Chief Drive-In
5600 N. Lamar Boulevard,
Austin,
TX
78751
5600 N. Lamar Boulevard,
Austin,
TX
78751
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The Chief Drive-In was opened in September 1947. It was Austin’s oldest drive-in. In 1964 the screen was resurfaced and a twin box-office was built, plus a new marquee and remodeled concession area. The Chief Drive-In parked 814 cars and was a Trans-Texas Theatre.
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MikeRogers
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Chief Drive-In Theater
LOCATION
The location of this theater was originally listed as “5600 Dallas Highway”.
“Dallas Highway” is no longer listed on current maps of Austin. Evidence indicates that this portion of the “Dallas Highway” was renamed to “North Lamar” sometime after the completion of Interstate Highway 35. In a special edition titled “Lost Austin”, the Austin Chronicle refers to the location of this theater as North Lamar and Koenig.
The block number on North Lamar at this intersection is 5700. Given that a drive-in’s street entrance might not be located on the corner of the property, this location appears to be a good match to the location described in the original advertisements.
An undated Mobil travel map shows a drive-in theater in this location, spanning an area several blocks in length. This is convincing evidence that the location of the Chief Drive-in theater was on what is now known as “North Lamar”. This location also fits with the probable location of the North Austin Drive-in theater.
Finally, conclusive proof that this is the correct location can be found in the school report – “The Chief Drive-In Theater” by Miss E. Johnson. This report was written in 1952 and provides excellent directions to the Chief.
Although the Chief opened at the same time as the Montopolis, no articles were found regarding the opening of this drive-in.
Opened: 19 September 1947 Capacity: 800 cars Closed: August 1973(?) Was originally owned by Ezell & Associates.
Address should be changed to 5600 North Lamar Blvd. Zip code should be 78751
It was on Southeast corner of Koenig and N.Lamar. I went there many times. If I was a good boy I got to ride “ Little Toot”.
Well it seems that another Austin Drive-In was already in operation when the Chief Drive-In opened. http://www.captainchicken.org/austindrivein/north_austin/north_austin.html
This theater was originally named “Joseph’s Drive-In Theater”. The name was changed in 1947 to “North Austin Drive-In Theater” prior to the opening of the “South Austin Drive-In Theater”.
STATISTICS Opened: 18 November 1940Screens: 1Capacity: 450 cars
Do not know what paper this was published in, but here is an ad of the opening of Chief Drive-In….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zip_up_hoodie/3932133504/