Holiday Drive-In
9900 Page Boulevard,
Overland,
MO
63132
9900 Page Boulevard,
Overland,
MO
63132
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Showing 1 - 25 of 34 comments
The theater needs to be added in the Mid-America Cinema Corp. previously-operated list.
The Holiday Drive-In closed after the 1985 season and was last operated by RKO. It probably closed due to AMC Theatres' purchase of RKO Mid-America.
Not sure what to make of this tidbit. The Holiday’s newspaper ads from Dec. 31, 1955 and Jan. 1, 1956 mentioned that it was “Now open under new management”. Then the Jan. 11, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Daily wrote, “Dick Fitzmaurice, former manager of the Rivoli Theatre in downtown St. Louis, has leased the Holiday Drive-in in Overland, St. Louis County, and has reopened it.”
By 1963, Fitzmaurice was working for Mid-America. Why would the company have leased the Holiday to him so soon after opening it?
Ahnnamaria did you work at the Cave Springs Cinema (Mid-America)?
February 27th, 1976 grand opening ad a 4-screen drive-in as well as the June 5th, 1955 original ad in the photo section.
Description has the opening year a tad early…venue opened June 5, 1955 with bill of “Suddenly” and “A Bullet is Waiting.”
Mid American had a screening room in their office building much like the Fox did in their basement. Movies were prescreened before their release. (Info passsed on from Brother Van Bibber)
Been a LONG LONG time since I’ve seen that building. :)
Crossing my fingers in hopes that someone out there in cyberspace has pics of the Holiday in the midst of its 4 screen era!
Thats a nice link Chris,Thanks.
More pics of the Holiday (and a plethora of movie ads) here: St. Louis Flashback Movie & Drive-In Theatres
And please don’t shoot me (CHUCK!) if my memory is a bit fuzzy on the details. Keep in mind, I was between the ages of 4-11 when I spent my time in this place.
The 1971 aerial is indeed the Holiday. I recognize the clump of buildings in the back as the Mid America Theatres offices. They were all 1 story buildings. The box office was to the left of the MA buildings. All they had was the one box office – even during the 4 screen era – and cars drove in through the left & right side. Which explains why all those cars were backed up way way way down Page on any given summer Saturday night in the late 70’s – early 80’s.
I need to play some more with that image to see what else I can ID.
Here is the 1958 aerial view. I used the cross-streets of Page Boulevard & Dielman Road in Overland.
http://tinyurl.com/yglneuk
It might be easier to click on the 2007 view on that link, as you can most likely tell from that view if the aerial shot is Page Boulevard.
That was the aerial view that came up when I entered the theater address. Was there another drive-in around that area in 1971?
Nice looking sign.
OK, two questions:
1) Was the Holiday in Overland or Olivette? The American Classic Images site says it’s in Olivette, but I always thought it was Overland.
2) About the aerial photo…are we certain that’s the Holiday? I didn’t find anything on the site that gave an address. Also, was that the concession/projection building all the way at the back of the lot? They must have had a really powerful projector to get the image all the way to the screen if that’s the case.
Feel free to correct if I missed something…
Here is a 1971 aerial view:
http://tinyurl.com/yedydqe
And while we’re on the subject…I’m sad when I go home to STL and see the Dodge dealership in St. Peters where the I-70 Drive-In used to be.
Dang, Norman. I feel your pain. I feel that same pain when I see the Shop And Save crap plastered over the Airway marquee. The funny part: Last time I was home, I drove in the Airway lot and I could count the cars shopping at the Shop And Save.
So sad.
Chris, I understand what you mean about missing the Holiday. I get sick everytime I pass the South Twin site and see a Dierberg’s.
RKO bought Mid-America sometime around 1984 (the chain was subsequently renamed RKO Mid-America Theatres). Then they were eventually bought out by AMC a year or so later.
actually the holiday was owned by rko theaters…….i was a projectionist at nearly all of the st.louis drive-ins for thirty years and paycheck stubs had rko theaters on them at one time
Feeling nostalgic today…
My last visit here was in Summer 1984 for a double feature of “Breakin” and “Fame” on the “deskanked” Screen 1 (the screen in the photo above). I say “deskanked” because, around 1982 or so, the Holiday had ditched showing cheerleader/nurse/teacher/summer camp counselor in heat flicks on this screen. Seeing mainstream flicks in this field felt very weird.
Closing night was September 1, 1985. At the time was part of the RKO Mid-America circuit, RKO Century Warner buying out Mid-America the previous May.