A November 2022 Google Street View shows the marquee of the drive-in featuring movies from that period such as “Wakanda Forever”.
It seems that they used shipping containers for the projection booth/concession stand with a quanset hut on the side. Rather innovative and quite budget-friendly when restoring a drive-in.
A closer address is 3130 S Westwood Blvd, Poplar Bluff, MO.
A 1975 aerial shows the drive-in (what can be seen in the photo) intact and apparently operational. By 1984, the screen had been torn down and most of the property demolished save for the projection booth/concession stand which may still be standing today.
Today, the property is occupied by Rightway Homes. It is less than a half-mile from where the Poplar Bluff Drive-In was located.
A house has now been constructed on the property ½ mile to the west of the Parsons Drive-In that has obliterated what might have been the remains of a previous drive-in. However, it does appear that the screen foundation may still be in place. Or not, it is difficult to really see as it appears to be a line of blocks.
A 1956 aerial shows the uncompleted drive-in with ramps and outline, but without a screen or projection booth.
Whether this was initially constructed before or after the Parsons Drive-In I cannot say. But it appears that an attempt to construct a drive-in was made and never completed.
Both drive-ins are present in a 1957 aerial. By 1981, both had been demolished.
Today, the property is home to a single large building that houses Calibrated and Folder Express. While no trace is left of the Columbus Drive-In, you can still see the parch marks of the ramps and outline of the Cherokee Drive-In.
A 1967 aerial shows the drive-in intact and appearing operational. By 1982 it was still intact, but clearly closed.
The screen was gone by 1993 and the property seems to have become an auto salvage yard which lasted until roughly 2015. Today, there is really no trace of the drive-in remaining, although the property is now an open field.
A closer address is 380 Lincoln Hwy, Fairless Hills, PA.
Google Maps seems to have shifted the old address about a mile west of the drive-in. This is the address of the Woodcrest Village Apartments which sits right next to the old entrance road.
Today, there is not much left of the drive-in, but you can still see the outline, ramps, entrance/exit roads, and foundation of the concession stand/projection booth.
In 1994, the drive-in did not exist. It appears to have been a parking area for trucks.
By 1999, it was fully constructed and had a go-kart track.
By 2004, it had been abandoned. And given it’s level of disrepair, it appeared to have been abandoned for at least a year and probably longer.
So, if the go-kart track was not mentioned in the grand opening advertisements, it’s probably safe to assume that it did not exist at that time given how much space and investment it took to create it.
Which means that the lifespan of this drive-in was just a few years at best.
Do any of the advertisements mention a go-kart track?
Because the J-shaped pavement that extends from the back of the projection/concession hut along the north, then the east side of the drive-in is clearly a go-kart track. You can even see the little cars in the 1999 aerial photo.
The “ticket hut” may be the small building next to the entrance road and then end of the J-shaped track on the SE corner of the drive-in. However, it was destroyed well before the concession/projection hut. As it is gone by the 2016 aerial while the hut remained standing for at least another year or two.
MichaelKilgore - I highly doubt an abandoned building not only got fixed, but they duplicated the graffiti on the walls only to have it burn down again. So, the date’s wrong.
But the “ticket hut” is another matter. I’m not seeing it in any Google Street View before it supposedly burned down. Unless the “ticket hut” was part of the same concession/projection house.
MichaelKilgore - A September 2015 Google Street View shows the concession/projection building intact with no evidence of any fire damage. I also cannot find a “ticket hut” on the property in street views from preceding years.
However, by 2018 the concession/projection building had clearly been destroyed by fire. So, either the date is off or the post was about another drive-in.
Odd that part of the projection booth/concession stand is still standing. Normally when you knock something down, you take it all down.
But it was interesting in that it was off-set, so that it would not block vehicles behind it.
Only remains are parch marks of the outline and some ramps. There is a pile of dirt and concrete where the concession stand once stood. The foundation supports for the screen may still be present, but cannot be confirmed with current Google aerial and street views.
A November 2022 Google Street View shows the marquee of the drive-in featuring movies from that period such as “Wakanda Forever”.
It seems that they used shipping containers for the projection booth/concession stand with a quanset hut on the side. Rather innovative and quite budget-friendly when restoring a drive-in.
A closer address is 3130 S Westwood Blvd, Poplar Bluff, MO.
A 1975 aerial shows the drive-in (what can be seen in the photo) intact and apparently operational. By 1984, the screen had been torn down and most of the property demolished save for the projection booth/concession stand which may still be standing today.
Today, the property is occupied by Rightway Homes. It is less than a half-mile from where the Poplar Bluff Drive-In was located.
https://tinyurl.com/42bvyma9
A July 2019 Google Street View shows the screen to still be standing. It doesn’t appear to be in the best shape, but it is still there.
A closer address is 3213 N West Ave, El Dorado, AR.
Google Maps have updated their addresses. This one places it on Zen Leaf El Dorado which sits at the entrance to the property.
A 1983 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but by 1994 the screen and most of the property had been demolished.
Today, you can still see most of the ramps and the foundation for the concession stand/projector booth.
https://tinyurl.com/4p6mwyye
The entrance/exit roads, the projection booth/concession stand, and the marquee which is falling apart are the only remnants of the drive-in.
However, its outline is almost perfectly preserved by the trees.
A house has now been constructed on the property ½ mile to the west of the Parsons Drive-In that has obliterated what might have been the remains of a previous drive-in. However, it does appear that the screen foundation may still be in place. Or not, it is difficult to really see as it appears to be a line of blocks.
A 1956 aerial shows the uncompleted drive-in with ramps and outline, but without a screen or projection booth.
Whether this was initially constructed before or after the Parsons Drive-In I cannot say. But it appears that an attempt to construct a drive-in was made and never completed.
Both drive-ins are present in a 1957 aerial. By 1981, both had been demolished.
Today, the property is home to a single large building that houses Calibrated and Folder Express. While no trace is left of the Columbus Drive-In, you can still see the parch marks of the ramps and outline of the Cherokee Drive-In.
A 1967 aerial shows the drive-in intact and appearing operational. By 1982 it was still intact, but clearly closed.
The screen was gone by 1993 and the property seems to have become an auto salvage yard which lasted until roughly 2015. Today, there is really no trace of the drive-in remaining, although the property is now an open field.
A closer address is 380 Lincoln Hwy, Fairless Hills, PA.
Google Maps seems to have shifted the old address about a mile west of the drive-in. This is the address of the Woodcrest Village Apartments which sits right next to the old entrance road.
Today, there is not much left of the drive-in, but you can still see the outline, ramps, entrance/exit roads, and foundation of the concession stand/projection booth.
https://tinyurl.com/2shrprmx
The screen is present in a January 2008 Google Street View, but gone by April 2011.
The metal base that supported the screen is still present in a January 2022 Google Street View.
A closer address is 185 Bowens Mill HWY, Fitzgerald, GA as indicated by jwmovies. The nursing home uses the same entrance as the drive-in did.
You can even see remnants of the entrance road for the drive-in which is all that remains.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in with the screen in the NW corner of the property.
However, the 1984 aerial shows the screen on the west side with the ramps also being altered to face that direction.
Clearly, this drive-in underwent some major changes before it closed.
A better address is 1501 N Main St, Andrews, TX.
My mistake. As the 1100 address listed on the Google site turns out to be wrong. That’s what I get for not double-checking.
The 1501 address is that of the bank which is on the site itself. I double-checked that one.
MichaelKilgore - You are right, the cast does not match the movie. Only Gloria DeHaven was in “Two Tickets to Broadway”, a film that came out in 1951.
It seems they mixed in the cast of “Painting the Clouds with Sunshine” which includes Mayo, Morgan, and Nelson and also came out in 1951.
A closer address is 1100 S Main St, Andrews, TX.
Google has updated their addresses and this puts it about where the screen used to be.
Today, you can still see the ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/yc4ch943
A closer address is 885 Main St, Ford City, PA.
Google has updated their addresses and this puts it right where the screen used to be. So, despite Main St being PA-66, this address now works better.
Today, all you can see is the remnants of the ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/y64j5z7s
As for the other drive-ins in the area.
I found one at 661 Fortune Dr, Kamloops, BC V2B 2K7, Canada. Today, a McDonald’s and a parking area for a shopping center is on the property.
The drive-in itself appeared intact and perhaps operational in 1978, but it was gone and the shopping center in place by 1982.
In 1994, the drive-in did not exist. It appears to have been a parking area for trucks.
By 1999, it was fully constructed and had a go-kart track.
By 2004, it had been abandoned. And given it’s level of disrepair, it appeared to have been abandoned for at least a year and probably longer.
So, if the go-kart track was not mentioned in the grand opening advertisements, it’s probably safe to assume that it did not exist at that time given how much space and investment it took to create it.
Which means that the lifespan of this drive-in was just a few years at best.
Do any of the advertisements mention a go-kart track?
Because the J-shaped pavement that extends from the back of the projection/concession hut along the north, then the east side of the drive-in is clearly a go-kart track. You can even see the little cars in the 1999 aerial photo.
The “ticket hut” may be the small building next to the entrance road and then end of the J-shaped track on the SE corner of the drive-in. However, it was destroyed well before the concession/projection hut. As it is gone by the 2016 aerial while the hut remained standing for at least another year or two.
MichaelKilgore - I highly doubt an abandoned building not only got fixed, but they duplicated the graffiti on the walls only to have it burn down again. So, the date’s wrong.
But the “ticket hut” is another matter. I’m not seeing it in any Google Street View before it supposedly burned down. Unless the “ticket hut” was part of the same concession/projection house.
MichaelKilgore - A September 2015 Google Street View shows the concession/projection building intact with no evidence of any fire damage. I also cannot find a “ticket hut” on the property in street views from preceding years.
However, by 2018 the concession/projection building had clearly been destroyed by fire. So, either the date is off or the post was about another drive-in.
Odd that part of the projection booth/concession stand is still standing. Normally when you knock something down, you take it all down. But it was interesting in that it was off-set, so that it would not block vehicles behind it.
Comparing the 1965 aerial to today, there is nothing left of the drive-in, not even the ramps.
A 1986 aerial shows the property completely built over by the park.
Google Maps has yet to pinpoint the address of the drive-in. Most likely because Ronald S. Coker Drive is probably not an official street designation.
2617 Co Rd 57, Alliance, NE puts it on the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery. If you go due east the drive-in sits across from the Skyview Golf Course.
Only remains are parch marks of the outline and some ramps. There is a pile of dirt and concrete where the concession stand once stood. The foundation supports for the screen may still be present, but cannot be confirmed with current Google aerial and street views.