Circle 81 Drive-In

103 New Laredo Highway,
San Antonio, TX 78211

Unfavorite 1 person favorited this theater

Additional Info

Nearby Theaters

Circle 81 Drive-In

Opened in 1960 and closed in the late-1960’s. Area where the drive-in once stood is now zoned light industrial. It had a very large double sided single panel marquee with a large vertical above with the Circle name on it. It had a 450 car capacity.

Contributed by Chuck Van Bibber

Recent comments (view all 10 comments)

lyssa751
lyssa751 on March 16, 2005 at 1:26 pm

This drive-in also included a playground area at the bottom of the screen. You can see these pictures at http://www.geocities.com/missy78214/circledi.html

aspenflower
aspenflower on August 16, 2008 at 10:58 am

Our family used to load up in the “car (or truck) of the day” with the best hot hamburgers you ever tasted that came in white paper bags from a place across the street from the Circle 81. I remember seeing Cleopatra (Liz Taylor and Richard Burton) Some of my best childhood memories

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on January 21, 2010 at 8:02 pm

Here is a 1957 view of the marquee from drive-ins.com
http://tinyurl.com/ydsc5ap

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on January 21, 2010 at 8:05 pm

This won’t map correctly as the street is New Laredo, not Loredo. The contemporary aerial view doesn’t show any part of the drive-in remaining.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on April 18, 2010 at 1:05 pm

Timeline from 1957 to 1967 must be right by 1956 Motion Picture Almanac has no such Drive-in listed,

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on April 20, 2010 at 12:25 pm

Noice marquee shot posted by ken mc.

FlashBack1968
FlashBack1968 on August 24, 2013 at 3:04 pm

The Playground at the Circle 81 taken by Melissa A Martinez in the late 50s.

View photo here

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on March 21, 2018 at 6:14 am

Why the name Circle 81?

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on August 12, 2019 at 8:37 am

As with most “numbered” drive-ins, the Circle 81 was named for its adjacent highway, which was US 81 when it was built.

The March 28, 1960 issue of Boxoffice noted, “The Circle 81 Drive-In is now playing Spanish-language pictures six days a week.”

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.