Thunderbird Drive-In
2550 Gordon Terry Parkway,
Decatur,
AL
35603
2550 Gordon Terry Parkway,
Decatur,
AL
35603
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Built in the mid-1960’s as a second-run theatre, the drive-in attracted audiences from Morgan and Lawrence counties, Alabama. It was well know for its Saturday night bingo games (a version known as "Banko").
Contributed by
C.D.Wahl
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The Thunderbird Drive-In is listed in the 1980 IMPA with a capacity for 300 cars. Operator at that time was W. Hammonds.
Opened 26, Aug. 1964 with “Four For Texas”, closed 29, Jun. 1985
Approx. address for this drive-in was 2550 Gordon Terry Parkway, Decatur, AL 35603.
Cheaply built, the Thunderbird was on the outskirts of Decatur and really catered to residents of neighboring Lawrence County, which had no movie theatre at the time. It played second run movies, exploitation flicks, bikini beach pictures, horror movies – a perfect venue for American International Pictures product! Cars packed the theatre for Banko night (a variation of bingo), but the real draw was the naughty midnight movie. A showing of the X-rated version of “Cinderella” got the manager thrown in jail for a few hours. Of course, the city fathers had to watch the movie several times before deciding that it was “pornographic”!