Riviera Drive-In
1716 N. Park Avenue,
Herrin,
IL
62948
1716 N. Park Avenue,
Herrin,
IL
62948
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Marlow’s Drive-In opened in 1948, and was operated by the Marlow Brothers.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Paragraph 7 of this legal document about a 1955 lawsuit by the owner of this theater, has this information: “…Marlow’s Amusement Corporation, another plaintiff, owns and operates Marlow’s Drive-In Theater, near Herrin, and has so owned and operated it since May 7, 1949; that it is a modern drive-in theater accommodating 1,000 cars, being one of the finest in southern Illinois.”
The Marlow had space for 900 cars in the early 1960s.
Drive-Ins.com lists this theater as the Riviera Drive-In with an aka name of Marlow’s Drive-In.
Lost Memory, when my fathers talks about this drive-in, he always refers to it as the Riviera. I couldn’t tell you though when the name change occured.
Melders….The 1969, 1975 and 1980 IMPA lists a Riviera Drive-In for Herrin, Illinois. No Marlow’s Drive-In is listed for those years so I would assume that Riviera was the later name for this drive-in. Unless the name reverted back to Marlow’s at some point, this drive-in should be listed as the Riviera.
I would have to agree Memory, this should probably be listed as the Riviera instead of the Marlow. Another thing I had orginally considered putting in my prior post, but didn’t, was that my dad used to tell me the old screen to the drive-in was still back in the woods that now cover the site. But, since my dad’s not always the most reliable source, I didn’t! Maybe someone else that visits this site has heard that rumor too, and can confirm if its true or not.
Boxoffice of May 22, 1948, said that construction was underway on two new drive-ins at Herrin. The one being built for the Marlow Amusement Corporation was designed by the Evansville architectural firm of Warweg & Hagel.