Wheeling Twin Drive-In
1010 S. Milwaukee Avenue,
Wheeling,
IL
60090
1010 S. Milwaukee Avenue,
Wheeling,
IL
60090
5 people
favorited this theater
Opened in 1966 as the M&R Twin Drive-In, it was located off Milwaukee Avenue. It was originally operated by M & R Amusements. The opening double feature shown at the M&R Twin Drive-In was “Georgy Girl” with “Three on a Couch”. Later renamed Wheeling Twin Drive-In In 1978, a third screen was built.
Beginning in the mid-1970’s, the Wheeling Twin Drive-In held a flea market on weekends, which continued until the drive-in was closed in 1995. Today, almost all trace of the Wheeling Twin Drive-In has been wiped away, and a great deal of the former theater’s property has been taken over by the Palwaukee Airport.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
WHEELING twin was the first Drive-In I took my kids to, a double-feature of GREMLINS 2 and QUICK CHANGE.
A kinduva ‘precious moment’: I’d told the boys we’re going to a drive-in movie that Sat. nite, but the expression meant nothing to them and I didn’t offer advance explanation what’s in store. So when we pulled up to a speaker post they both asked me “but Dad, where’s the theater building?” (they thot we were just parking in the parking lot). I lifted each up and sat them on the hood of our car, and pointed to the great white wall ahead, and replied “just sit here and keep looking that way”.
The above posts mention the Dancing Hot Dog intermission film clip ad: maybe not at this D-I, but I remember the same ad running somewhere that was so incredibly well-worn that the hot-dog in the cartoon had turned all green from scratches.
P.S.: the movie QUICK CHANGE I still think is an absolute riot. Now, driving out on Milwaukee Ave (Rte 21) I find it impossible to place where the old WHEELING TWIN D-I once stood with any certainty, the various new developments scrambling the landscape so.
That’s an excellent story.
The land that the Twin once occupied is still largely vacant (not sure what it’s purpose is). If you drive along Hintz Road, going West off of Milwaukee, just look over to your left. One of the old screens actually stood along here for at least a few years after the theater closed. There is a new building there now, which is some kind of Korean religious school. Before that was built a couple of years ago, there were still about 4-5 speaker stands still in that lot. Now, I don’t think there’s any trace of it left. In the 80s, there was a go-cart track & batting cages built right by the entrance to the Twin. This is now a car lot of some kind. The fence/screens for the track are still there. It’s pretty obvious once you know what it was. So, that should give you a rough idea where it was.
That’s an excellent story.
The land that the Twin once occupied is still largely vacant (not sure what it’s purpose is). If you drive along Hintz Road, going West off of Milwaukee, just look over to your left. One of the old screens actually stood along here for at least a few years after the theater closed. There is a new building there now, which is some kind of Korean religious school. Before that was built a couple of years ago, there were still about 4-5 speaker stands still in that lot. Now, I don’t think there’s any trace of it left. In the 80s, there was a go-cart track & batting cages built right by the entrance to the Twin. This is now a car lot of some kind. The fence/screens for the track are still there. It’s pretty obvious once you know what it was. So, that should give you a rough idea where it was.
Here’s a aerial shot from 1974.
I remember driving by this place and thinking the screen by the road looked huge.
That’s a cool web site, michigandriveins.
The Wheeling Twin Drive-In (originally called the M&R Twin Drive-In) was built in 60 days, according to this article about it in Boxoffice of June 19, 1967. Additional photos of it are featured in Boxoffice of October 30, 1967.
The drive-in was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Sidney H. Morris & Associates, who designed at least two conventional theaters for M&R Amusements: the 1960 Old Orchard Theatre in Skokie, and the Evergreen Theatre in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
Thanks Joe.
I remember seeing ‘'Cliffhanger’‘ here.
Linkrot repair:
The June 19, 1967 Boxoffice article about the M&R drive-in is now here.
The second article, from October 30, 1967, starts here and is continued here.
Added a photo of the drive-in I took in the summer of 1980.