Portage Sky-Lite Drive-In
12540 S. Dixie Highway,
Portage,
OH
43451
12540 S. Dixie Highway,
Portage,
OH
43451
3 people
favorited this theater
The Portage Sky-Lite Drive-In opened on August 19, 1948. It was built by Carl H. Schwyn Theatres. Schwyn, from Cygnet, Ohio, was a prominent businessman. He made his living in banking, farming, and had various oil and gas interests. He owned the Cla-Zel Theatre and Lyric Theatre in Bowling Green, Ohio, the State Theatre in Napoleon, Ohio, and the State Theatre in Toledo, Ohio. In 1946 he also leased the Paramount Theatre in Toledo, Ohio.
The Jack Armstrong Circuit was the manager of all the Schwyn Theatre properties. It had a capacity for 538 cars. The screen size measured 41 feet by 52 feet. It also featured a dance floor for those who wished to dance before the movie began. An additional feature of this theatre was a playground for the kids to keep them occupied. Mr. Schwyn died in 1967. The Jack Armstrong Circuit took over control of the properties after his death. The Portage Sky-Lite Drive-In finally closed in 1986. The drive-in theatre was demolished and a self- serve storage unit was built on the property.
Contributed by
Randy Studer
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
I lived in Cygnet from 6th grade through my Junior year of High School. We went to the Portage drive-in theatre many times over the years. I remember watching “Poltergeist” there as a teen. It really freaked us when we came home to our house to find all of our closet lights on, though we knew for absolutely sure we had turned them off. We later found out my uncle was in the closets measuring for carpet that he would lay for us later. If you don’t understand the light thing, just understand the nasty spirits started in the closet! :)