Verification of that story about what came before the Bel-Air. From the June 11, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
Plans are under way for a new $750,000 drive-in theatre in the Chicago area, it was announced by M & R Theatres. A 25-year lease for the old Quarry site had been obtained. The drive-in is to be called the Bel-Air and that it will have a capacity of 2,500 cars. “Walk-in seats” will be a feature. CinemaScope, VistaVision and wide screen pictures will be projected, with the latest modern equipment, according to Harry Sears, on a 135 by 90-foot screen which he says will be the largest in the country.
Based on a 1952 USGS aerial, the then-61 was about a mile and a quarter south of Hayti on US 61, now Missouri J, the outer road west of I-55. Google Street View in October 2016 showed a couple of unrelated, undermaintained small buildings by the road there now.
If Blue bought this in 1953, then it was a couple of years before he twinned it. From the May 7, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
The Admiral drive-in, Tulsa, will become the first drive-in in the state to operate a “double screen” effective early this month, Alex Blue, co-owner and operator announced. Blue said the theatre had duplicated its present accommodations to the rear of the existing outdoor movie screen and that the new facilities will open within the next few weeks. Capacity of the theater will be 1,350 automobiles, making it one of the largest in the southwest.
The Bee Gee Auto Theatre (sometimes Bee-Gee) advertised in the Daily Oklahoman through at least August 1948. The first Del Drive-In ad I could find was April 1949. The Del ads continued through 1959.
I could find no references to this drive-in ever being called the Sooner. After the Del closed, another drive-in opened east of it, and that drive-in was called the Twin, then the Sooner Twin.
“The Sunset Drive-In theatre at Houston, Mo., owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Hubert E. Lay since 1951, has been sold to Mr. and Mrs. Dick Fisher of Willow Springs, Mo.”
That lines up with the reference books. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Sunset with capacity 350, Exec: H. E. Lay. The 1955-56 Catalog listed R. D. Fisher as the exec.
The 1951-52 MPA listed the Sunset without further details. The 1952-55 editions had the capacity of 150, “Owner or Booker” was H. E. Lay. The 1956-66 Almanacs listed R. D. Fischer as owner/booker. The MPAs stopped listing owners for a decade, then the 1977 edition listed the Sunset with a capacity of 200, owner Wyatt. That’s how it stayed through the final drive-in list, the 1988 Almanac.
“The Carver, first Negro-patronage drive-in and walk-in theatre, in Bessemer, Ala., has been opened. Dr. B. H. Johnson, owner, appointed James Benz manager. The combination theatre has space for 400 cars and 200 seats for walk-ins and is equipped for CinemaScope.”
That first renaming may not have occurred until 1954. From the Sept. 4, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “Renamed the Lincoln and completely remodelled, the former Cine-Car drive-in in Anaheim was re-opened by John C. Feys.”
Two sources suggest that the theater was called the Uintah during at least part of the 1950s.
The Facebook page of Historical Photos of Fruita & Western Colorado posted this photo of East Aspen Avenue circa 1951, based on it showing Ma & Pa Kettle Back on the Farm. Its poster writes, in part, “The Unitah was the third and last theater in the building, which had been built for the Majestic Theater. … The original cornice fell down a few years before this photo was taken and damaged the theater marquee when the theater was called the Rialto and run by Fred and Carrie Fraser. The cornice was exactingly recreated in the 1990s for Gene Thomas, editor of the Fruita Times, when he owned the building. That’s the cornice visible on the building today.”
There was also a note in the Managers' Round Table Section of the Motion Picture Herald for Aug. 21, 1954 concerning a letter received from Bob and Melba Walker, the Uintah’s owners and managers. Television had recently arrived in town, giving them sleepless nights until Bob did something about it – he bought a TV set for his own lobby and let anybody in town watch it for free. “But, Bob says, at least he sold them popcorn. And the superior value of good movies was impressed on the lookers and buyers. Now, half the time, they don’t bother with TV.”
From the Aug. 21, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “The new Evans drive-in opened here with 592-car and 130 walk-in capacity, and will be managed by R. L. Stanger, owner of the Windsor, Windsor, Colo.”
Here’s the scoop on the name change, from the Aug. 7, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “Harold Cunyus, owner of the Roxy, has leased the Alpine, renamed it the Uptown, and is reopening it after he installs CinemaScope and does some other remodeling and renovating. The house has been closed for some time.”
Here’s the date of the first closing, from the July 24, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “The Coed theatre at Topeka, Kan., has been closed permanently. Lack of business has been given as the cause.”
To pick up on Joe Vogel’s comment here from 2008, here’s a note from the Motion Picture Herald of June 19, 1954 about how and why the Halsted got renamed and reopened:
Four-Screen Drive-In, 138th and Halsted, $325,000 installation that ran into projectionists trouble and remained closed last season, reopened with a single huge screen measuring 50 by 90 feet. The outdoor theater has been renamed the Halsted drive-in.
There’s a large article, over two pages with photos, about the construction of the Centennial in the June 5, 1954 Better Theatres Section of the Motion Picture Herald.
“Adjacent to the drive-in (and this providing another source of entertainment in the immediate vicinity) is a horse track, property of Centennial Horse Racing Track, Inc., which also owns the drive-in. Operating the latter under a lease is Television Theatres, which also owns the Webber (indoor) theatre in Denver.”
There’s a large article, over two pages with photos, about the construction of the Wadsworth in the June 5, 1954 Better Theatres Section of the Motion Picture Herald. It concludes by noting that C. K. Lee, head of Lee Theatres, Inc., Denver, “owner of the theatre, also has two Colorado Springs drive-ins and the Monaca (sic), Denver.”
The June 5, 1954 Motion Picture Herald reported that Barton Theatres had acquired the Circle drive-in. “Mr. and Mrs. Harold Combs are managing the theatre temporarily. This is the 15th theatre in the Barton chain in Oklahoma City.”
As a veteran of Denver’s late, wet snows, I was amused to discover that the Centre opened during a snowstorm according to the Motion Picture Herald of May 8, 1954. The Wadsworth Drive-In, scheduled to open May 1, “was forced to postpone the opening a week because of the big snowstorm hitting Denver last week, right in the midst of the opening of the downtown deluxe 1,247-seat Centre.”
This one’s for you, WadeWilliams. From the April 17, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
The Leawood drive-in had “Riders to the Stars,” Wednesday through Saturday, first run in Kansas City. The drive-in is near the southwest corner of Kansas City, Mo.
This might be the transaction that led to the renaming. From the April 17, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: T.E. Lally has sold the Pontiac drive-in, Pontiac, Ill., to L. Hewitt of Manito, Ill., because of illness.
Verification of that story about what came before the Bel-Air. From the June 11, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
Plans are under way for a new $750,000 drive-in theatre in the Chicago area, it was announced by M & R Theatres. A 25-year lease for the old Quarry site had been obtained. The drive-in is to be called the Bel-Air and that it will have a capacity of 2,500 cars. “Walk-in seats” will be a feature. CinemaScope, VistaVision and wide screen pictures will be projected, with the latest modern equipment, according to Harry Sears, on a 135 by 90-foot screen which he says will be the largest in the country.
Based on a 1952 USGS aerial, the then-61 was about a mile and a quarter south of Hayti on US 61, now Missouri J, the outer road west of I-55. Google Street View in October 2016 showed a couple of unrelated, undermaintained small buildings by the road there now.
From the May 7, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
Gene Boggs, who operates the Joy and Missouri theatres in Hayti, Mo., has changed the name of his drive-in from the “61” to “Moonlight.”
If Blue bought this in 1953, then it was a couple of years before he twinned it. From the May 7, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
The Admiral drive-in, Tulsa, will become the first drive-in in the state to operate a “double screen” effective early this month, Alex Blue, co-owner and operator announced. Blue said the theatre had duplicated its present accommodations to the rear of the existing outdoor movie screen and that the new facilities will open within the next few weeks. Capacity of the theater will be 1,350 automobiles, making it one of the largest in the southwest.
Looks like it opened in 1955. From the April 30, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
Taylor, Tanner and Armstrong have opened a 320-car drive-in, Cortez, Colo.
From the April 30, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
Glen Wittstruck has opened his new 300-seater (sic), the Buckskin drive-in, at Ignacio, Colo.
From the April 23, 1955 Motion Picture Herald:
Rialto Theatres Inc., Casper, Wyo., has bought the Knox drive-in, Wheatland, Wyo., from Ted Knox. Rialto also owns the Ramona in Wheatland.
The Bee Gee Auto Theatre (sometimes Bee-Gee) advertised in the Daily Oklahoman through at least August 1948. The first Del Drive-In ad I could find was April 1949. The Del ads continued through 1959.
I could find no references to this drive-in ever being called the Sooner. After the Del closed, another drive-in opened east of it, and that drive-in was called the Twin, then the Sooner Twin.
The Jan. 29, 1955 Motion Picture Herald reported: “Ann and Stanley Dixon have bought the Motor-Vu (sic) drive-in, Delta, Colo., from Max Storey.”
It must have meant the Tru-Vu, which is the closest name. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Tru-Vu’s owner as S. H. Dixon.
The Jan. 1, 1955 Motion Picture Herald reported:
“The Sunset Drive-In theatre at Houston, Mo., owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Hubert E. Lay since 1951, has been sold to Mr. and Mrs. Dick Fisher of Willow Springs, Mo.”
That lines up with the reference books. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Sunset with capacity 350, Exec: H. E. Lay. The 1955-56 Catalog listed R. D. Fisher as the exec.
The 1951-52 MPA listed the Sunset without further details. The 1952-55 editions had the capacity of 150, “Owner or Booker” was H. E. Lay. The 1956-66 Almanacs listed R. D. Fischer as owner/booker. The MPAs stopped listing owners for a decade, then the 1977 edition listed the Sunset with a capacity of 200, owner Wyatt. That’s how it stayed through the final drive-in list, the 1988 Almanac.
From the Jan. 1, 1955 Motion Picture Almanac:
“The Carver, first Negro-patronage drive-in and walk-in theatre, in Bessemer, Ala., has been opened. Dr. B. H. Johnson, owner, appointed James Benz manager. The combination theatre has space for 400 cars and 200 seats for walk-ins and is equipped for CinemaScope.”
That first renaming may not have occurred until 1954. From the Sept. 4, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “Renamed the Lincoln and completely remodelled, the former Cine-Car drive-in in Anaheim was re-opened by John C. Feys.”
Two sources suggest that the theater was called the Uintah during at least part of the 1950s.
The Facebook page of Historical Photos of Fruita & Western Colorado posted this photo of East Aspen Avenue circa 1951, based on it showing Ma & Pa Kettle Back on the Farm. Its poster writes, in part, “The Unitah was the third and last theater in the building, which had been built for the Majestic Theater. … The original cornice fell down a few years before this photo was taken and damaged the theater marquee when the theater was called the Rialto and run by Fred and Carrie Fraser. The cornice was exactingly recreated in the 1990s for Gene Thomas, editor of the Fruita Times, when he owned the building. That’s the cornice visible on the building today.”
There was also a note in the Managers' Round Table Section of the Motion Picture Herald for Aug. 21, 1954 concerning a letter received from Bob and Melba Walker, the Uintah’s owners and managers. Television had recently arrived in town, giving them sleepless nights until Bob did something about it – he bought a TV set for his own lobby and let anybody in town watch it for free. “But, Bob says, at least he sold them popcorn. And the superior value of good movies was impressed on the lookers and buyers. Now, half the time, they don’t bother with TV.”
From the Aug. 21, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “The new Evans drive-in opened here with 592-car and 130 walk-in capacity, and will be managed by R. L. Stanger, owner of the Windsor, Windsor, Colo.”
From the Aug. 7, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “NE ‘66’ drive-in theatre, Oklahoma City, has installed a giant screen for CinemaScope pictures.”
Here’s the scoop on the name change, from the Aug. 7, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “Harold Cunyus, owner of the Roxy, has leased the Alpine, renamed it the Uptown, and is reopening it after he installs CinemaScope and does some other remodeling and renovating. The house has been closed for some time.”
Here’s the date of the first closing, from the July 24, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: “The Coed theatre at Topeka, Kan., has been closed permanently. Lack of business has been given as the cause.”
To pick up on Joe Vogel’s comment here from 2008, here’s a note from the Motion Picture Herald of June 19, 1954 about how and why the Halsted got renamed and reopened:
Four-Screen Drive-In, 138th and Halsted, $325,000 installation that ran into projectionists trouble and remained closed last season, reopened with a single huge screen measuring 50 by 90 feet. The outdoor theater has been renamed the Halsted drive-in.
There’s a large article, over two pages with photos, about the construction of the Centennial in the June 5, 1954 Better Theatres Section of the Motion Picture Herald.
“Adjacent to the drive-in (and this providing another source of entertainment in the immediate vicinity) is a horse track, property of Centennial Horse Racing Track, Inc., which also owns the drive-in. Operating the latter under a lease is Television Theatres, which also owns the Webber (indoor) theatre in Denver.”
There’s a large article, over two pages with photos, about the construction of the Wadsworth in the June 5, 1954 Better Theatres Section of the Motion Picture Herald. It concludes by noting that C. K. Lee, head of Lee Theatres, Inc., Denver, “owner of the theatre, also has two Colorado Springs drive-ins and the Monaca (sic), Denver.”
The June 5, 1954 Motion Picture Herald reported that Barton Theatres had acquired the Circle drive-in. “Mr. and Mrs. Harold Combs are managing the theatre temporarily. This is the 15th theatre in the Barton chain in Oklahoma City.”
The April 10, 1954 Motion Picture Herald reported that the Cactus had widened its screen to 100 feet.
The June 5, 1954 issue added that the Cactus had installed CinemaScope and magnetic sound.
As a veteran of Denver’s late, wet snows, I was amused to discover that the Centre opened during a snowstorm according to the Motion Picture Herald of May 8, 1954. The Wadsworth Drive-In, scheduled to open May 1, “was forced to postpone the opening a week because of the big snowstorm hitting Denver last week, right in the midst of the opening of the downtown deluxe 1,247-seat Centre.”
This one’s for you, WadeWilliams. From the April 17, 1954 Motion Picture Herald:
The Leawood drive-in had “Riders to the Stars,” Wednesday through Saturday, first run in Kansas City. The drive-in is near the southwest corner of Kansas City, Mo.
This might be the transaction that led to the renaming. From the April 17, 1954 Motion Picture Herald: T.E. Lally has sold the Pontiac drive-in, Pontiac, Ill., to L. Hewitt of Manito, Ill., because of illness.