Bel Air Fly-In Drive-In
St. Ansgar,
IA
50472
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This was one of the few drive-ins in the U.S. that accommodated viewing by airplane as well as by automobile. “Andy” Anderson opened the theater in the 1950s, after operating the Roxy theater in the same town. After a long run, the drive-in was closed in 1975.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Here is an article regarding the history of this drive-in:
http://tinyurl.com/f7lpz
Shouldn’t the name be Bel Air Drive-In? According to this article, the land is being used as a vineyard.
The article I posted discusses the Bel Air Drive-In, but also calls it the Fly-In Drive-In. I’m not sure which one is correct.
Driveins.com has it listed as the Bel Air Drive-In. Here is the link. Maybe it only allowed airplanes when it first opened and became a regular drive-in later.
Of course, if it was a bad film, the airsick bags would be in the seat pocket in front of you.
The article that you linked to, thinks that this drive-in might be one of, if not the first fly-in theater. The first fly-in theater that I know of was in Asbury Park, NJ. Its listed on this site: /theaters/8593/
I wonder if this theater opened as the Roxy Fly-In and Drive-In.
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=10060
Was mentioned in the documentary “Drive-In Movie Memories” in 2001.
Approx. address for this drive-in (and the connecting air field) was 4351 Dancer Avenue.