River Lane Outdoor Theatre

1000 River Lane,
Loves Park, IL 61111

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Dubinsky Brothers

Architects: Leo F. Abrams

Nearby Theaters

River Lane Outdoor Theatre

Located in Loves Park, near Rockford, IL. The River Lane Outdoor Theatre opened on May 29, 1948 with Veronica Lake in “Hold That Blonde”. The River Lane Outdoor Theatre had a large screen tower and a neon-lit marquee over its ticket booths. This drive-in operated until 1984 and was demolished three years later.

Contributed by Bryan

Recent comments (view all 14 comments)

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on June 28, 2010 at 1:34 pm

Thanks again Mike,if you ever lose that book you will be in trouble.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on June 28, 2010 at 5:15 pm

I was telling someone the other day,PatricaNC,I think. that I have seen on Cinema Treasures that you can buy a Almanac.Heck,I think I gave one to Nick,See if he will sell you his,Knowing Nick, He might give it to you.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on June 28, 2010 at 5:37 pm

I think you can look them up on the internet I am going to try today to see what I can find.Now back to the River Lane Outdoor Theatre.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on June 28, 2010 at 6:23 pm

I wish my Almanac had walk-in Theatres too,but I only have Drive-ins I would love to have movie theatres more so than the Drive-ins,I wonder if every other year they went back and forth?

rivest266
rivest266 on November 26, 2011 at 2:12 pm

I found an ad (May be the grand opening ad) from July 12th, 1948 and an aerial of the River Lane outdoor.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on October 23, 2016 at 12:05 am

1949 photo & circa 1976 print ad added courtesy of the Rockford Rocked Facebook page.

Maryxr7
Maryxr7 on January 25, 2017 at 7:19 am

I worked At the Riverlane for 3 years, was great times. The tower was where all the supplies for the consession stand were stored.

jwmovies
jwmovies on March 27, 2019 at 2:32 am

The address above is incorrect. This theater was located further west. On the other side of Industrial Ln look for the white building.

A more accurate address for this theater is 970 River Ln, Loves Park, IL 61111. This points directly to the entrance road.

Please update.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on June 26, 2019 at 12:00 am

I found the true Grand Opening ad in the Rockford Morning Star, indicating that it opened May 29, 1948. The opening program was Hold That Blonde! starring Veronica Lake, two cartoons, and the short Unusual Occupations.

More notes: “The River Lane Drive-In in Rockford, Ill., has been opened by the Riverlane Amusement Co. The company is controlled by the Schermer family of St. Louis.” —BoxOffice, June 26, 1948.

The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog listed the River Lane Outdoor, Highway 173, capacity 650, Exec: Manne Shermer, Riverlane Amusement Corp. For the 1952-56 Catalogs, the Capacity had gone up to 690 and the Riverlane exec had changed to Bill Dubinsky.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on February 26, 2020 at 12:43 pm

Boxoffice, May 1, 1948: “ROCKFORD, ILL. – The contract for construction of the 800-car drive-in in the Lover Park area of Rockford has been awarded by the Riverlane Amusement Corp., controlled by Mannie Burdie and Sidney Schermer of St. Louis. Work has progressed about 30 per cent. The theatre was designed by Leo F. Abrams and is scheduled to open May 30. It will cost well in excess of $100,000.”

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