69 Drive-In
69 Street & E. 1090 Road,
Checotah,
OK
74426
69 Street & E. 1090 Road,
Checotah,
OK
74426
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A typical outdoor theatre, the 69 Drive-In served the movie entertainment needs of Checotah residents since at least 1955. Since Connors State College and popular Lake Eufala are nearby it also got a nice share of students and tourist too.
Contributed by
Cactus Jack
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
This is a photo of the 69 Drive-In. Text with photo claims that it was closed when the photo was taken. Did it open again?
The 69 Drive-In is listed in the 1975 IMPA with a capacity for 200 cars. In the 1980 IMPA the car capacity is given as 100. One of those numbers is probably wrong.
Local legend claims that originally this drive-in theatre was planned to be placed atop Tiger Mountain, midway between Checotah and Henryetta. It was believed this choice location would benefit investors by attracting movie goers from both towns.
Excavation of the property commenced with the addition of a paved road that encircled the future theatre grounds, but before any structures were ever built, it was discovered that enormous swarms of lightning bugs invaded Tiger Mountain during Spring and Summer. Though fire flies are harmless to humans, and they do not fly far off the ground, their vast numbers of twinkling glow would have certainly interfered with outdoor movie watching. So, the original site was abandoned and the present day site of the 69 Drive-In was chosen instead.
During the early 1960’s the State of Oklahoma paid top dollar to acquire the original drive-in lot in order to install a rest area along I-40. Today the original drive-in theatre road is still used, and one can journey up to the North rest area on Tiger Mountain and still see the distinct outline of a drive-in theatre plan.
I have been informed that during planning stages of this theatre the name Honey Springs Drive-In was seriously contemplated.
This theater has been closed for a long time and can now be classified as demolished.
THe 69 Drive in was owned by J.P. Jones in 1956.
O.K. Mike.
This link goes to modern photos and a history of the old 69 Drive-In.
Looks like one night they just locked up and never bothered to open up again…
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/41
As stated above, the 69 Drive-In has long been closed and demolished. It is now an empty field.
The Cinema Section of Roadside Oklahome is closed, they no longer have theatre photos according to the site.