The June 2, 1958 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page spread, with photos, of the “just-completed enlargement and remodeling of the concessions” at the Shawnee. “According to Paul Kelly, secretary-treasurer of the Dickinson Operating Co., only half as many persons as before are needed to man the stand in rush periods.”
Boxoffice, April 11, 1953: “GRANTS, N.M. – J. C. West, owner of the Lux Theatre here, has purchased $15,000 worth of equipment for a new drive-in to be located west of town.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 5, 1953: “J. C. West is opening his new 300-car drive-in at Grants, N.M., this month”
Boxoffice, Jan. 2, 1954: “J. C. West of Grants, N.M., expects to open his new 300-car drive-in there early in the spring.”
Same drive-in? Boxoffice, May 26, 1958: “WEST LIBERTY, KY. – The new Morgan Drive-In, first open-air theatre to be built in Morgan County, has been opened one mile north of West Liberty by Jay Burton, Joe D. Stacy and Dr. H. B. Murray, all of West Liberty. Built during the past winter, the drive-in has a 40x80-foot screen and will accommodate 300 cars.”
If it’s the same drive-in, it was Star-Lit for quite a while. Boxoffice, May 19, 1958: “GLENDIVE, MONT. – Bill Johnson, owner of the Star-Lit Drive-In announced the purchase of the theatre by Henry Hochhalter of Hardin for about $45,000.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 17, 1958: “The Westerner Drive-In here has been sold by Mrs. Robert Gingerich and Ennis Ray to the Reno Amusement Co., which will open the theatre this spring.”
Boxoffice, May 19, 1958: “The Westerner Drive-In here has been reopened by new Manager Barney Warrick after extensive renovations, which include a new 50x100-foot screen, new projection and sound equipment, new snack bar and installation of about $30,000 worth of new equipment. The theatre, now owned by the Reno Amusement & Realty Co., will operate seven days per week throughout the year, according to Warrick.”
Cy Lee and Paul Rothman built the Northside. In a May 13, 1950 note in Boxoffice, it was supposed to open with a week.
By the end of the year, Rothman had leased the Northside to D. C. Trester, effective Spring 1951. Then in June 1951, W. L. “Lloyd” Perry leased it from Rothman.
In January 1952, Kelso and Lem Lee bought a piece of the Northside and Starlight drive-ins from Rothman, then they completed the purchase just before they opened for the 1952 season in April. Lem Lee promised to add 350 seats for an indoor theater that fall.
In December 1954, Westland Theatres bought the Starlight and Northside from Lee Theatres. Westland continued to own the Northside as it advertised in 1960 newspapers, but by 1962, it had ceased advertising.
Oops, this is a Now Open ad. A press-release article buried on Page 38 of the same issue indicated that the Falcon opened the night before, on Aug. 2, 1969.
Boxoffice, Jan. 29, 1949: “M. C. Burles, district manager for Nace Theatres, made his first official swing through northern Arizona recently and spent part of two days discussing the theatre situation in Holbrook with William G. Trout, manager of the Roxy there. Upshot of the meeting was an announcement by Burles that a Nace theatre will be constructed in Holbrook some time in the spring. The site already has been selected. The house originally was scheduled to be built in 1948, but material shortages resulted in postponement of the project.”
Deadlines kept slipping even then. Motion Picture Herald, Aug. 7, 1948: “Wayne Baur putting in 300-seat theatre, Mancos, Colo., opening about September 15.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 1, 1949: “Wayne Bauer is building a 300-seat theatre at Mancos, Colo., which he hopes to open January 16”
Boxoffice, Oct. 19, 1957: “Porter Smith, owner of a drive-in at Aztec, N. M., and his manager, Paul Campbell, are building another drive-in. This one is between Aztec and Farmington, N. M., and will open in the spring”
Boxoffice, May 12, 1958: “Paul Campbell and Porter Smith have opened their new 350-car (with room for expansion) drive-in at Aztec, N. M. Campbell will manage”
Boxoffice, Jan. 7, 1950: “UINTAH (sic), COLO. – C. H. Ellison, who recently purchased the Uintah Theatre building, has renovated the heating plant and repaired and redecorated the front.”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1958: “E. M. Boughton has bought the Uintah, Fruita, Colo., from Mrs. Whitey Laumer.”
Boxoffice, March 31, 1958: “A $60,000 fire that destroyed the screen at the Starlite Drive-In March 12 may have been started by three boys, according to deputy sheriffs. A 13-year-old boy has admitted that he and two other boys, both 14, set fire to a fence running alongside the theatre the day of the screen fire. The boys said they tried to put out the fence fire with sand, then fled when this method failed to work.”
Boxoffice, June 16, 1951 (with photo): “Mr. and Mrs. Merle Swank of the Nova Theatre, Stockton, Kas., residents of Denver, and Don Phillips of Colby, Kas., recently purchased a drive-in at Longmont, Colo.”
Boxoffice, March 10, 1958: “Carl Halberg, owner of the Tri-C Drive-In, Albuquerque, has bought the Starvue at Longmont from Don Phillips and Merle Swank.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 10, 1958: “The Orpheum Theatre and Sunset Drive-In here have been purchased by Myron Bean and Lee Riley, owners and operators of the Starlite Drive-In at Forsyth, which they plan to sell.”
The Jan. 6, 1958 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page spread, with photos, of the owners' work to turn the Apache into a twin. “Different than many twin drive-ins, the screens are not exactly opposite each other. Instead of being on a straight line one of the screens is about a quarter of the way off of the straight layout. This was done so that the ramps would not interfere with the playground which was already located just past the boxoffice.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 6, 1958: “Russell Allen and Kelly Crawford are staring their third drive-in at Farmington, N. M. The new ozoner, to be named the Oasis, will accommodate 986 cars, and employ all of the latest improvements. … It will be located on a new highway being built into the city. The Apache was built in 1952, and was expanded into a twin last year, and the Valley was finished in 1954.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 21, 1957: “The Vista Drive-In, a new airer, was opened recently. It is on State Highway 78 near Lomita drive, halfway between Vista and Escondido.”
The Dec. 7, 1957 issue of Boxoffice ran a full-page spread, with photos, on the new Valli and the Veseth family that built it. “According to Carl Veseth, the drive-in has proven a very good venture, drawing people they have never seen in (their local) indoor house.”
I’ll post this here, even though I can’t find any other evidence that Gillette had a drive-in in the 1950s.
Boxoffice, Oct. 5, 1957: “GILLETTE, Wyo. – A couple of deer actually stopped the show at the local drive-in theatre recently. A buck and doe deer retreated to the drive-in, where they stood in front of the screen, blocking the film. The projectionist finally had to turn off the machines, while patrons chased the deer away so the show could continue.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 5, 1957: “The Western Star Drive-In has been reopened by the Long circuit after reconstruction of the screen which was destroyed in a windstorm last spring. Bill Kee, manager, said the new screen was anchored in foundations of concrete.”
Boxoffice, April 16, 1949: “SHERIDAN, WYO. – Articles of incorporation have been filed by the Sheridan Drive-In Theatre, Inc., and work will begin soon on a 438-car drive-in to be located one-quarter mile east of the Sheridan Flouring mill on Highway 14. The theatre will be semi-enclosed with a ten-foot galvanized metal fence to prevent lights from oncoming cars from flashing on the screen. The new firm is headed by H. M. Bennett.”
Boxoffice, May 21, 1949: “H. M. Bennett is building a 500-car drive-in, the Skyline, near Sheridan, Wyo., equipping it with Simplex booth and sound and National Theatre Supply car speakers”
Boxoffice, Aug. 10, 1957: “A bolt of lightning ripped through the Kit Carson drive-in, Taos, N. M., digging a ditch up to three feet deep across the ozoner. The storm took place in the afternoon. A bulldozer was utilized to put the ramps back in shape for the show at night.”
The June 2, 1958 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page spread, with photos, of the “just-completed enlargement and remodeling of the concessions” at the Shawnee. “According to Paul Kelly, secretary-treasurer of the Dickinson Operating Co., only half as many persons as before are needed to man the stand in rush periods.”
Boxoffice, June 2, 1958: “Ray Troyer has taken over the Gem, Hugo, Colo., and has reopened it”
(Note: Please ignore my earlier comment about the Trail, which was in adjacent Milan NM.)
Boxoffice, May 26, 1958: “J. C. West, owner of the Trail Drive-In and the Lux here, has opened his new 400-car Sahara Drive-In at Grants, N. M.”
Boxoffice, April 11, 1953: “GRANTS, N.M. – J. C. West, owner of the Lux Theatre here, has purchased $15,000 worth of equipment for a new drive-in to be located west of town.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 5, 1953: “J. C. West is opening his new 300-car drive-in at Grants, N.M., this month”
Boxoffice, Jan. 2, 1954: “J. C. West of Grants, N.M., expects to open his new 300-car drive-in there early in the spring.”
Same drive-in? Boxoffice, May 26, 1958: “WEST LIBERTY, KY. – The new Morgan Drive-In, first open-air theatre to be built in Morgan County, has been opened one mile north of West Liberty by Jay Burton, Joe D. Stacy and Dr. H. B. Murray, all of West Liberty. Built during the past winter, the drive-in has a 40x80-foot screen and will accommodate 300 cars.”
If it’s the same drive-in, it was Star-Lit for quite a while. Boxoffice, May 19, 1958: “GLENDIVE, MONT. – Bill Johnson, owner of the Star-Lit Drive-In announced the purchase of the theatre by Henry Hochhalter of Hardin for about $45,000.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 17, 1958: “The Westerner Drive-In here has been sold by Mrs. Robert Gingerich and Ennis Ray to the Reno Amusement Co., which will open the theatre this spring.”
Boxoffice, May 19, 1958: “The Westerner Drive-In here has been reopened by new Manager Barney Warrick after extensive renovations, which include a new 50x100-foot screen, new projection and sound equipment, new snack bar and installation of about $30,000 worth of new equipment. The theatre, now owned by the Reno Amusement & Realty Co., will operate seven days per week throughout the year, according to Warrick.”
Cy Lee and Paul Rothman built the Northside. In a May 13, 1950 note in Boxoffice, it was supposed to open with a week.
By the end of the year, Rothman had leased the Northside to D. C. Trester, effective Spring 1951. Then in June 1951, W. L. “Lloyd” Perry leased it from Rothman.
In January 1952, Kelso and Lem Lee bought a piece of the Northside and Starlight drive-ins from Rothman, then they completed the purchase just before they opened for the 1952 season in April. Lem Lee promised to add 350 seats for an indoor theater that fall.
In December 1954, Westland Theatres bought the Starlight and Northside from Lee Theatres. Westland continued to own the Northside as it advertised in 1960 newspapers, but by 1962, it had ceased advertising.
Oops, this is a Now Open ad. A press-release article buried on Page 38 of the same issue indicated that the Falcon opened the night before, on Aug. 2, 1969.
Boxoffice, Jan. 29, 1949: “M. C. Burles, district manager for Nace Theatres, made his first official swing through northern Arizona recently and spent part of two days discussing the theatre situation in Holbrook with William G. Trout, manager of the Roxy there. Upshot of the meeting was an announcement by Burles that a Nace theatre will be constructed in Holbrook some time in the spring. The site already has been selected. The house originally was scheduled to be built in 1948, but material shortages resulted in postponement of the project.”
Deadlines kept slipping even then. Motion Picture Herald, Aug. 7, 1948: “Wayne Baur putting in 300-seat theatre, Mancos, Colo., opening about September 15.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 1, 1949: “Wayne Bauer is building a 300-seat theatre at Mancos, Colo., which he hopes to open January 16”
Boxoffice, Oct. 19, 1957: “Porter Smith, owner of a drive-in at Aztec, N. M., and his manager, Paul Campbell, are building another drive-in. This one is between Aztec and Farmington, N. M., and will open in the spring”
Boxoffice, May 12, 1958: “Paul Campbell and Porter Smith have opened their new 350-car (with room for expansion) drive-in at Aztec, N. M. Campbell will manage”
Boxoffice, Jan. 7, 1950: “UINTAH (sic), COLO. – C. H. Ellison, who recently purchased the Uintah Theatre building, has renovated the heating plant and repaired and redecorated the front.”
Boxoffice, April 7, 1958: “E. M. Boughton has bought the Uintah, Fruita, Colo., from Mrs. Whitey Laumer.”
Boxoffice, March 31, 1958: “A $60,000 fire that destroyed the screen at the Starlite Drive-In March 12 may have been started by three boys, according to deputy sheriffs. A 13-year-old boy has admitted that he and two other boys, both 14, set fire to a fence running alongside the theatre the day of the screen fire. The boys said they tried to put out the fence fire with sand, then fled when this method failed to work.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 10, 1957: “The operators of the Tab Drive-In have filed a petition for bankruptcy.”
Boxoffice, March 24, 1958: “Wayne Arnold has renamed the Sage Drive-In in Phoenix the Vale”
Boxoffice, June 16, 1951 (with photo): “Mr. and Mrs. Merle Swank of the Nova Theatre, Stockton, Kas., residents of Denver, and Don Phillips of Colby, Kas., recently purchased a drive-in at Longmont, Colo.”
Boxoffice, March 10, 1958: “Carl Halberg, owner of the Tri-C Drive-In, Albuquerque, has bought the Starvue at Longmont from Don Phillips and Merle Swank.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 10, 1958: “The Orpheum Theatre and Sunset Drive-In here have been purchased by Myron Bean and Lee Riley, owners and operators of the Starlite Drive-In at Forsyth, which they plan to sell.”
The Jan. 6, 1958 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page spread, with photos, of the owners' work to turn the Apache into a twin. “Different than many twin drive-ins, the screens are not exactly opposite each other. Instead of being on a straight line one of the screens is about a quarter of the way off of the straight layout. This was done so that the ramps would not interfere with the playground which was already located just past the boxoffice.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 6, 1958: “Russell Allen and Kelly Crawford are staring their third drive-in at Farmington, N. M. The new ozoner, to be named the Oasis, will accommodate 986 cars, and employ all of the latest improvements. … It will be located on a new highway being built into the city. The Apache was built in 1952, and was expanded into a twin last year, and the Valley was finished in 1954.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 21, 1957: “The Vista Drive-In, a new airer, was opened recently. It is on State Highway 78 near Lomita drive, halfway between Vista and Escondido.”
The Dec. 7, 1957 issue of Boxoffice ran a full-page spread, with photos, on the new Valli and the Veseth family that built it. “According to Carl Veseth, the drive-in has proven a very good venture, drawing people they have never seen in (their local) indoor house.”
I’ll post this here, even though I can’t find any other evidence that Gillette had a drive-in in the 1950s.
Boxoffice, Oct. 5, 1957: “GILLETTE, Wyo. – A couple of deer actually stopped the show at the local drive-in theatre recently. A buck and doe deer retreated to the drive-in, where they stood in front of the screen, blocking the film. The projectionist finally had to turn off the machines, while patrons chased the deer away so the show could continue.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 5, 1957: “The Western Star Drive-In has been reopened by the Long circuit after reconstruction of the screen which was destroyed in a windstorm last spring. Bill Kee, manager, said the new screen was anchored in foundations of concrete.”
Boxoffice, April 16, 1949: “SHERIDAN, WYO. – Articles of incorporation have been filed by the Sheridan Drive-In Theatre, Inc., and work will begin soon on a 438-car drive-in to be located one-quarter mile east of the Sheridan Flouring mill on Highway 14. The theatre will be semi-enclosed with a ten-foot galvanized metal fence to prevent lights from oncoming cars from flashing on the screen. The new firm is headed by H. M. Bennett.”
Boxoffice, May 21, 1949: “H. M. Bennett is building a 500-car drive-in, the Skyline, near Sheridan, Wyo., equipping it with Simplex booth and sound and National Theatre Supply car speakers”
Boxoffice, Aug. 10, 1957: “A bolt of lightning ripped through the Kit Carson drive-in, Taos, N. M., digging a ditch up to three feet deep across the ozoner. The storm took place in the afternoon. A bulldozer was utilized to put the ramps back in shape for the show at night.”