The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the Dependable with owners Norbert and Ernest Stern, Assoc. Drive-In Ths., capacity 400. Or maybe they were just the bookers.
The 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs had the “Owner or Booker” as Hanna Theatre Service, capacity 400. In the 1961-66 editions, it was Associated Theas.
When ownership info returned in the 1978 edition, the capacity was up to 500 and the owner was R. Glaus. It stayed that way through 1982, then the Dependable was off the MPA list by 1984.
The Tribune-Review said Glaus was 56 in July 2010, which would have made him about 24 in 1978. Maybe that City Paper story meant 1978 instead of 1968.
In 2006, the Pittsburgh City Paper wrote that Rick Glaus was the drive-in’s “operator … who has run the Dependable since 1968”. Starting that fall, he planned to keep the drive-in open all year.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote in 2010 that Rick Glaus “operates the drive-in with his son, Jonathan. The Glaus family bought the Dependable in the late 1960s from original owner Pat Springer.” Some other sources call Rick the son of the original owner.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote in 2011 that Rick owned the Dependable, and that he was “a son of the late John Glaus, who managed and owned indoor and outdoor theaters.”
I’m guessing that Jonathan soon became known as Jay, because The Pitt News wrote in 2012 about “Jay Glaus, the 19-year-old manager”.
The Beaver County Times wrote in February 2016 that Jay Glaus was the “general manager”, and the Dependable had just added a 9-hole mini-golf course. A month later, WTAE wrote that Rick was (still) the owner.
In 2012, The Exponent Telegram wrote, “During the past 65 years, (then-manager John) Ellis only knows of one season the Sunset Drive-In wasn’t open.
“Ellis and his wife Norma have been running the Sunset for the past 12 years, helping his older brother Anthony Ellis, who owns both the drive-in and the neighboring Sunset Ellis Restaurant.
“For the 25 years prior to that, Ellis’ brother leased the Sunset Drive-In to Jim Henderson, owner of the Grafton Drive-In, before Ellis and his wife took over.”
That explains the Henderson listing, but now I’m stuck wondering what year the Sunset was closed.
The West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail wrote, “The Sunset Drive-in Theater opened in 1947 … making it the oldest operational drive-in theater in West Virginia. It has been owned by the Ellis family since 1955, along with the adjacent Sunset Ellis Restaurant, which shares its roadside marquee. (Prior to that time, the Ellises had owned another combination drive-in theater and restaurant operation, the Ellis Drive-in, in nearby Bridgeport; it no longer exists.)
When I clicked on Kenmore’s map link today, Google said the address is 2643 Horners Run Rd, Shinnston, WV 26431. Wikipedia says that Meadowbrook is an unincorporated area, yet that’s where my reference books site it 70 years ago. Confusing!
The Sunset was one of just 748 drive-ins in the first Theatre Catalog list in the 1948-49 edition, owned by Alex Silay and Steve Medve, Jr., capacity 400. In 1952, it was Alex Silay and Gray Barker. The 1955-56 edition lists it owned by Ellis Bros. and Joe Feeney.
The 1952-54 editions of the Motion Picture Almanac had the Sunset owned by A. Silay, capacity 400. The 1955-59 editions listed the owners as Silay & Medve. In 1961-66, it was Ellis Bros.
The 1978 MPA bumped the capacity to 500 and changed the owner to A.J. Ellis. Other owner listings:
1980-82: M. Deangelis.
1984: De Angelis.
1986-88: J. Henderson.
There’s a very nice 70th Anniversary video on YouTube.
There’s a very nice story about Warner’s at the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail web site. Charlie Warner and his son Harold opened the Warner’s Drive-In in April of 1952. More than 50 years later, it was somehow the property of the Franklin Oil Company, which didn’t want to spend the cash to convert it to digital projection, and it closed in 2014.
A group of locals formed a non-profit to refurbish the concession stand, buy a new projector, and reopen Warner’s. It finished its first full season on the new equipment in 2017.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Warner DI owned by Harold Warner, capacity 150.
The first appearance of the Warner in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1953-54 edition. It eventually listed the owner as Harold Warner, capacity 200. By the 1966 edition, it was the Warner Circ.
In the 1978-84 editions, the Warner (still no apostrophe) was owned by M. Warner. It was gone by the 1986 edition.
Collegiate Times wrote in 2012 that the “Starlite was opened in 1953 by Richard and Dorothy Beasley. The two ‘built, owned, and operated the Starlite Theater together for all those years’ before Richard passed away in July of 2009.”
Peggy Beasley was the current owner in that 2012 article, and she’s still the owner in 2017.
The Starlite has radio sound, but they run “a six-speaker sound system sitting atop” the concession / projection building because some folks are afraid of running down their car batteries. Gee whiz, why not spend a little cash on rentable portable radios instead of your lawyer?
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Starlite as owned by R. W. Beasley, capacity 162.
The Starlite’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1955 edition. Again, owned by R. W. Beasley but no capacity figure. It stayed that way through 1966, with an eventual capacity of 150.
When ownership info returned for the 1978-84 editions, the “Starlight” was owned by H.W. Beasley, capacity 300. The drive-in was off the MPA lists by 1986.
Southern Spaces wrote “In 1977, original owner Sonny Stevenson sold the Moon-Glo to the Lyle family, who renamed the theater after its location.”
The Washington Post wrote that Jim and Megan Kopp leased the Raleigh Road in 2006. But Viral Memories and everyone else said they bought it on eBay for $22,000 in 2006.
There’s a short documentary about the Raleigh Road from 2008, featuring Kopp, on YouTube.
The Fay Observer wrote that Mark and Jennifer Frank “bought the place in December 2011. Previously, they owned and operated a drive-in movie theater in Keysville, Virginia, but they sold it to focus on the old facility on the outskirts of Henderson in Vance County.”
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog had the Moon-Glo owned by Ben Strozier, capacity 200. In the 1952-56 Catalogs, the owner was S. S. Stevenson and the capacity had grown to 360.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac matched the Catalogs' owner and capacity. S.S. Stevenson and 360 stayed through the 1976 edition. The 1978 edition called it the Moonglow, capacity 300, still owned by S. Stevenson.
The MPA registered the name change to the Raleigh Road Outdoor in its 1980-88 editions, owner N. T. Lyles.
So the Badin Road was open in mid to late 1948. The first Theatre Catalog drive-in list, in the 1948-49 edition, listed one drive-in in Albemarle as simply “Drive-In.” The 1949-56 Theatre Catalogs had two drive-ins in Albemarle, the Badin Road (by the last edition, capacity 400) and the Albemarle (300), both owned by G. L. Faw.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac also had both Albemarle drive-ins. Its difference is that it kept the original half-sized capacities (Badin Road 200, Albemarle 150) through at least 1969. By the 1972 edition, it was Badin Road 600, Albemarle 300.
When owner info returned in the 1978-82 MPAs, both drive-ins listed Exhibitors, and the capacities were down a bit (Badin Road 500, Albemarle 250). Both were owned by Piedmont in the 1984 edition. For 1986-88, the Albemarle was the only one on the list, owned by Piedmont.
The Drive-In Theatre Owners Associate site says the the Badin Road reopened in 1994, which indicates that it was closed before that.
According to The Stanley News and Press, The theater was built by Gilbert Faw and son Raymond. Ethel Faw, Raymond’s wife, said she thought the drive-in first opened in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
“That’s the best I can remember,” Faw said. “Raymond ran the theater until 1966, then he leased it out.”
Faw said after the lease ran out, the theater closed down for a few years.
“My husband passed away in 1991,” Faw said. “I was able to lease the drive-in again in 1993 or 1994.”
In the late ’90s, Martin Murray operated the theater until (David and Judy) Robinson bought it in February 2003.
Roy Speights lives across from the drive-in and remembers when it was first built.
“We moved in our house June 1948,” Speights said. “I remember they were grading for the parking then. The theater must have opened later that summer or fall.”
Georgann Eubanks' wrote in her book Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont: A Guidebook: R.S. (Sam) Gwynn … was born in Eden in 1948. His father ran the drive-in when Gwynn was growing up.
The Theatre Catalogs listed the drive-in under Leaksville. It was in the first list, the 1948-49 edition, as simply Drive-In, Exec: D. L. Craddock, capacity 150. For 1949-50, it was the Eden, the exec was D. E. Gwynn, and capacity grew to 200. In the 1952-56 editions, it was joined in town by the Leaksville Drive-In, also owned by D. E. Gwynn with a capacity of 300.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac listed both drive-ins for Leaksville – the Eden, capacity 282, owned by Eden Theatres Inc.; and the New Leaksville Drive-In, capacity 200, owned by D. E. Gwynn. They both stayed that way through the 1959 edition. In 1961-66 the New Leaksville was owned by Doug Craddock.
When ownership notes resumed in the 1978 MPA, the Eden was listed under the town of Eden and was owned by Consolidate, and that was how it stayed through its last list in 1988. (The New Leaksville dropped out of the MPA after 1976.)
Tim Robertson and his parents, David and Judy, owned the Eden Drive-In, although David passed away in January 2017. Tim told Business North Carolina just last month that his family bought the closed drive-in in 1994 and renovated it.
Over at DailyNetworks.com, Mark Daily writes that “the current Eden Drive-In was originally the Leakesville (sic) Drive-In. A second drive-in previously located near the current Eden Mall site was home of the original Eden Drive-In.”
That would explain how it could handle over 800 cars on a three-night weekend. But I’m not convinced about where the original Eden was; looking at Historic Aerials' old photos and topo maps of the future Eden Mall site, I can’t find anything that looks like a drive-in nearby, except for what’s now the Eden far away on the west side of town.
Apparently this was the location of the old Park Drive-In, which Virginia.org says was open 1954-1983.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog lists the Park, Exec: William MacKenzie Jr., capacity 200.
The 1955-66 International Motion Picture Almanacs listed the owner as W. Mackenzie, eventually adding the capacity of 200. The Park fell off the IMPA list after 1976 and did not return.
Jerry Harmon opened the Park Place on the site of the old Park in 2000 and still owns the complex today.
The Skyview’s first appearance in the Theatre Catalog was the 1949-50 edition, Exec: Moir Branscome and Howard Chitwood, no capacity number. For the 1952 edition, the exec was just W. Branscome, capacity 280. In the 1955-56 edition, the exec changed to H. C. Chitwood.
The 1952-55 Motion Picture Almanacs listed it owned by Chitwook (sic) & Branscome, capacity 281. In 1956 it was corrected to Chitwood & Branscome, and it stayed that way through at least 1961. In 1963-66, the owner was Independent Theatres Inc.
The drive-in’s name changed to Skyvue, at least in all the MPA listings after 1976. In the 1978 edition, it was owned by Indep. Thea., capacity 100. The owner in 1980-82 was Shenandoah. The owner in 1984-88 was T. S. Davidson.
The Pipestem opened in September or October 1972. There’s a “Watch for the opening date” ad in the Sept. 21 Beckley Post-Herald, then on Sept. 30 there’s an ad for the triple feature that “starts Thursday, Oct. 5” of Le Mans (G), Lawman (GP), and Southern Comfort (X). It advertised through at least Dec. 17 that year with “free in car heaters”.
The Raleigh Register of July 5, 1973 identified Ronald Warden of MacArthur as the owner of the Pineville and Pipestem drive-ins as part of a discussion of the legality of X-rated movies. Warden said recent Supreme Court ruling hadn’t changed his plans. “It’s not for the money involved,” he said. “It’s not what we like – it’s what the public pays to see. I don’t want to quit a good thing until I have to. Every time I don’t have an X-rated show, business drops off.” He stressed that he always showed X-rated movies as the third feature.
Its first appearance on my shelf of International Motion Picture Almanacs was the 1978 edition. (It wasn’t in 1976, and I don’t have 1977.) The Pipe Stem (sic) was owned by R. Warden and had a capacity of 285. That’s how it stayed through the last IMPA list in 1988.
WTRF wrote in 2015 that (then-?)current owner Kenneth Woody bought the business in 2007 “from the original owner”. … “Woody, the owner of three other Mercer County businesses, said he depends solely on regular customers and word-of-mouth and does no advertising.”
A comment on a Flickr photo said that it “closed for a while” after the early 1980s. That’s the only mention I’ve seen of any downtime; the WTRF report said Woody bought the Pipestem “because he did not want to see it shut down.”
Who owns the Pipestem now? Karen Woody wrote on the drive-in’s semi-official web site that her family owns the Pipestem. The WV Secretary of State shows that Pipestem Drive-In Theater, Inc. was incorporated in 2007, has filed reports through 2017, and its only officers are Kenneth and Barbara Woody. But I’ve seen several business sources online that claim the Pipestem Drive-Inn Theatre is owned by Jimmy Warden, and that its president is Patricia Warden.
In the 1955-56 Theatre Catalog, the only one in Meadow Bridge WV is the N And R D. I., capacity 125, exec N. Garten. That would be Ned Garten, according to a 2013 article in The Register-Herald, copied on the drive-in’s web site.
The 1955-59 Motion Picture Almanacs also called it the N & R, capacity 125, owner Ned Garten. Garten was trying to sell it in June 1958 (see uploaded newspaper ad), which might be why it dropped out of the 1961-76 editions. The drive-in returned by the 1978 edition as the Meadowbridge (sic), owned by B. Hartley, capacity 180. In the 1980-82 editions, the owner changed to L. Thomas. In 1984, it was J. Boyd. By the 1986 edition, the owner was (Howard) McClanahan, who still owns it today.
The 2013 article covered that period as follows. After Garten’s tenure, it was run by Thomas Theaters. “Then one of the shareholders purchased the location outright. Word on the street was that the theater was going to turn X-rated because its screen faced away from the road. That’s when McClanahan stepped in and decided to make an offer.”
The Meadow Bridge converted to digital in 2013, and McClanahan said the new projector cost more than he paid for the drive-in.
Hull’s is such a wonderful story of a saved drive-in, and that might be one reason why its origins get such a cursory mention. The excellent history page at Hull’s includes: “The theatre was built by W.C. Atkins in 1950, and operated as the Lee Drive-In on land leased from the Hostetter family. Sebert W. Hull purchased the business and lease in 1957.”
Drive-Ins.org said that “local residents Waddy and Virginia Atkins, who earlier had founded what became Hull’s Drive-In in Lexington” owned the Riverside Drive-In in Roanoke from 1958 until its closing.
A detailed if sometimes contradictory history on the Hull’s page on Weebly said “a couple from Roanoke owned the business, a Mr. and Mrs. Atkins, and they’d drive back and forth from Roanoke every night.” Which would explain why they eventually swapped the Lee for the Riverside in their backyard. Also, Mr. Mason Hostetter was a farmer who owned the land behind the Lee.
In the 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs, R. Perdue was listed as the owner of the Lee, capacity 220. Who was this Perdue?
For some reason, the 1952-54 Motion Picture Almanacs didn’t include the Lee. The 1955-59 editions listed W. C. Adkins (sic) as the owner, capacity 250.
It’s strange that the summary here, at least partially written by “D. Edward Vogal”, spells that last name consistently with an A. Every other reference I can find, including CNN, the Baltimore Sun, his signature at the end of a lengthy complaint about the Baltimore Sun, and even the Whois record for Bengies.com – they all spell that name Vogel with an E.
FWIW, its first appearance in the International Motion Picture Almanac was the 1957 edition, in which it was listed in Middle River, spelled as Bengie’s, capacity 585, owner Frog Mortar Corp. That listing stayed the same through 1966.
During the period (at least 1969-76) when the IMPA didn’t include owners, it became Bengies (no apostrophe) in Baltimore, capacity 750. In 1978-88, the listing returned to Middle River, owner Vogel, capacity 600.
The Hi-Way was built and owned by brothers Morris and Raphael Klein. (It included “the latest in open air movie furniture”.) The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the exec as Mrs. Frieda Klein. The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the owner as the Klein brothers.
The Daily Freeman Lifestyle wrote that Roger and Sharon Babcock bought the Hi-Way from Morris Klein in 1996. However, over at EnjoyYourIntermission.com (a superb documentary short about the Hi-Way and its workers), it says they purchased the drive-in “in 1976 after having worked there for several years prior.”
The 1978-82 MPAs listed M. Klein as the owner. By the 1984 edition, the Hi-Way had fallen off the MPA list.
From the old GreenvilleDriveIn.net About Us page in 2014, now stored at the Internet Archive:
In April 1959, Peter Carelas owner of Carelas Restaurant and Grill, began construction on The Greenville Drive-in. The theatre was originally designed to hold 400 cars, was fitted with the latest in projection and sound equipment and was one of 6200 theatres across the country. (The capacity was 550 in the International Motion Picture Almanac.)
… Our screen measures 85 feet wide and stands 5 stories tall which gives everyone a great view of the action. The Drive-in thrived through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s …
In 1988, local business owner Mark Wilcox and 10 others formed what is now known as the Greenville 11. … The Greenville 11 jointly purchased the Drive-in and saved it from land development.
Mark Wilcox operated and managed the Drive-in through the 2006 season. During Mark’s time in operations, the drive in saw the switch from wired speakers to FM sound …
2007 was a year of sadness, after 38 consecutive seasons the Greenville Drive-in closed. In 2009, Don Brown and Patricia Creigh reopened the Drive-in for the season. Due to an extreme amount of rainy days and nights, the Drive-in was only open a few weekends. The Drive-in was again closed for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
In 2012, Jim Gatehouse and Family took over the operations of the Greenville Drive-in. … The Drive-in stands today (2014) 1 of only 400 left in the country.
Sounds like maybe that 1988 crisis was when Ed Caro left. As mentioned above, the Greenville was closed all of 2014.
Current owners Leigh Van Swall and Dwight Grimm ran a modest but successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015. Grimm told Catskill Eats, “We’re trying not to be so much a straight-up movie theater, but more of an event venue with movie-showing capabilities.” They finished their 2017 season in mid-October.
When they listed it at all, the International Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Jericho under Bethlehem, the town of which Glenmont is a hamlet. For at least 1961-76, the Jericho’s movies were booked by Brandt Theatres of New York City, its capacity was listed as 520 cars, and in 1961-66, its owner was Morris Klein. The drive-in didn’t appear in the 1959 IMPA and fell off the list by 1978.
Oval Pike wrote in 2012, “The Jericho opened in 1955, after two brothers bought the land from the physician who lived across the road.” DriveInMovie.com says those brothers were Morris and Raphael Klein, and the first corporation papers for Jericho & 9-W Drive-In Theater, Inc. were filed on Sept. 16, 1955. But everyone else agrees that the grand opening was on Flag Day, June 14, 1957.
Spotlight News wrote this year that current owners Mike and Lisa Chenette bought the place in 1995.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the Dependable with owners Norbert and Ernest Stern, Assoc. Drive-In Ths., capacity 400. Or maybe they were just the bookers.
The 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs had the “Owner or Booker” as Hanna Theatre Service, capacity 400. In the 1961-66 editions, it was Associated Theas.
When ownership info returned in the 1978 edition, the capacity was up to 500 and the owner was R. Glaus. It stayed that way through 1982, then the Dependable was off the MPA list by 1984.
The Tribune-Review said Glaus was 56 in July 2010, which would have made him about 24 in 1978. Maybe that City Paper story meant 1978 instead of 1968.
In 2006, the Pittsburgh City Paper wrote that Rick Glaus was the drive-in’s “operator … who has run the Dependable since 1968”. Starting that fall, he planned to keep the drive-in open all year.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote in 2010 that Rick Glaus “operates the drive-in with his son, Jonathan. The Glaus family bought the Dependable in the late 1960s from original owner Pat Springer.” Some other sources call Rick the son of the original owner.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote in 2011 that Rick owned the Dependable, and that he was “a son of the late John Glaus, who managed and owned indoor and outdoor theaters.”
I’m guessing that Jonathan soon became known as Jay, because The Pitt News wrote in 2012 about “Jay Glaus, the 19-year-old manager”.
The Beaver County Times wrote in February 2016 that Jay Glaus was the “general manager”, and the Dependable had just added a 9-hole mini-golf course. A month later, WTAE wrote that Rick was (still) the owner.
It was still open in 2012 as owner Jim Henderson worried about converting to digital, per The Exponent Telegram. I can guess what happened soon after.
Thanks for the first-hand report and photos.
In 2012, The Exponent Telegram wrote, “During the past 65 years, (then-manager John) Ellis only knows of one season the Sunset Drive-In wasn’t open.
“Ellis and his wife Norma have been running the Sunset for the past 12 years, helping his older brother Anthony Ellis, who owns both the drive-in and the neighboring Sunset Ellis Restaurant.
“For the 25 years prior to that, Ellis’ brother leased the Sunset Drive-In to Jim Henderson, owner of the Grafton Drive-In, before Ellis and his wife took over.”
That explains the Henderson listing, but now I’m stuck wondering what year the Sunset was closed.
The West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail wrote, “The Sunset Drive-in Theater opened in 1947 … making it the oldest operational drive-in theater in West Virginia. It has been owned by the Ellis family since 1955, along with the adjacent Sunset Ellis Restaurant, which shares its roadside marquee. (Prior to that time, the Ellises had owned another combination drive-in theater and restaurant operation, the Ellis Drive-in, in nearby Bridgeport; it no longer exists.)
When I clicked on Kenmore’s map link today, Google said the address is 2643 Horners Run Rd, Shinnston, WV 26431. Wikipedia says that Meadowbrook is an unincorporated area, yet that’s where my reference books site it 70 years ago. Confusing!
The Sunset was one of just 748 drive-ins in the first Theatre Catalog list in the 1948-49 edition, owned by Alex Silay and Steve Medve, Jr., capacity 400. In 1952, it was Alex Silay and Gray Barker. The 1955-56 edition lists it owned by Ellis Bros. and Joe Feeney.
The 1952-54 editions of the Motion Picture Almanac had the Sunset owned by A. Silay, capacity 400. The 1955-59 editions listed the owners as Silay & Medve. In 1961-66, it was Ellis Bros.
The 1978 MPA bumped the capacity to 500 and changed the owner to A.J. Ellis. Other owner listings: 1980-82: M. Deangelis. 1984: De Angelis. 1986-88: J. Henderson.
There’s a very nice 70th Anniversary video on YouTube.
There’s a very nice story about Warner’s at the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail web site. Charlie Warner and his son Harold opened the Warner’s Drive-In in April of 1952. More than 50 years later, it was somehow the property of the Franklin Oil Company, which didn’t want to spend the cash to convert it to digital projection, and it closed in 2014.
A group of locals formed a non-profit to refurbish the concession stand, buy a new projector, and reopen Warner’s. It finished its first full season on the new equipment in 2017.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Warner DI owned by Harold Warner, capacity 150.
The first appearance of the Warner in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1953-54 edition. It eventually listed the owner as Harold Warner, capacity 200. By the 1966 edition, it was the Warner Circ.
In the 1978-84 editions, the Warner (still no apostrophe) was owned by M. Warner. It was gone by the 1986 edition.
Collegiate Times wrote in 2012 that the “Starlite was opened in 1953 by Richard and Dorothy Beasley. The two ‘built, owned, and operated the Starlite Theater together for all those years’ before Richard passed away in July of 2009.”
Peggy Beasley was the current owner in that 2012 article, and she’s still the owner in 2017.
The Starlite has radio sound, but they run “a six-speaker sound system sitting atop” the concession / projection building because some folks are afraid of running down their car batteries. Gee whiz, why not spend a little cash on rentable portable radios instead of your lawyer?
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Starlite as owned by R. W. Beasley, capacity 162.
The Starlite’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1955 edition. Again, owned by R. W. Beasley but no capacity figure. It stayed that way through 1966, with an eventual capacity of 150.
When ownership info returned for the 1978-84 editions, the “Starlight” was owned by H.W. Beasley, capacity 300. The drive-in was off the MPA lists by 1986.
More recently:
Southern Spaces wrote “In 1977, original owner Sonny Stevenson sold the Moon-Glo to the Lyle family, who renamed the theater after its location.”
The Washington Post wrote that Jim and Megan Kopp leased the Raleigh Road in 2006. But Viral Memories and everyone else said they bought it on eBay for $22,000 in 2006.
There’s a short documentary about the Raleigh Road from 2008, featuring Kopp, on YouTube.
The Fay Observer wrote that Mark and Jennifer Frank “bought the place in December 2011. Previously, they owned and operated a drive-in movie theater in Keysville, Virginia, but they sold it to focus on the old facility on the outskirts of Henderson in Vance County.”
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog had the Moon-Glo owned by Ben Strozier, capacity 200. In the 1952-56 Catalogs, the owner was S. S. Stevenson and the capacity had grown to 360.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac matched the Catalogs' owner and capacity. S.S. Stevenson and 360 stayed through the 1976 edition. The 1978 edition called it the Moonglow, capacity 300, still owned by S. Stevenson.
The MPA registered the name change to the Raleigh Road Outdoor in its 1980-88 editions, owner N. T. Lyles.
So the Badin Road was open in mid to late 1948. The first Theatre Catalog drive-in list, in the 1948-49 edition, listed one drive-in in Albemarle as simply “Drive-In.” The 1949-56 Theatre Catalogs had two drive-ins in Albemarle, the Badin Road (by the last edition, capacity 400) and the Albemarle (300), both owned by G. L. Faw.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac also had both Albemarle drive-ins. Its difference is that it kept the original half-sized capacities (Badin Road 200, Albemarle 150) through at least 1969. By the 1972 edition, it was Badin Road 600, Albemarle 300.
When owner info returned in the 1978-82 MPAs, both drive-ins listed Exhibitors, and the capacities were down a bit (Badin Road 500, Albemarle 250). Both were owned by Piedmont in the 1984 edition. For 1986-88, the Albemarle was the only one on the list, owned by Piedmont.
The Drive-In Theatre Owners Associate site says the the Badin Road reopened in 1994, which indicates that it was closed before that.
According to The Stanley News and Press, The theater was built by Gilbert Faw and son Raymond. Ethel Faw, Raymond’s wife, said she thought the drive-in first opened in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
“That’s the best I can remember,” Faw said. “Raymond ran the theater until 1966, then he leased it out.”
Faw said after the lease ran out, the theater closed down for a few years.
“My husband passed away in 1991,” Faw said. “I was able to lease the drive-in again in 1993 or 1994.”
In the late ’90s, Martin Murray operated the theater until (David and Judy) Robinson bought it in February 2003.
Roy Speights lives across from the drive-in and remembers when it was first built.
“We moved in our house June 1948,” Speights said. “I remember they were grading for the parking then. The theater must have opened later that summer or fall.”
Georgann Eubanks' wrote in her book Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont: A Guidebook: R.S. (Sam) Gwynn … was born in Eden in 1948. His father ran the drive-in when Gwynn was growing up.
The Theatre Catalogs listed the drive-in under Leaksville. It was in the first list, the 1948-49 edition, as simply Drive-In, Exec: D. L. Craddock, capacity 150. For 1949-50, it was the Eden, the exec was D. E. Gwynn, and capacity grew to 200. In the 1952-56 editions, it was joined in town by the Leaksville Drive-In, also owned by D. E. Gwynn with a capacity of 300.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac listed both drive-ins for Leaksville – the Eden, capacity 282, owned by Eden Theatres Inc.; and the New Leaksville Drive-In, capacity 200, owned by D. E. Gwynn. They both stayed that way through the 1959 edition. In 1961-66 the New Leaksville was owned by Doug Craddock.
When ownership notes resumed in the 1978 MPA, the Eden was listed under the town of Eden and was owned by Consolidate, and that was how it stayed through its last list in 1988. (The New Leaksville dropped out of the MPA after 1976.)
Tim Robertson and his parents, David and Judy, owned the Eden Drive-In, although David passed away in January 2017. Tim told Business North Carolina just last month that his family bought the closed drive-in in 1994 and renovated it.
Over at DailyNetworks.com, Mark Daily writes that “the current Eden Drive-In was originally the Leakesville (sic) Drive-In. A second drive-in previously located near the current Eden Mall site was home of the original Eden Drive-In.”
That would explain how it could handle over 800 cars on a three-night weekend. But I’m not convinced about where the original Eden was; looking at Historic Aerials' old photos and topo maps of the future Eden Mall site, I can’t find anything that looks like a drive-in nearby, except for what’s now the Eden far away on the west side of town.
Apparently this was the location of the old Park Drive-In, which Virginia.org says was open 1954-1983.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog lists the Park, Exec: William MacKenzie Jr., capacity 200.
The 1955-66 International Motion Picture Almanacs listed the owner as W. Mackenzie, eventually adding the capacity of 200. The Park fell off the IMPA list after 1976 and did not return.
Jerry Harmon opened the Park Place on the site of the old Park in 2000 and still owns the complex today.
The Skyview’s first appearance in the Theatre Catalog was the 1949-50 edition, Exec: Moir Branscome and Howard Chitwood, no capacity number. For the 1952 edition, the exec was just W. Branscome, capacity 280. In the 1955-56 edition, the exec changed to H. C. Chitwood.
The 1952-55 Motion Picture Almanacs listed it owned by Chitwook (sic) & Branscome, capacity 281. In 1956 it was corrected to Chitwood & Branscome, and it stayed that way through at least 1961. In 1963-66, the owner was Independent Theatres Inc.
The drive-in’s name changed to Skyvue, at least in all the MPA listings after 1976. In the 1978 edition, it was owned by Indep. Thea., capacity 100. The owner in 1980-82 was Shenandoah. The owner in 1984-88 was T. S. Davidson.
The Pipestem opened in September or October 1972. There’s a “Watch for the opening date” ad in the Sept. 21 Beckley Post-Herald, then on Sept. 30 there’s an ad for the triple feature that “starts Thursday, Oct. 5” of Le Mans (G), Lawman (GP), and Southern Comfort (X). It advertised through at least Dec. 17 that year with “free in car heaters”.
The Raleigh Register of July 5, 1973 identified Ronald Warden of MacArthur as the owner of the Pineville and Pipestem drive-ins as part of a discussion of the legality of X-rated movies. Warden said recent Supreme Court ruling hadn’t changed his plans. “It’s not for the money involved,” he said. “It’s not what we like – it’s what the public pays to see. I don’t want to quit a good thing until I have to. Every time I don’t have an X-rated show, business drops off.” He stressed that he always showed X-rated movies as the third feature.
Its first appearance on my shelf of International Motion Picture Almanacs was the 1978 edition. (It wasn’t in 1976, and I don’t have 1977.) The Pipe Stem (sic) was owned by R. Warden and had a capacity of 285. That’s how it stayed through the last IMPA list in 1988.
WTRF wrote in 2015 that (then-?)current owner Kenneth Woody bought the business in 2007 “from the original owner”. … “Woody, the owner of three other Mercer County businesses, said he depends solely on regular customers and word-of-mouth and does no advertising.”
A comment on a Flickr photo said that it “closed for a while” after the early 1980s. That’s the only mention I’ve seen of any downtime; the WTRF report said Woody bought the Pipestem “because he did not want to see it shut down.”
Who owns the Pipestem now? Karen Woody wrote on the drive-in’s semi-official web site that her family owns the Pipestem. The WV Secretary of State shows that Pipestem Drive-In Theater, Inc. was incorporated in 2007, has filed reports through 2017, and its only officers are Kenneth and Barbara Woody. But I’ve seen several business sources online that claim the Pipestem Drive-Inn Theatre is owned by Jimmy Warden, and that its president is Patricia Warden.
In the 1955-56 Theatre Catalog, the only one in Meadow Bridge WV is the N And R D. I., capacity 125, exec N. Garten. That would be Ned Garten, according to a 2013 article in The Register-Herald, copied on the drive-in’s web site.
The 1955-59 Motion Picture Almanacs also called it the N & R, capacity 125, owner Ned Garten. Garten was trying to sell it in June 1958 (see uploaded newspaper ad), which might be why it dropped out of the 1961-76 editions. The drive-in returned by the 1978 edition as the Meadowbridge (sic), owned by B. Hartley, capacity 180. In the 1980-82 editions, the owner changed to L. Thomas. In 1984, it was J. Boyd. By the 1986 edition, the owner was (Howard) McClanahan, who still owns it today.
The 2013 article covered that period as follows. After Garten’s tenure, it was run by Thomas Theaters. “Then one of the shareholders purchased the location outright. Word on the street was that the theater was going to turn X-rated because its screen faced away from the road. That’s when McClanahan stepped in and decided to make an offer.”
The Meadow Bridge converted to digital in 2013, and McClanahan said the new projector cost more than he paid for the drive-in.
Hull’s is such a wonderful story of a saved drive-in, and that might be one reason why its origins get such a cursory mention. The excellent history page at Hull’s includes: “The theatre was built by W.C. Atkins in 1950, and operated as the Lee Drive-In on land leased from the Hostetter family. Sebert W. Hull purchased the business and lease in 1957.”
Drive-Ins.org said that “local residents Waddy and Virginia Atkins, who earlier had founded what became Hull’s Drive-In in Lexington” owned the Riverside Drive-In in Roanoke from 1958 until its closing.
A detailed if sometimes contradictory history on the Hull’s page on Weebly said “a couple from Roanoke owned the business, a Mr. and Mrs. Atkins, and they’d drive back and forth from Roanoke every night.” Which would explain why they eventually swapped the Lee for the Riverside in their backyard. Also, Mr. Mason Hostetter was a farmer who owned the land behind the Lee.
In the 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs, R. Perdue was listed as the owner of the Lee, capacity 220. Who was this Perdue?
For some reason, the 1952-54 Motion Picture Almanacs didn’t include the Lee. The 1955-59 editions listed W. C. Adkins (sic) as the owner, capacity 250.
It’s strange that the summary here, at least partially written by “D. Edward Vogal”, spells that last name consistently with an A. Every other reference I can find, including CNN, the Baltimore Sun, his signature at the end of a lengthy complaint about the Baltimore Sun, and even the Whois record for Bengies.com – they all spell that name Vogel with an E.
FWIW, its first appearance in the International Motion Picture Almanac was the 1957 edition, in which it was listed in Middle River, spelled as Bengie’s, capacity 585, owner Frog Mortar Corp. That listing stayed the same through 1966.
During the period (at least 1969-76) when the IMPA didn’t include owners, it became Bengies (no apostrophe) in Baltimore, capacity 750. In 1978-88, the listing returned to Middle River, owner Vogel, capacity 600.
The Hi-Way was built and owned by brothers Morris and Raphael Klein. (It included “the latest in open air movie furniture”.) The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the exec as Mrs. Frieda Klein. The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the owner as the Klein brothers.
The Daily Freeman Lifestyle wrote that Roger and Sharon Babcock bought the Hi-Way from Morris Klein in 1996. However, over at EnjoyYourIntermission.com (a superb documentary short about the Hi-Way and its workers), it says they purchased the drive-in “in 1976 after having worked there for several years prior.”
The 1978-82 MPAs listed M. Klein as the owner. By the 1984 edition, the Hi-Way had fallen off the MPA list.
From the old GreenvilleDriveIn.net About Us page in 2014, now stored at the Internet Archive:
In April 1959, Peter Carelas owner of Carelas Restaurant and Grill, began construction on The Greenville Drive-in. The theatre was originally designed to hold 400 cars, was fitted with the latest in projection and sound equipment and was one of 6200 theatres across the country. (The capacity was 550 in the International Motion Picture Almanac.)
… Our screen measures 85 feet wide and stands 5 stories tall which gives everyone a great view of the action. The Drive-in thrived through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s …
In 1988, local business owner Mark Wilcox and 10 others formed what is now known as the Greenville 11. … The Greenville 11 jointly purchased the Drive-in and saved it from land development.
Mark Wilcox operated and managed the Drive-in through the 2006 season. During Mark’s time in operations, the drive in saw the switch from wired speakers to FM sound …
2007 was a year of sadness, after 38 consecutive seasons the Greenville Drive-in closed. In 2009, Don Brown and Patricia Creigh reopened the Drive-in for the season. Due to an extreme amount of rainy days and nights, the Drive-in was only open a few weekends. The Drive-in was again closed for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
In 2012, Jim Gatehouse and Family took over the operations of the Greenville Drive-in. … The Drive-in stands today (2014) 1 of only 400 left in the country.
Sounds like maybe that 1988 crisis was when Ed Caro left. As mentioned above, the Greenville was closed all of 2014.
Current owners Leigh Van Swall and Dwight Grimm ran a modest but successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015. Grimm told Catskill Eats, “We’re trying not to be so much a straight-up movie theater, but more of an event venue with movie-showing capabilities.” They finished their 2017 season in mid-October.
When they listed it at all, the International Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Jericho under Bethlehem, the town of which Glenmont is a hamlet. For at least 1961-76, the Jericho’s movies were booked by Brandt Theatres of New York City, its capacity was listed as 520 cars, and in 1961-66, its owner was Morris Klein. The drive-in didn’t appear in the 1959 IMPA and fell off the list by 1978.
Oval Pike wrote in 2012, “The Jericho opened in 1955, after two brothers bought the land from the physician who lived across the road.” DriveInMovie.com says those brothers were Morris and Raphael Klein, and the first corporation papers for Jericho & 9-W Drive-In Theater, Inc. were filed on Sept. 16, 1955. But everyone else agrees that the grand opening was on Flag Day, June 14, 1957.
Spotlight News wrote this year that current owners Mike and Lisa Chenette bought the place in 1995.
Its former manager, Al LaFamme (or was it LaFlamme?), was one of the owners of the Unadilla Drive-In when it opened in 1956.