Joy Drive-In

616 N. Nugent Avenue,
Johnson City, TX 78636

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Kenmore
Kenmore on June 28, 2023 at 12:48 pm

A closer address is 616 N Nugent Ave, Johnson City, TX.

That is the location of the screen which is now being used as a residence. You can see the foundation of the projection booth/concession stand behind the house.

A 1966 aerial does not reveal much as it appears the drive-in was long closed by this time. You can see the screen and another house nearby.

There is no way the drive-in held 300 vehicles. Even if you take out the trees, there is a creek that runs not far behind where the projection booth/concession stand was at. Plus, the trees were present in 1966 anyway.

30 cars appears to be its capacity which never changed. The 300 was probably a typo and given that it was probably closed by 1963 anyway, it’s not an entry that can be trusted.

https://tinyurl.com/4vfakveh

kennerado
kennerado on June 27, 2023 at 11:48 pm

I think this may have been a portable job, which would also explain the change in capacity, moving to a bigger space.

Kenmore
Kenmore on June 10, 2019 at 6:27 am

After looking at the 1966 aerial, there is no trace of anything at the location you cited.

I might believe that a drive-in would be totally demolished without a building being put up, but the trees at the location indicate that nothing was built there at the time.

Plus, I cannot find anything resembling a drive-in along HWY281, be it 30 or 300 cars anywhere near Johnson City. Now, it may be hiding in plain sight, so I’m not discounting anything, but I’ve seen nothing close so far.

Whatever the case, more information is needed about it’s location.