63rd Street Drive-In

8200 E. 63rd Street,
Kansas City, MO 64133

1400 cars

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Additional Info

Functions: Swap Meet

Nearby Theaters

63rd Street Drive-In

The 63rd Street Drive-In opened on June 3, 1955 with Alan Ladd in “Drumbeat” & Robert Taylor in “Rogue Cop”. It was operated by Shniderman & Sutter. It had a 700 car capacity. By 1963 it had a capacity for 1,400 cars. A second screen was added in the 1990’s and the twin drive-in operated successfully until 1998 when it was closed. Sound was by both traditional pole speakers and radio.

The drive-in is now used for a flea market/swap meet.

Contributed by Chuck Van Bibber

Recent comments (view all 12 comments)

pellboy
pellboy on June 20, 2013 at 1:49 pm

Thanks for posting those ads. Interesting period for the drive-in theatre as you can see from that list that some were showing low budget ‘B’ movies while others were offering first-run, mainstream fare.

Rezfilmbuff
Rezfilmbuff on April 5, 2015 at 4:26 pm

Ton’s of early Saturday mornings were spent traveling to this drive-in for the swap meet. Always be a guy with VHS tapes to look over (bought Aliens/1986) and the guy that sold his home made salsa dip. Halfway point always seemed to be that concession stand (burger and drink).

dansdriveintheater
dansdriveintheater on November 15, 2018 at 9:10 am

screens are gone and it sure looks like it was a triplex drive-in theater

Kenmore
Kenmore on November 15, 2018 at 10:49 am

A 1963 aerial shows a single screen as the drive-in just opened. A 1969, 1970, and 1990 aerial photo still shows a single screen.

A second screen does not appear until a 1997 aerial. There is no evidence of a third screen nor the additional projection booth needed to make a third screen work.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on July 29, 2019 at 12:38 pm

The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog included the 63st Street, capacity 700, owners Shniderman and Sutter. Which lined up with this note from the Feb. 4, 1956 issue of BoxOffice: “The suit filed by Harold Lux against the E&S Theatre Enterprises, operating the 63rd Street Drive-In, as been settled out of court on a nuisance value basis. E. S. Sutter and Alex Shniderman, partners in the company, said $900 was paid, including the amount to Lux and his attorneys and the court costs.”

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on August 12, 2019 at 5:56 pm

“Construction had begun at the 63rd Street Drive-In to expand its car capacity to 1,500 cars. The screen tower will be a new entrance road and a third boxoffice. The expansion will cost around $200,000 in 18 months.” — Boxoffice, April 25, 1960

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on January 9, 2020 at 7:52 pm

The May 7, 1955 issue of Boxoffice included a full-page on the 63rd Street with a diagram of the layout including an ice skating rink to be in operation during the drive-in’s off-season. “The drive-in opening is scheduled for late May.”

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on April 8, 2021 at 7:26 pm

Boxoffice, Oct. 27, 1956: “Louis Sutter and Alex Shniderman, who operate the 63rd Street Drive-In, announced an expansion program will start the last week in October with the building of a new entrance on Highway 50. New Electricmode in-car heaters are already being installed and the drive-in will operate all winter.”

rivest266
rivest266 on July 24, 2022 at 2:54 am

This opened on June 3rd, 1955. Grand opening ad posted.

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