I-44 Drive-In

49 Old Elam Avenue,
Valley Park, MO 63088

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MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on September 20, 2021 at 8:18 pm

Not that the MPA was super-accurate, but I don’t know why it always had the I-44’s capacity at just 200 cars. Aerial photos show at least a dozen ramps, and this Boxoffice article from June 18, 1973 mentioned 850 in-car speakers:

“The I-44 Drive-In Theatre, the newest open-air facility in the St. Louis metropolitan area, began its second year of operation March 31. The de luxe 850-speaker ozoner, a Wehrenberg Theatres operation, is located in suburban Peerless Park in St. Louis County at the intersection of Highway 141 and the recently completed super-highway, Interstate 44 … Gordon & Wilson Architects, Clayton, Mo., designed the facility, with Steve Kovac of Kovac Construction Co. handling the construction. The 850 Koropp speakers are located on 16 curved ramps. Each ramp has been specially elevated to provide quality viewing of the 100-foot screen. Three hundred Circle R Simplex in-car heaters have been provided for cold weather use during the year-round operation of the theatre. … The concessions building, featuring modern design and broad expanses of windows on two sides, is done in charcoal gray brightly accented in tangerine on the exterior. The interior design features a white acoustical tile ceiling, spatter-pattern beige asphalt tile floor covering, and avocado green Formica counter tops … The split-level building, with the concessions and storage areas, manager’s office and restrooms on the ground level, rises to a full second story at the extreme end above the restrooms to accommodate the well-placed and superbly equipped booth.”

JAlex
JAlex on July 1, 2019 at 9:24 am

When the drive-in was operating it was in Peerless Park. Peerless Park was not disincorporated until 1998, some 14 years after the drive-in closed.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on June 26, 2019 at 9:33 pm

Opened with “Diamonds are forever”, “A fustful of dollars” and “House of 1000 dolls”. What a pity, that this site has now been trashed!!

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on June 26, 2019 at 5:56 pm

To amplify JAlex’s comment, the I-44’s final ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was Sunday, Sept. 23, 1984.

The Motion Picture Almanac drive-in lists always had the I-44’s capacity at 200 cars.

jwmovies
jwmovies on December 6, 2016 at 2:55 am

Now Peerless Park Demolition. No longer in Peerless Park.

The address for this Drive-in is now 49 Old Elam Ave, Valley Park, MO 63088.

Please update.

rivest266
rivest266 on February 28, 2016 at 9:06 am

March 31st, 1972 grand opening ad in photo section.

Kyle Muldrow
Kyle Muldrow on November 11, 2012 at 6:49 pm

@Cholla: I know the I-44 was a storage lot for trucks and trailers for a while after it closed…and there may have been another business operating out of the lot for a while, but I don’t remember a swap meet ever being there. But that’s just my recollection…maybe someone else can confirm or set the record straight.

Kyle Muldrow
Kyle Muldrow on November 11, 2012 at 6:48 pm

Piccione Enterprises…weren’t they the same family that ran the Varsity Theater in U City? I believe Wehrenberg did booking for that theater, as well as the Apollo when Grace Piccione operated that place.

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on June 8, 2011 at 3:58 pm

I used to fight sleep driving home from a day at Six Flags St. Louis just to catch a glimpse of what was playing on this theatre’s screen.

Cholla
Cholla on October 8, 2010 at 2:14 pm

Wasn’t it a flea market for a while?

JAlex
JAlex on February 18, 2009 at 6:51 pm

Ceased operation in September 1984.

markp
markp on March 22, 2008 at 3:15 pm

From a drive-in to a garbage dump…that’s really really sad.

JAlex
JAlex on March 22, 2008 at 1:46 pm

Drive-in was a joint operation between Wehrenberg Theatres and Piccione Enterprises.

Facility opened March 31, 1972.

The venue was designed by Gordon and Wilson.