Meadow Bridge Drive-In

MichaelKilgore on November 7, 2017 at 7:07 pm

In the 1955-56 Theatre Catalog, the only one in Meadow Bridge WV is the N And R D. I., capacity 125, exec N. Garten. That would be Ned Garten, according to a 2013 article in The Register-Herald, copied on the drive-in’s web site.

The 1955-59 Motion Picture Almanacs also called it the N & R, capacity 125, owner Ned Garten. Garten was trying to sell it in June 1958 (see uploaded newspaper ad), which might be why it dropped out of the 1961-76 editions. The drive-in returned by the 1978 edition as the Meadowbridge (sic), owned by B. Hartley, capacity 180. In the 1980-82 editions, the owner changed to L. Thomas. In 1984, it was J. Boyd. By the 1986 edition, the owner was (Howard) McClanahan, who still owns it today.

The 2013 article covered that period as follows. After Garten’s tenure, it was run by Thomas Theaters. “Then one of the shareholders purchased the location outright. Word on the street was that the theater was going to turn X-rated because its screen faced away from the road. That’s when McClanahan stepped in and decided to make an offer.”

The Meadow Bridge converted to digital in 2013, and McClanahan said the new projector cost more than he paid for the drive-in.

Jay Harvey on June 7, 2015 at 6:17 pm

No wonder this one is still open, it’s waaaayyyy out in the country. Kind of hard to find & very small. Well kept & clean though.

teecee on July 1, 2005 at 5:25 am

Homepage:
http://www.mbdrivein.com/