66 Park-In
9438 Watson Road,
Crestwood,
MO
63126
9438 Watson Road,
Crestwood,
MO
63126
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Wehrenberg Theatres
Architects: William Mills
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
The 66 Park-In opened on September 26, 1947 with Robert Young in “Lady Luck”. It was operated by Flexer Drive-In Theatres but was taken over the following season by Wehrenberg Theatres, which operated it until its closure. The 66 Park-In had a capacity of 800 cars.
Located on the Historic Highway 66, this drive-in was one of the first operated by Wehrenberg. It was a popular mainstay in the St. Louis area. It had the large playground like all other Wehrenberg drive-in theatres situated in front of the screen.
When you went into the drive-in, you were greeted with miles of neon lining the back side of the screen facing Watson Road (Highway 66) with the name of the theatre spelled out. It had a large concession area with four stations for quick service.
Sadly, the 66-Park-In closed on October 17, 1993 and was demolished in 1994 to make way for a shopping center.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
My brother and I started a group on Facebook dedicated to this drive-in. Had many good times there. Here’s the link to the group:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/292939616371/?fref=ts
Went there many times as a kid in the 50s and 60s….great times spent on the playground as the sun began to set and the screen flickered to life….
I just added about 5-6 photos, all courtesy of the Vintage St. Louis Facebook page.
Thanks for adding the pictures from Facebook for the non-Facebook users.
September 26th, 1947 grand opening ad in photo section.
I stumbled upon a few minutes of video shot in 1991, uploaded in 2013 to YouTube.
Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch marked the 25th anniversary of the destruction of the 66 Park-In’s screen. I added that page to the Internet Archive, so the link should stay alive longer here.
Opened with Latest news, a cartoon(not named), and “Lady Luck”.
Independent Film Journal, May 1, 1954: “Wehrenberg Theas. have taken a 30-year lease on the land adjoining their 66 Park-In Theatre in St. L. County with plans to add more ramps and increase its capacity from 800 to 1200 cars. They have also placed order for immediate installation of an Ezell glass surface screen for this project.”
The 66 Park-In’s final night was Sunday, Oct. 17, 1993. Its final double feature was James Caan starring in “The Program” followed by Macaulay Culkin in “The Good Son.”