I guess this must have been just before the name change.
Boxoffice, Sept. 24, 1949: “CORVALLIS, ORE. - Owner Fred Porter has changed the entrance of his Majestic Theatre here, building it into a sweeping curve to allow more space for displays. Pine columns replaced the pillars and recessed lighting was set into the ceiling.”
San Juan Record, April 21, 1955: “Norman and Connie Nielson announce that construction is now under way for their drive-in theater, and will be rushed to completion for the coming season. They will have the most modern equipment available with eighty foot screen and accommodations for three hundred cars. They have an engineer from Salt Lake and as soon as the equipment arrives, the steel man will come and erect the screen. Opening date will be announced later.”
Thanks to the Louisville History folks, who have shown me my error, at least one of them.
Although it was generally described during its lifetime as being in Louisville (it was just outside the city limits), the former L&L/Star Lite site is just barely in current-day Lafayette CO.
Although typical for the segregated times back then, the unnecessary inclusion of racial descriptions goes against today’s journalistic standards. My note from May 2019 covered the incident as was relevant to the drive-in.
I presume Craig Crawley’s adventure was related to the tornado that ripped down the Woodlane’s screen in October 1966.
And thinking of unusual drive-in names, I believe Missouri’s Woodlane is truly unique.
That is an excellent point, 50sSnipes! “Starline” was used in several company names, plus an apparently legendary South Australia drive-in, but I could find only one (other?) Starline Drive-In in the US. It was in Hines WV, and I just submitted the info to CT.
Ludington Daily News, June 28, 1963: “The 4-Star Theater in Scottville and the Starlite Drive-In Theater just east of Ludington are owned and operated by Glenn G. Wallace, who alternates the operation of the two. The 4-Star is open in the winter, closing when the Starlite opens in the spring, and reopening in the fall when the Drive-In closes. The Starlite plays mostly double features, shows being changed three, sometimes four times each week. Every Thursday night is Buck Night, with prices being a buck a carload. Saturday night is Spook Show and Dusk-to-Dawn shows - the features starting at sundown and Saturday night and continuing on until daybreak Sunday morning. Included in the features every Saturday night is a science fiction, mystery or suspense picture.”
Was the Starlite’s opening postponed a little? It happens…
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 4, 1964: “Curly Burns has assumed buying and booking duties for Jack Jones' Blue Ridge and the new Starline (sic) Drive-In, Milledgeville, Ga.”
Just sayin', this drive-in was always listed under Milledgeville GA, and Kenmore’s address shows up with a Milledgeville Zip Code in Google Maps. Maybe CT should move the Cadet under Milledgeville?
Was there briefly a second drive-in in Boron? Since I can’t find even one on aerial photos, it seems unlikely. However…
Boxoffice, Sept. 30, 1963: (in Los Angeles notes) “Gilbert Evans, formerly with Vincent Miranda at the Lyric Theatre in Huntington Park, is opening the Sky Line Drive-In at Boron City.”
LA Times, Oct. 3, 1963: (movie listings) “BORON, Starline Drive-In, Hwy. 466 The Road to Hong Kong”
Similar listings appeared through at least the rest of October. Boron’s Starline had disappeared from the LA Times listings in 1964.
Boxoffice, Aug. 25, 1980: “Robert Maestri, of Oregon-California Theatres, Inc., announced the start of the conversion of the Broadway Theatre in Yreka to a twin cinema with a total seating capacity of 575. The complex will feature all new deluxe projection, sound, seating and refreshment facilities. Remodeling work is expected to be completed in late September.”
Boxoffice, April 19, 1952: “Mr. and Mrs. Roy M. Avery, well known throughout Siskiyou county, recently purchased the Shastona Theatre in Mount Shasta from Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Hammond … Avery’s brother Don and his wife, operate the theatre at Etna.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 11, 1950: “YREKA, CALIF. - Surveyors are at work on the site here where a 425-car, $65,000 drive-in is to be erected by Robert L. Lippert Theatres. The drive-in will be built south of town and opened about April 1. The firm’s construction superintendent J. E. Henning is here now supervising work.”
In Boxoffice’s roundup of drive-ins opened in 1950, (printed Feb. 17, 1951), it showed the 380-car Yreka as already in operation, owned by Robert Lippert.
The Jan. 10, 1953 Boxoffice magazine drive-in roundup showed the Cloverleaf as built in 1952 and in operation with a capacity of 700 cars, owned by Community Theatres.
Near the other side of the drive-in’s life, the Aug. 1, 1988 issue reported that Dustin Palmer had shifted from managing Topeka’s Dickinson six-plex to the Cloverleaf, “which re-opened May 27.”
davidcoppock, the Grand Opening flyer in the photos here included “The most in fine food and snack bar refreshments”
Denny Pine, thanks for nailing down the Circle’s closing date. Here’s a memory of the place from the Albuquerque Tribune decades later (7/16/87):
“Even the oddball Circle Drive-In, also known as the Autoscope, is long gone. Located at 2900 Carlisle Blvd., N.E. in the early 1960s, the Circle projected movies via mirrors to a battery of 3-by-5 foot television-like screens, one in front of each car. But the Circle owners, who showed X-rated films at drive-ins in Joplin, Mo., didn’t realize the strength of Albuquerque winds. Evening breezes kept the Circle from ever working properly.”
On Jan. 19, 2024, there was a small fire behind the dormant Garberville. According to a story in Redheaded Blackbelt, firefighters ran a hose through the theater to quickly extinguish the fire.
The article said that the building had been sold after the theater closed in 2016. Renovation efforts since then have been intermittent. “An unidentified man at the scene stated that the theatre would reopen in approximately 18 months.”
After years of frustration, I found the Garberville! The great, helpful folks at the UC-Berkeley library pointed me to FrameFinder, an aerial photo tool hosted by UC-Santa Barbara. A 1954 aerial photo shows the drive-in pretty much exactly where the Caltrans yard is today.
I’ll leave it to Kenmore and others to estimate the capacity based on that photo. There are a lot of ramps there.
The Esquire is scheduled to close on July 17. More about its troubles in the Denver Post.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog also listed the Riverdale under Roy, owned by Darrell Tullis, capacity 554 cars.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the “Weber Motor Vu D. I.” under Ogden, owned by Associated Amuse. Co. and Clyde Blasius, capacity 726 cars.
A July 2023 Google Street View image showed the Motor Vu closed but intact.
The 1955 Theatre Catalog listed the Starlite under Dragerton, owned by Bernard W. Cline and Philip Turner, capacity 250 cars.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog had a different spelling, the Motor-View, owned by J. N. Bills, capacity 580 cars.
I guess this must have been just before the name change.
Boxoffice, Sept. 24, 1949: “CORVALLIS, ORE. - Owner Fred Porter has changed the entrance of his Majestic Theatre here, building it into a sweeping curve to allow more space for displays. Pine columns replaced the pillars and recessed lighting was set into the ceiling.”
San Juan Record, April 21, 1955: “Norman and Connie Nielson announce that construction is now under way for their drive-in theater, and will be rushed to completion for the coming season. They will have the most modern equipment available with eighty foot screen and accommodations for three hundred cars. They have an engineer from Salt Lake and as soon as the equipment arrives, the steel man will come and erect the screen. Opening date will be announced later.”
Thanks to the Louisville History folks, who have shown me my error, at least one of them.
Although it was generally described during its lifetime as being in Louisville (it was just outside the city limits), the former L&L/Star Lite site is just barely in current-day Lafayette CO.
Although typical for the segregated times back then, the unnecessary inclusion of racial descriptions goes against today’s journalistic standards. My note from May 2019 covered the incident as was relevant to the drive-in.
I presume Craig Crawley’s adventure was related to the tornado that ripped down the Woodlane’s screen in October 1966.
And thinking of unusual drive-in names, I believe Missouri’s Woodlane is truly unique.
That is an excellent point, 50sSnipes! “Starline” was used in several company names, plus an apparently legendary South Australia drive-in, but I could find only one (other?) Starline Drive-In in the US. It was in Hines WV, and I just submitted the info to CT.
Ludington Daily News, June 28, 1963: “The 4-Star Theater in Scottville and the Starlite Drive-In Theater just east of Ludington are owned and operated by Glenn G. Wallace, who alternates the operation of the two. The 4-Star is open in the winter, closing when the Starlite opens in the spring, and reopening in the fall when the Drive-In closes. The Starlite plays mostly double features, shows being changed three, sometimes four times each week. Every Thursday night is Buck Night, with prices being a buck a carload. Saturday night is Spook Show and Dusk-to-Dawn shows - the features starting at sundown and Saturday night and continuing on until daybreak Sunday morning. Included in the features every Saturday night is a science fiction, mystery or suspense picture.”
Was the Starlite’s opening postponed a little? It happens…
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 4, 1964: “Curly Burns has assumed buying and booking duties for Jack Jones' Blue Ridge and the new Starline (sic) Drive-In, Milledgeville, Ga.”
Just sayin', this drive-in was always listed under Milledgeville GA, and Kenmore’s address shows up with a Milledgeville Zip Code in Google Maps. Maybe CT should move the Cadet under Milledgeville?
Thanks for your patience, Kenmore. I finally found the drive-in in one of those 1962 aerials. If only they’d had a 1963 photo of the Starline. ;)
Was there briefly a second drive-in in Boron? Since I can’t find even one on aerial photos, it seems unlikely. However…
Boxoffice, Sept. 30, 1963: (in Los Angeles notes) “Gilbert Evans, formerly with Vincent Miranda at the Lyric Theatre in Huntington Park, is opening the Sky Line Drive-In at Boron City.”
LA Times, Oct. 3, 1963: (movie listings) “BORON, Starline Drive-In, Hwy. 466 The Road to Hong Kong”
Similar listings appeared through at least the rest of October. Boron’s Starline had disappeared from the LA Times listings in 1964.
The FrameFinder site has a number of 1960s aerial photos available around Boron, but I haven’t found a nearby drive-in yet.
Two scraps that indicate the McDowell stayed in the picture.
Boxoffice, May 31, 1965: “Keith McDowell of the Desert Lake Drive-In, Boron, Calif., has opened the theatre for the season”
Boxoffice, May 2, 1966: “Boron, Calif., out on the desert, sent Keith McDowell of the Desert Lake Drive-In to (Los Angeles) Filmrow on business.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 25, 1980: “Robert Maestri, of Oregon-California Theatres, Inc., announced the start of the conversion of the Broadway Theatre in Yreka to a twin cinema with a total seating capacity of 575. The complex will feature all new deluxe projection, sound, seating and refreshment facilities. Remodeling work is expected to be completed in late September.”
Boxoffice, April 19, 1952: “Mr. and Mrs. Roy M. Avery, well known throughout Siskiyou county, recently purchased the Shastona Theatre in Mount Shasta from Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Hammond … Avery’s brother Don and his wife, operate the theatre at Etna.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 11, 1950: “YREKA, CALIF. - Surveyors are at work on the site here where a 425-car, $65,000 drive-in is to be erected by Robert L. Lippert Theatres. The drive-in will be built south of town and opened about April 1. The firm’s construction superintendent J. E. Henning is here now supervising work.”
In Boxoffice’s roundup of drive-ins opened in 1950, (printed Feb. 17, 1951), it showed the 380-car Yreka as already in operation, owned by Robert Lippert.
The Jan. 10, 1953 Boxoffice magazine drive-in roundup showed the Cloverleaf as built in 1952 and in operation with a capacity of 700 cars, owned by Community Theatres.
Near the other side of the drive-in’s life, the Aug. 1, 1988 issue reported that Dustin Palmer had shifted from managing Topeka’s Dickinson six-plex to the Cloverleaf, “which re-opened May 27.”
Confirmed.
“John Basham is manager of the new Starlight Drive-In opened July 2 by Claude Parrish and Hugh Wallace near Topeka, Kas.” —BoxOffice, July 9, 1949
What a gorgeous photo! Where did it come from?
davidcoppock, the Grand Opening flyer in the photos here included “The most in fine food and snack bar refreshments”
Denny Pine, thanks for nailing down the Circle’s closing date. Here’s a memory of the place from the Albuquerque Tribune decades later (7/16/87):
“Even the oddball Circle Drive-In, also known as the Autoscope, is long gone. Located at 2900 Carlisle Blvd., N.E. in the early 1960s, the Circle projected movies via mirrors to a battery of 3-by-5 foot television-like screens, one in front of each car. But the Circle owners, who showed X-rated films at drive-ins in Joplin, Mo., didn’t realize the strength of Albuquerque winds. Evening breezes kept the Circle from ever working properly.”
On Jan. 19, 2024, there was a small fire behind the dormant Garberville. According to a story in Redheaded Blackbelt, firefighters ran a hose through the theater to quickly extinguish the fire.
The article said that the building had been sold after the theater closed in 2016. Renovation efforts since then have been intermittent. “An unidentified man at the scene stated that the theatre would reopen in approximately 18 months.”
After years of frustration, I found the Garberville! The great, helpful folks at the UC-Berkeley library pointed me to FrameFinder, an aerial photo tool hosted by UC-Santa Barbara. A 1954 aerial photo shows the drive-in pretty much exactly where the Caltrans yard is today.
I’ll leave it to Kenmore and others to estimate the capacity based on that photo. There are a lot of ramps there.