Dixie Gardens Drive-In
1665 Dixie Highway,
Fort Wright,
KY
41011
1665 Dixie Highway,
Fort Wright,
KY
41011
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing all 4 comments
Hey Norman. If your dad was slingin the burgers and your mom was working concession, then they waited on me and my family. We used to go up to the Dixie Gardens in the early 70’s when we lived in Covington. I remember the drive in well. Those were some of my favorite times. :)
I also used to go skating at the ice rink in the 80’s.
It is so sad those times can never be appreciated by younger people today.
At that time the place was really hopping, it got so bad dad had to hire help. So my mother started working the concession stands… And then her brother was hired to help cook. And then another of her brothers and her mother! Grandpa complained about sitting home at night while grandma worked the drive-in. So dad “created” a position for him, “Patrolman”. He gave him a flashlight and told him to walk the lot during the movie and keep an eye out for trouble. hahaha… At this time period crime in Ft. Wright was about as scarce as hen’s teeth. But it put a little money in his pocket and gave him something to do. Mom has a pic of dad working the grill somewhere. If I can get her to find it, I’ll post it here.
Although I don’t remember much of it as a young child, my father used to manage Dixie Gardens Drive-In in the late 60’s/early 70’s. He was a working manager though not like today when they all hide in the back office. He was busy every night slingin' those burgers and fries and of course the popcorn!
Correction:
The drive-in’s last season was in 1988. There were plans to reopen the theater in the summer of 1990, however the screen was burned down in April of that year. The cause was arson. The drive-in was demolished in the fall of 1990 and the ice rink was destroyed a few years later. This theater went down in a blaze of glory!