Sauk Trail Drive-In
Sauk Trail,
South Chicago Heights,
IL
Sauk Trail,
South Chicago Heights,
IL
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Opened by 1955, this single-screen drive-in could accommodate 500 cars. Its marquee was decorated with an image of an Indian, an homage to the name of the street the theater was located on, Sauk Trail, which was originally an Indian trail between Illinois and Indiana. The drive-in was closed in the early-1980’s, and housing has since been built on the site.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
For some reason my family and I never got to the Sauk Trail Drive-In (we usually went to the Holiday Theatre), but it certainly was a landmark in our area and a lot of people visited it over the years. Yes, I believe there was a cameo-like depiction, in neon (red or orange), of a Native American in profile on the street side. Not only is there housing on its site, but there is also a senior center. As with the drive-in in Monee, IL, I always thought that they were charming but antiquated concept and not a real good use of land.
Was the Holiday a drive in? I never heard of it.
The Holiday Theatre was a one-screen indoor movie theatre; it has since been converted into several screening rooms. There is a listing on this site concerning the Holiday.
It parked 830 cars in 1956 and was owned at that time by Sauk Trail Drive-in Theatre Corp.
This was at W. Sauk Trail (Old Lincoln Highway) at Enterprise Park Trail. I uploaded an 1952 USGS aerial photo.
Thanks! This really gives one an idea of how big the Sauk Trail Drive-In was in its heyday. There were – and are – homes to the east of the Drive-In; Once sold, a large amount of homes were built on the site, a senior center, with acreage left available. Whoever designed the new area did a good job and one cannot tell what was in the area in 1952.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 211 West Sauk Trail, Chicago Heights, IL 60411.