Oleander Drive-In

Lost Memory on January 24, 2007 at 3:58 pm

Victor Lang Remembers:

“…..the Oleander Drive-in Theater, also at the west end of Galveston. I believe I am correct in writing that Moran K. McDaniel was the owner of the latter. He and his wife, Lola Haden McDaniel lived on the Mainland at that time.

Galveston boasted two outdoor movies in the Fifties. I have already mentioned the Oleander Drive-in. But there was another one. It was at the end of the Pleasure Pier (now the site of the Flagship Hotel). The screen faced north so that when driving by on the Boulevard, one could see whatever feature was being shown. No dialogue could be heard, of course. The Pleasure Pier theater was also used for East Sunrise Services by local churches. It was a delightful, balmy place to sit and see a movie in the summer evenings and very popular with tourists.

The Oleander Drive-in was a slightly different arrangement. You paid, drove in and parked by something that looked like a double parking meter. You then hauled a speaker (not a very good one) into your car and a good time was had by all. The Oleander was one of the premium “make-out” spots in Galveston for the “dating” younger group. We spent more damned time trying to identify and peer into other cars to see who was having the closest thing to real sex than we did watching the movie. Naturally, there were those who bragged about their skills in getting into the Oleander for free.

Piling people into the trunk was most popular ruse. Car trunks were enormous in the Fifties and if you worked it right, you could get about three people into one car trunk. When management got on to this little caper they started requiring you to open your trunk when paying your admission fee. Since car trunks could not then be “popped” open from the glove compartment button, one had to get out, go to the rear and open the trunk with a separate key provided for the trunk lock. This was not popular with customers. I have heard tales from others about “hopping” the fence around the theater to join a car with only one passenger already inside. Since there was virtually no home air conditioning at the time, the Oleander and the Pleasure Pier were very popular. The only problem could be mosquitoes, especially at the Oleander. One took along old bedsheets or light blankets to wrap up in during the summertime. In the winters, the colder air was conducive to getting your arm around the girl you were dating which was also a popular pastime.

Mike Rogers on May 26, 2010 at 4:46 pm

I have it parking 790 cars and in 1956 run by INTERSTATE.

NYozoner on December 26, 2010 at 8:05 am

8014 Broadway St, Galveston, TX 77554

That address will map to the drive-in.

Here is a 1974 aerial photo of the drive-in courtesy of Google Earth:

http://flic.kr/p/94JbeB