the Comet Drive In out on West Seventh, but Loyd said the theater only lasted about a year. Lightning destroyed the screen at the La Fonda and the Comet screen replaced it. In 1974, the La Fonda was moved a mile north to the southwast corner of Wilhite and Prince.”
Clovis News Journal, April 22, 2002, in an extended interview with Loyd Franklin: “The partners (Franklin and Bearden) also built the Comet Drive In out on West Seventh, but Loyd said the theater only lasted about a year. Lightning destroyed the screen at the La Fonda and the Comet screen replaced it.”
Clovis News-Journal, July 4, 1982, in a retrospective: “In 1954 (W.O. Bearden and Lloyd Franklin) bought the Yucca Drive-In on South Prince … in 1979 … The Yucca Drive-In, after 31 years, was closed and dismantled."
Clovis News-Journal, April 24, 2002, in an extended interview with 1-L Loyd Franklin: “In 1954, (Loyd and his partner) acquired the Yucca Drive-In on South Prince that had been built by John Blocker of Plainview, Texas.”
Clovis News-Journal, July 4, 1982, in a retrospective: “(W.O. Bearden and Lloyd Franklin) bought the 4-Lane Drive-In Theater between Clovis and Texico about 1958, later selling it to Stuckey’s.”
The Starlite’s last ad in the Alamogordo Daily News was on Sept. 23, 1983, noting that it would close for the season after the show Saturday, Sept. 24. The final “wing ding” program included “Overnight Models,” “Voluptuous Vixens,” “Forbidden Lessons,” and “Tempting Roommates.”
To amplify DavidAndrews’s note, it appears that the last Yucca Drive-In movie ad in the Alamogordo Daily News was on Oct. 25, 1974. It promised two retitled German-made films “Island of Lost Girls” (Kommissar X - Drei goldene Schlangen) and “How Did A Nice Girl Like You?” (Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht) running through Sunday, Oct. 27.
There is evidence that the Yucca planned to reopen in 1975. On March 9 that year, it advertised in the Alamogordo Daily News for help at the concession stand. On May 28, it joined about every other business in town in saluting the high school graduating class. (Then again, the Yucca didn’t advertise in that issue although the local “Starlight” drive-in did.)
Workers toppled the Yucca’s sturdy screen tower on Jan. 6, 1981 to make way for construction of a Sierra Ice & Water warehouse.
According to the Alamogordo News, in April 1952, Marshall R. Sanguinet appeared before the Alamogordo City Commission to request water service for “a new drive-in theatre which he has under construction”. The board told him the price difference for a business outside the city limits. On the spur of that moment, Sanguinet requested that the city annex the drive-in site, and the commission agreed.
In December that year, Sanguinet publicly announced his candidacy for a seat on the commission, but he failed to file the paperwork on time. Within a couple of months, he left town to run a construction project in Iceland. His wife looked after his local businesses for a while, then joined him overseas in late 1953. So maybe that was a cause for the Yucca’s delayed opening?
The Sanguinet family must have bounced around. They adopted a daughter while in Turkey, and Marshall died in June 1967 in Pakistan during another construction project.
This photo appeared in the December 1952 issue of Technicolor News and Views. Since it was published without a copyright, it should be in the public domain.
To amplify ScreenTower’s caption, this photo was part of a three-page spread in the Dec. 10, 1938 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which is now in the public domain.
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “KINGFISHER, OKLA. - The Thomas Drive-In, south of here, has been sold to Marsy Exhibitors, who already own two other theatres here. John Thomas, former owner of the house, has no immediate plans.”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “George L. Western of Yoakum, Tex., has been named manager of the Twin City Drive-In Theatre, succeeding E. W. Grisham, who resigned to accept a position in Richmond. The drive-in, which is owned by Mart Cole, is located between Rosenberg and Richmond.”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “Dale Stewart, manager of the Goodland Drive-In, has spent some $6,000 in new sound and projection equipment and minor improvements for his house. This family-style theatre will (re-)open around April 13.”
This photo by B. A. Lang, date unknown, is part of the collection entitled: Rescuing Texas History, 2007 and was provided by the Heritage House Museum to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It was donated by the Orange Chamber of Commerce, and its copyright status is undetermined.
This 1955 photo is part of the collection entitled: Abilene Photograph Collection and was provided by the Hardin-Simmons University Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries.
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.
This photo was taken in August 1980 by Steve Fitch, who holds the copyright. He seems like a wonderfully nice guy, but I doubt that he’s made it available under a Creative Commons license.
At its grand opening on Sept. 25, 1948, the Mt. Vernon showed “Deep Waters” starring Dana Andrews, “On the Old Spanish Trail” starring Roy Rogers, “plus cartoon and news”.
After co-existing with the newer Zuni Drive-In for just over a year, the Yucca’s final show was probably on July 21, 1958. An ad that ran three days earlier in the Gallup Daily Independent included at the end “Note - Yucca will close for season Monday”. That was the last newspaper ad I could find; the Yucca apparently never reopened after that mid-summer close.
Now that’s weird! An ad for Thompson’s Nursery said that it was “3 blks. north of Comet Drive Inn Screen on West 7th”. But that ad ran in the Clovis News Journal on Feb. 3, 1957.
Clovis News-Journal, July 4, 1982, in a retrospective: “In 1952 (W.O.) Bearden and (Lloyd) Franklin built the LaFonda Drive-In Theater on North Prince and Llano Estacado … In 1974 the LaFonda rebuilt a mile north of the old location and in 1979 leased to Commonwealth Theaters, Inc.”
Clovis News Journal, April 22, 2002, in an extended interview with Loyd Franklin: “The partners (Franklin and Bearden) also built the Comet Drive In out on West Seventh, but Loyd said the theater only lasted about a year. Lightning destroyed the screen at the La Fonda and the Comet screen replaced it. In 1974, the La Fonda was moved a mile north to the southwast corner of Wilhite and Prince.”
Clovis News Journal, April 22, 2002, in an extended interview with Loyd Franklin: “The partners (Franklin and Bearden) also built the Comet Drive In out on West Seventh, but Loyd said the theater only lasted about a year. Lightning destroyed the screen at the La Fonda and the Comet screen replaced it.”
Clovis News-Journal, July 4, 1982, in a retrospective: “In 1954 (W.O. Bearden and Lloyd Franklin) bought the Yucca Drive-In on South Prince … in 1979 … The Yucca Drive-In, after 31 years, was closed and dismantled."
Clovis News-Journal, April 24, 2002, in an extended interview with 1-L Loyd Franklin: “In 1954, (Loyd and his partner) acquired the Yucca Drive-In on South Prince that had been built by John Blocker of Plainview, Texas.”
Clovis News-Journal, July 4, 1982, in a retrospective: “(W.O. Bearden and Lloyd Franklin) bought the 4-Lane Drive-In Theater between Clovis and Texico about 1958, later selling it to Stuckey’s.”
The Starlite’s last ad in the Alamogordo Daily News was on Sept. 23, 1983, noting that it would close for the season after the show Saturday, Sept. 24. The final “wing ding” program included “Overnight Models,” “Voluptuous Vixens,” “Forbidden Lessons,” and “Tempting Roommates.”
To amplify DavidAndrews’s note, it appears that the last Yucca Drive-In movie ad in the Alamogordo Daily News was on Oct. 25, 1974. It promised two retitled German-made films “Island of Lost Girls” (Kommissar X - Drei goldene Schlangen) and “How Did A Nice Girl Like You?” (Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht) running through Sunday, Oct. 27.
There is evidence that the Yucca planned to reopen in 1975. On March 9 that year, it advertised in the Alamogordo Daily News for help at the concession stand. On May 28, it joined about every other business in town in saluting the high school graduating class. (Then again, the Yucca didn’t advertise in that issue although the local “Starlight” drive-in did.)
Workers toppled the Yucca’s sturdy screen tower on Jan. 6, 1981 to make way for construction of a Sierra Ice & Water warehouse.
The ad ran in the Jan. 28, 1954 issue of the Alamogordo News.
According to the Alamogordo News, in April 1952, Marshall R. Sanguinet appeared before the Alamogordo City Commission to request water service for “a new drive-in theatre which he has under construction”. The board told him the price difference for a business outside the city limits. On the spur of that moment, Sanguinet requested that the city annex the drive-in site, and the commission agreed.
In December that year, Sanguinet publicly announced his candidacy for a seat on the commission, but he failed to file the paperwork on time. Within a couple of months, he left town to run a construction project in Iceland. His wife looked after his local businesses for a while, then joined him overseas in late 1953. So maybe that was a cause for the Yucca’s delayed opening?
The Sanguinet family must have bounced around. They adopted a daughter while in Turkey, and Marshall died in June 1967 in Pakistan during another construction project.
A note in the Aug. 10, 1961 Page Signal mentioned that the Mesa was owned by Stan Dewsnup at that point, and that it seated 620.
The Nov. 2, 1966 Lake Powell Chronicle said that the Mesa had been damaged by fire in the summer of 1964 and remained closed until Nov. 4, 1966.
This photo appeared in the December 1952 issue of Technicolor News and Views. Since it was published without a copyright, it should be in the public domain.
To amplify ScreenTower’s caption, this photo was part of a three-page spread in the Dec. 10, 1938 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which is now in the public domain.
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “KINGFISHER, OKLA. - The Thomas Drive-In, south of here, has been sold to Marsy Exhibitors, who already own two other theatres here. John Thomas, former owner of the house, has no immediate plans.”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “George L. Western of Yoakum, Tex., has been named manager of the Twin City Drive-In Theatre, succeeding E. W. Grisham, who resigned to accept a position in Richmond. The drive-in, which is owned by Mart Cole, is located between Rosenberg and Richmond.”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “Max E. Davis resigned as manager of the El Dorago Theatre to operate a drive-in at Lyons which he purchased”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “Dale Stewart, manager of the Goodland Drive-In, has spent some $6,000 in new sound and projection equipment and minor improvements for his house. This family-style theatre will (re-)open around April 13.”
That link to the The Legend article has gone bad. Here’s a link to a saved version at the Internet Archive.
This photo by B. A. Lang, date unknown, is part of the collection entitled: Rescuing Texas History, 2007 and was provided by the Heritage House Museum to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It was donated by the Orange Chamber of Commerce, and its copyright status is undetermined.
This 1955 photo is part of the collection entitled: Abilene Photograph Collection and was provided by the Hardin-Simmons University Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries.
This 2009 photo by Matt H. Wade was published to Wikimedia Commons with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.