From the Steamboat Pilot of Steamboat Springs CO, Aug. 2, 1979: “‘The Warriors,’ a movie with an anti-gang theme, (really?) apparently didn’t make its point with Craig viewers. The Moffat County Sheriff’s Office received a call to make a drive through at the Monday night (July 30) showing of the film after the Motor Vu Drive-In employees reported the viewers were becoming hostile, according to a sheriff’s office report.”
Oct. 17, 1963’s Steamboat Pilot of Steamboat Springs CO had a note about Small Business Administration loans in Colorado. The only entry we’d care about was:
Name and Location: Bolt Theatres, Dove Creek
Amount of Loan: 19,000
No. of Emp.: 1
Nature of Business: Drive-In Theatre
From the Steamboat Pilot of Steamboat Springs CO, Aug. 10, 1950: “Construction is well underway on the new drive-in theatre west of Glenwood on Highways 6 and 24. Latest type screening and auditory facilities have been installed and the new theatre will be named ‘Canyon Drive-In Theatre.’”
Although it advertised in the Douglas County News as the Castle Rock Outdoor Cinema as late as 1973, this theater advertised as the Castle Rock Drive-In throughout 1976. Redevelopment plans were approved over the following winter, and although a kite contest was held on the site in the summer of 1977, the screen was dismantled that August.
The L & L Motor Vu opened on May 15, 1953, based on an article in the previous day’s Louisville Times. “Carmen Romano, owner of the Rex theater and Walter Houser, owner of the La-Fay theater in Lafayette started the outdoor theater a year ago.” The drive-in had given a “courtesy show” on May 13 to select friends and theater personnel, and the Lions club of Lafayette booked a preview show on May 14.
The opening program was “Flat Top” with the cartoon “The Car of Tomorrow” and the short “Fishing Feats”.
In a Looking Back roundup 10 years later, the Times reported that on March 11, 1971, “Carmen Romano of Louisville, and Walter Houser of Lafayette have sold the L & L Drive-In to Daryl Decker of Louisville.”
The renaming of the L&L didn’t take place until the middle of the 1980 season. The season-opening ad from the May 28, 1980 Louisville Times called it the L&L Drive-In. But by June 18 it was advertising there as the Star Lite on 10103 South Boulder Road, “Formerly the L&L Drive-In”. The Star Lite advertised into October that year, but I couldn’t find any ads for it in 1981.
Subsequent stories about redeveloping the drive-in site always called it the L&L or the L&L Motor Vu.
Looks like Steve Fitch gets the credit for this amazing picture, taken in July 1980. See https://www.artsy.net/artwork/steve-fitch-star-vu-drive-in-theater-longmont-colorado-july-1980
There’s a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, which included most of the details of the Sunset’s life. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Schumour Theaters, Inc., built the Sunset and chose its name from submitted contest entries. The 280-car drive-in was scheduled to open on Aug. 5, 1954, but heavy rains turned the as-yet ungraveled ramps to mud, so the actual grand opening was the following night. The first double feature was “The Outlaw Stallion” and “Nature’s Half Acre”.
At the time of the article, “Stan Dewsnup, whose family owns the Big Sky and Tru-Vu drive-ins in Delta and indoor theaters in Delta, Rifle, and Craig, now owns the Sunset, which has been closed since 1976.”
There’s a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, which included most of the details of the Tsaya’s life. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Ralph Tanner and Raymond Taylor built the Tsaya, which opened on April 21, 1955. The opening show was “Rails Into Laramie”. The drive-in held 360 cars and had a wide 42x84-foot screen mounted on a 65-foot tower.
The owners of the Arroyo Drive-In acquired the Tsaya in the early 1960s. By May 1967, Margory Gai had closed the Tsaya, eventually repurchased by Tanner. “The theater was torn down in the 1970s and replaced by the Sikis Village mobile home court.”
There’s a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, although he mistook the Arroyo’s April 17, 1952 season-opening ad (clearly marked as “Spring Opening”) for the grand opening. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Edward Davidson built the Arroyo, which held 300 cars. In 1952, Terenzio and Anna Gai bought a half-interest, and they eventually became its sole owners. In the “early ‘60s,” their daughter Margory acquired the Arroyo along with the rest of the town’s theaters.
In 1967, Margory Gai sold the Arroyo along with Cortez’s indoor theaters to Allen Theatres, started by Lane Allen of Farmington. “In 1988 Lee (sic?) learned that it would cost him $7,500 to repaint the screen, and he decided to close the theater.” He gave the sign to a local collector.
According to a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, the Julesburg was renamed the Arrow in less than a year. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Herman Koeppen and M. V. Nygren built the Julesburg, which opened May 4, 1955. Its opening double feature was “Silver City” and “The Savage”. The Julesburg held 318 cars.
Herb and Doris Martens, who ran a small airport nearby, bought the drive-in and renamed it the Arrow. “New flashing arrows pointed to a 20-foot neon arrow at the entrance.” They replaced the screen with a wide 76-footer and added 50 speakers to bring capacity up to 368.
In 1969, a major electrical storm hit, and a bolt of lightning somehow shattered the bulbs in the light fixtures and fried the sound system. The Arrow never reopened.
According to a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, the Kar-Vu had a long and confusing history. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Bell and Mr. and Mrs. Everett Toomey of Sunray TX announced in 1957 that they were building the Sunnyside, but when it opened on July 4, 1957, it was advertised as the Sunset. It had a 35x70-foot screen tower and could hold 350 cars. The opening program was “Davy Crockett and the River Pirates,” “Man In Space,” and a cartoon.
In 1961, the Bells and Toomeys sublet the drive-in to Bob Hough and Doyle Smith of Dumas TX, who renamed it the Apache. In 1966, Baca Theaters (consisting of Bernard D. Newman and Ike and Ruby Ross) acquired the drive-in and renamed it the Kar-Vu.
In 2000, Ruby Ross sold the Kar-Vu and the local indoor Capitol theater to Trent and Anna High. A windstorm hit the Kar-Vu in 2002, taking panels off the screen tower. The article pretty much ends there.
In the 1969 aerial photo of the site, the drive-in was long gone, and it was also missing from a 1968 topo map. The last image I can find is a 1965 topo, which labeled the intersection Kings Corner.
This could have been the Mesa’s predecessor, or not.
“The Princess theater at La Junta has been leased by E. M. Role, who will conduct it as a five-cent theater.” – Motography, April 1911
On second thought, this note from the Sept. 7, 1935 Motion Picture Daily sounds more like the birth of the Mesa, since the seating number is close:
“La Junta, Col., Sept. 6. — A new theatre remodeled from a store building will be opened here Sept. 15 with Crawford Brothers of Oklahoma as operators. It will seat 450. Fox has two houses here, but one of them is closed.”
A note in the Sept. 23, 1935 Motion Picture Daily said that the Fox was reseating the Elk in La Junta, and it was to reopen soon.
“Rick Ricketson, division manager for Fox Intermountain Theatres, this week closed the Kit Carson theatre at La Junta, Col., and the Plaza, at Las Vegas, N. M.” – Motion Picture Herald, May 1, 1937
“Fox has closed the Kit Carson, La Junta, Colo, indefinitely, and
re-opened Rialto, Walsenburg, Colo., two days a week.” – Variety, Aug. 2, 1939
“LA JUNTA, COLO. — Construction of the new 350-car drive-in being erected on route 50, two miles east of here, is expected to be completed by September 1, according to J. W. Barton and C. M. Alderson, who will operate the ozoner. A steel tower is being erected to support
a 60x54-foot screen. A building housing the projection booth and a snack bar is nearing completion. A staff of ten persons will be employed.” – Boxoffice, Aug. 21, 1948
“LA JUNTA, COLO. — The management of drive-in theatres in Dodge City and Garden City, Kas., has announced plans for building an ozoner here. Glen A. Cooper of Dodge City, associated with Wade Renick of Garden City, said the ozoner probably would be located on the highway west of La Junta. The capacity would be 350-cars. Renick and Cooper said they hoped to get the showcase in operation by fall.” – Boxoffice, Aug. 28, 1948 (I haven’t seen any evidence that this one ever got built.)
“The 40 boys in the Koshare Boy Scouts, La Junta, Colo., decided to go to the La Junta Drive-In following one of their evening meetings. And they all went for $1, since it was ”$1 night,“ and any car was admitted regardless of the number of occupants. They went in their bus.” – The Exhibitor, July 8, 1953
The La Junta’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book drive-in list was the 1949 edition, and it stayed there through at least 1966.
The Theatre Catalog first listed the La Junta in its 1949-50 edition, capacity 350, owners C. Alderson & W. Barton. The 1952 edition updated that info to 550 and Basil Smith, and that’s how it stayed through at least 1955-56.
The Motion Picture Almanac had the same info in its first drive-in list (1950-51) as the 1949-50 Catalog. Unlike the Catalog series, it kept that owner info through the 1953-54 MPA. In 1955, that changed to Basil Smith & C. M. Alderson. That info continued through 1966, then the La Junta was listed as a 350-car drive-in through 1976. When the MPA rebooted its drive-in list for 1977, it noticed that Commonwealth now owned the La Junta. The drive-in fell off the drive-in list in 1985, though Commonwealth’s circuit listings didn’t drop the La Junta till 1986.
Thanks for adding the drive-in, DDiT. In the 1959 aerial, it sure looks like a auto parts lot. In 1966, it looked like an auto parts lot with even more wrecked cars. The 1974 aerial is really odd – only about two dozen cars linger, there are trees growing among the ramps, but the screen is still up.
If if closed early, the Logan also opened early. Its first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book was the 1948 edition. The Logan (capacity 300, owner Elmer Brown) was also in the first Theatre Catalog list in the 1948-49 edition.
The Logan was in the first Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list (1950-51 edition) with a capacity of 300, owner “Logan Drive-In Theatre; Elmer H. Brown”. It stayed that way through the 1966 edition, proving once again that the MPA was slow to notice change, and the Logan kept its listing until somebody rebooted the MPA list in 1977.
On Sept. 5, 2019, the Beaver County Times wrote “Starting their local empire in 1949 with the Rose Drive-In in Harrison City, the Warrens eventually came to own the Blue Dell and Bel-Aire drive-ins in North Huntingdon and the Super 30 Drive-In in Irwin.”
On the other hand, I can’t find any listing for the Rose before the 1952 Theatre Catalog.
The Buckskin’s final appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac series was the 1976 edition, implying that it closed during the 1967-76 decade when the MPA folks didn’t notice many changes.
Topo maps showed the intact Valley through 1979. The 1985 topo map had the Valley’s outline without the line for the screen.
Aerials showed nothing growing where the screen once stood, and the most recent Google Earth view showed two skinny metallic lines at the old screen tower, but nothing is visible from the road in the 2018 Google Street View.
From the Steamboat Pilot of Steamboat Springs CO, Aug. 2, 1979: “‘The Warriors,’ a movie with an anti-gang theme, (really?) apparently didn’t make its point with Craig viewers. The Moffat County Sheriff’s Office received a call to make a drive through at the Monday night (July 30) showing of the film after the Motor Vu Drive-In employees reported the viewers were becoming hostile, according to a sheriff’s office report.”
Oct. 17, 1963’s Steamboat Pilot of Steamboat Springs CO had a note about Small Business Administration loans in Colorado. The only entry we’d care about was:
Name and Location: Bolt Theatres, Dove Creek
Amount of Loan: 19,000
No. of Emp.: 1
Nature of Business: Drive-In Theatre
From the Steamboat Pilot of Steamboat Springs CO, Aug. 10, 1950: “Construction is well underway on the new drive-in theatre west of Glenwood on Highways 6 and 24. Latest type screening and auditory facilities have been installed and the new theatre will be named ‘Canyon Drive-In Theatre.’”
Although it advertised in the Douglas County News as the Castle Rock Outdoor Cinema as late as 1973, this theater advertised as the Castle Rock Drive-In throughout 1976. Redevelopment plans were approved over the following winter, and although a kite contest was held on the site in the summer of 1977, the screen was dismantled that August.
The L & L Motor Vu opened on May 15, 1953, based on an article in the previous day’s Louisville Times. “Carmen Romano, owner of the Rex theater and Walter Houser, owner of the La-Fay theater in Lafayette started the outdoor theater a year ago.” The drive-in had given a “courtesy show” on May 13 to select friends and theater personnel, and the Lions club of Lafayette booked a preview show on May 14.
The opening program was “Flat Top” with the cartoon “The Car of Tomorrow” and the short “Fishing Feats”.
In a Looking Back roundup 10 years later, the Times reported that on March 11, 1971, “Carmen Romano of Louisville, and Walter Houser of Lafayette have sold the L & L Drive-In to Daryl Decker of Louisville.”
The renaming of the L&L didn’t take place until the middle of the 1980 season. The season-opening ad from the May 28, 1980 Louisville Times called it the L&L Drive-In. But by June 18 it was advertising there as the Star Lite on 10103 South Boulder Road, “Formerly the L&L Drive-In”. The Star Lite advertised into October that year, but I couldn’t find any ads for it in 1981.
Subsequent stories about redeveloping the drive-in site always called it the L&L or the L&L Motor Vu.
Looks like Steve Fitch gets the credit for this amazing picture, taken in July 1980. See https://www.artsy.net/artwork/steve-fitch-star-vu-drive-in-theater-longmont-colorado-july-1980
There’s a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, which included most of the details of the Sunset’s life. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Schumour Theaters, Inc., built the Sunset and chose its name from submitted contest entries. The 280-car drive-in was scheduled to open on Aug. 5, 1954, but heavy rains turned the as-yet ungraveled ramps to mud, so the actual grand opening was the following night. The first double feature was “The Outlaw Stallion” and “Nature’s Half Acre”.
At the time of the article, “Stan Dewsnup, whose family owns the Big Sky and Tru-Vu drive-ins in Delta and indoor theaters in Delta, Rifle, and Craig, now owns the Sunset, which has been closed since 1976.”
There’s a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, which included most of the details of the Tsaya’s life. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Ralph Tanner and Raymond Taylor built the Tsaya, which opened on April 21, 1955. The opening show was “Rails Into Laramie”. The drive-in held 360 cars and had a wide 42x84-foot screen mounted on a 65-foot tower.
The owners of the Arroyo Drive-In acquired the Tsaya in the early 1960s. By May 1967, Margory Gai had closed the Tsaya, eventually repurchased by Tanner. “The theater was torn down in the 1970s and replaced by the Sikis Village mobile home court.”
There’s a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, although he mistook the Arroyo’s April 17, 1952 season-opening ad (clearly marked as “Spring Opening”) for the grand opening. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Edward Davidson built the Arroyo, which held 300 cars. In 1952, Terenzio and Anna Gai bought a half-interest, and they eventually became its sole owners. In the “early ‘60s,” their daughter Margory acquired the Arroyo along with the rest of the town’s theaters.
In 1967, Margory Gai sold the Arroyo along with Cortez’s indoor theaters to Allen Theatres, started by Lane Allen of Farmington. “In 1988 Lee (sic?) learned that it would cost him $7,500 to repaint the screen, and he decided to close the theater.” He gave the sign to a local collector.
According to a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, the Julesburg was renamed the Arrow in less than a year. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Herman Koeppen and M. V. Nygren built the Julesburg, which opened May 4, 1955. Its opening double feature was “Silver City” and “The Savage”. The Julesburg held 318 cars.
Herb and Doris Martens, who ran a small airport nearby, bought the drive-in and renamed it the Arrow. “New flashing arrows pointed to a 20-foot neon arrow at the entrance.” They replaced the screen with a wide 76-footer and added 50 speakers to bring capacity up to 368.
In 1969, a major electrical storm hit, and a bolt of lightning somehow shattered the bulbs in the light fixtures and fried the sound system. The Arrow never reopened.
According to a magnificent article by Mark Wolfe in the Winter 2007 issue of Colorado Heritage, the Kar-Vu had a long and confusing history. The article, “Silver Screens Under Starry Skies,” is hard to find (cough Google), but here are the high points:
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Bell and Mr. and Mrs. Everett Toomey of Sunray TX announced in 1957 that they were building the Sunnyside, but when it opened on July 4, 1957, it was advertised as the Sunset. It had a 35x70-foot screen tower and could hold 350 cars. The opening program was “Davy Crockett and the River Pirates,” “Man In Space,” and a cartoon.
In 1961, the Bells and Toomeys sublet the drive-in to Bob Hough and Doyle Smith of Dumas TX, who renamed it the Apache. In 1966, Baca Theaters (consisting of Bernard D. Newman and Ike and Ruby Ross) acquired the drive-in and renamed it the Kar-Vu.
In 2000, Ruby Ross sold the Kar-Vu and the local indoor Capitol theater to Trent and Anna High. A windstorm hit the Kar-Vu in 2002, taking panels off the screen tower. The article pretty much ends there.
The Chief was still outlined in a 1984 topo map but was gone by the 1988 map.
This looks like a detail of John Margolies' 1991 photo, now effectively in the public domain at the Library of Congress web site.
This photo is identical to John Margolies' 1980 photo, now effectively in the public domain at the Library of Congress web site.
In the 1969 aerial photo of the site, the drive-in was long gone, and it was also missing from a 1968 topo map. The last image I can find is a 1965 topo, which labeled the intersection Kings Corner.
According to a Pacific Daily News story, this photo is from The Archive at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery.
This could have been the Mesa’s predecessor, or not.
“The Princess theater at La Junta has been leased by E. M. Role, who will conduct it as a five-cent theater.” – Motography, April 1911
On second thought, this note from the Sept. 7, 1935 Motion Picture Daily sounds more like the birth of the Mesa, since the seating number is close:
“La Junta, Col., Sept. 6. — A new theatre remodeled from a store building will be opened here Sept. 15 with Crawford Brothers of Oklahoma as operators. It will seat 450. Fox has two houses here, but one of them is closed.”
A note in the Sept. 23, 1935 Motion Picture Daily said that the Fox was reseating the Elk in La Junta, and it was to reopen soon.
“Rick Ricketson, division manager for Fox Intermountain Theatres, this week closed the Kit Carson theatre at La Junta, Col., and the Plaza, at Las Vegas, N. M.” – Motion Picture Herald, May 1, 1937
“Fox has closed the Kit Carson, La Junta, Colo, indefinitely, and re-opened Rialto, Walsenburg, Colo., two days a week.” – Variety, Aug. 2, 1939
“LA JUNTA, COLO. — Construction of the new 350-car drive-in being erected on route 50, two miles east of here, is expected to be completed by September 1, according to J. W. Barton and C. M. Alderson, who will operate the ozoner. A steel tower is being erected to support a 60x54-foot screen. A building housing the projection booth and a snack bar is nearing completion. A staff of ten persons will be employed.” – Boxoffice, Aug. 21, 1948
“LA JUNTA, COLO. — The management of drive-in theatres in Dodge City and Garden City, Kas., has announced plans for building an ozoner here. Glen A. Cooper of Dodge City, associated with Wade Renick of Garden City, said the ozoner probably would be located on the highway west of La Junta. The capacity would be 350-cars. Renick and Cooper said they hoped to get the showcase in operation by fall.” – Boxoffice, Aug. 28, 1948 (I haven’t seen any evidence that this one ever got built.)
“The 40 boys in the Koshare Boy Scouts, La Junta, Colo., decided to go to the La Junta Drive-In following one of their evening meetings. And they all went for $1, since it was ”$1 night,“ and any car was admitted regardless of the number of occupants. They went in their bus.” – The Exhibitor, July 8, 1953
The La Junta’s first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book drive-in list was the 1949 edition, and it stayed there through at least 1966.
The Theatre Catalog first listed the La Junta in its 1949-50 edition, capacity 350, owners C. Alderson & W. Barton. The 1952 edition updated that info to 550 and Basil Smith, and that’s how it stayed through at least 1955-56.
The Motion Picture Almanac had the same info in its first drive-in list (1950-51) as the 1949-50 Catalog. Unlike the Catalog series, it kept that owner info through the 1953-54 MPA. In 1955, that changed to Basil Smith & C. M. Alderson. That info continued through 1966, then the La Junta was listed as a 350-car drive-in through 1976. When the MPA rebooted its drive-in list for 1977, it noticed that Commonwealth now owned the La Junta. The drive-in fell off the drive-in list in 1985, though Commonwealth’s circuit listings didn’t drop the La Junta till 1986.
Thanks for adding the drive-in, DDiT. In the 1959 aerial, it sure looks like a auto parts lot. In 1966, it looked like an auto parts lot with even more wrecked cars. The 1974 aerial is really odd – only about two dozen cars linger, there are trees growing among the ramps, but the screen is still up.
If if closed early, the Logan also opened early. Its first appearance in the Film Daily Year Book was the 1948 edition. The Logan (capacity 300, owner Elmer Brown) was also in the first Theatre Catalog list in the 1948-49 edition.
The Logan was in the first Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list (1950-51 edition) with a capacity of 300, owner “Logan Drive-In Theatre; Elmer H. Brown”. It stayed that way through the 1966 edition, proving once again that the MPA was slow to notice change, and the Logan kept its listing until somebody rebooted the MPA list in 1977.
On Sept. 5, 2019, the Beaver County Times wrote “Starting their local empire in 1949 with the Rose Drive-In in Harrison City, the Warrens eventually came to own the Blue Dell and Bel-Aire drive-ins in North Huntingdon and the Super 30 Drive-In in Irwin.”
On the other hand, I can’t find any listing for the Rose before the 1952 Theatre Catalog.
The Buckskin’s final appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac series was the 1976 edition, implying that it closed during the 1967-76 decade when the MPA folks didn’t notice many changes.
Topo maps showed the intact Valley through 1979. The 1985 topo map had the Valley’s outline without the line for the screen.
Aerials showed nothing growing where the screen once stood, and the most recent Google Earth view showed two skinny metallic lines at the old screen tower, but nothing is visible from the road in the 2018 Google Street View.