The Marlin Democrat included a short history of the Majestic/Palace in a March 11, 2020 article on its 95th anniversary. Highlights:
“In 1912, the “Majestic” Theater was born in Marlin, built by a “Mr. Christian.” It sat on Railroad Street, now Heritage Row, and showed Birth of a Nation as it’s first film. The building was later purchased by film connoisseur J.C. Chatmas … When another of his similar entrepreneurial ventures, the Orpheum Opera House, burned down in 1921, he decided that the Majestic was in need of renovation to avoid a similar fate.
He bought the building in 1924 and because of the condition of disarray, Chatmas decided it would be in best interest to tear the whole thing down and start from scratch.
Construction on The Palace Theatre was completed in 1925 … J.C. Chatmus ran the place with the help of his right-hand man, Casey, until his death in 1966, but it was operated by family members for another nine years after such time. The Chatmus Family held onto the theater until 1980, when it was donated to the First Presbyterian Church of Marlin."
The non-profit Marlin Palace Theater Center, Inc., was then formed to restore the Palace.
Boxoffice, April 1, 1939: “The San-Val Drive-In, in Burbank, has reopened after being dark for a month while damages, caused by Southern California’s windstorm of a month or so ago, were repaired”
Boxoffice, Aug. 5, 1939: “First giveaway ever booked in a drive-in theatre is being given a tryout at Seth Perkins' San-Val. Perkins is handing out free crockery to every woman patron once weekly.”
Today, the Taos News ran a nice little interview with Margo Beutler Gins, daughter of the guy who owned the Kit Carson from 1962 to 1970. The only new detail I could find was the big wind, a dust devil or tornado, that blew down the screen on April 22, 1969.
The Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1952: “William Shiell, Algiers, La., and E. Jenner, Ellisville, Miss., assumed full ownership of the Marrero Drive-In, Marrero, La. In turn, they sold their interest in the Algiers Drive-In, Algiers, La., and the Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., to their former associates, Fred T. McLendon, McLendon Theatres, Union Springs, Ala., and M. A. “Max” Connett, Max Connett Theatres. Shiell will continue to hold the reins of the Marrero Drive-In. In addition, he will have charge of the buying and booking heretofore handled by Sammy Wright, M. A. “Max” Connett Booking Service.”
The Exhibitor, Sept. 2, 1953: “E. R. Sellers and his brother and Bob Conrad purchased Fred T. McLendon’s and M. A. Connett’s interest in the Hub Drive-In and Twin Hub Drive-In, Lafayete, La., along with Milton Guidry, who already shared in ownership operations.”
The Exhibitor, Sept. 23, 1953: “E. R. and R. A. Sellers, Milton Guidry, and R. J. “Bob” Conrad formed the Evangeline Drive-In Corporation to operate the Hub and Twin Hub Drive-Ins, Lafayette, La. The four have taken over M. A. Connett’s and Fred T. McLendon’s interest, Milton Guidry already had a hand in the projects as partners of the latter two. All but R. A. Sellers are experienced in theatre and drive-in operations. E. R. Sellers and Guidry own and operate the Yam Drive-In, Opelousas, La. The latter is also interested in the Nona, Lafayette, La., and Conrad owns the Bruce, Jennings, La., and Sunset, Sunset, La.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 21, 1956: “The Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., still is closed for rebuilding of the screen tower which was flattened during a severe wind storm.”
In a 1958 aerial photo, a drive-in that was still in pretty good shape was visible about 3 miles east of Lafayette on then-US 90. (I’d call it south-southeast of town, but you get the idea.) Hints of the ramps were still there in 1998, and the land was still vacant in 2013. By April 2015, it was occupied by an office products store. The address today is 3045 W Pinhook Road, Lafayette LA 70508.
The Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1952: “William Shiell, Algiers, La., and E. Jenner, Ellisville, Miss., assumed full ownership of the Marrero Drive-In, Marrero, La. In turn, they sold their interest in the Algiers Drive-In, Algiers, La., and the Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., to their former associates, Fred T. McLendon, McLendon Theatres, Union Springs, Ala., and M. A. “Max” Connett, Max Connett Theatres.”
The Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1952: “William Shiell, Algiers, La., and E. Jenner, Ellisville, Miss., assumed full ownership of the Marrero Drive-In, Marrero, La. In turn, they sold their interest in the Algiers Drive-In, Algiers, La., and the Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., to their former associates, Fred T. McLendon, McLendon Theatres, Union Springs, Ala., and M. A. “Max” Connett, Max Connett Theatres. Shiell will continue to hold the reins of the Marrero Drive-In. In addition, he will have charge of the buying and booking heretofore handled by Sammy Wright, M. A. “Max” Connett Booking Service.”
The Exhibitor, Feb. 16, 1955: “R. A. Sellers one of the four owners interested in Hub Drive-In Theatres, Inc., reported that they shut down operations at the Lafayette Drive-In, Lafayette, La.”
The Exhibitor, March 9, 1955: “The Lafayette Drive-In, Lafayette, La., will close for good advised E. R. Sellers, one of the owners. Hub Drive- In Theatres, Inc., operators of two other drive-ins in that city, the Hub and Twin.”
The Exhibitor, Nov. 18, 1953: “The Pat, Lafayette, La., will observe its fifth anniversary on Dec. 8. Mathews Guidry and Percy Duplissey, owners, have plans for a celebration.”
The Tampa Bay Times ran an article about Ted Freiwald, who owns the Ruskin Family Drive-In with his wife Karen. According to the Times, the drive-in opened on April 16, 1952, Freiwald’s 19th birthday.
Looking at the 1951 newspaper ads for the drive-in, I was reminded of the regional usage of “Twin” - it’s a way of including the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. (For example, the name of the baseball team there.) That would explain the name that would otherwise be misleading until 1958, when the drive-in switched to a two-sided screen.
Boxoffice, April 28, 1980: “Don Dorsey, owner of the Dorseyland Drive-In in Caribou, Me., has purchased the Polaris Drive-In in that city from Reginald Bernard. Stan Davis' Cinema Booking Service will serve the new owner.”
Dorseyland owner Don Dorsey wrote, co-produced, and directed the 1971 movie, “Love and Kisses.” That movie was described at the time as X-rated, but IMDb gives it an R. (Maybe after more editing?) A few weeks after the movie’s release, somebody sawed through the wooden posts that supported the drive-in’s screen, allowing it to be toppled by wind.
Boxoffice, Oct. 18, 1965: “Pacific Drive-In Theatres announced personnel changes … Hans Korten, Orange County swing manager, moved into the Paulo Drive-In, Santa Ana, and Bill Spurlin was transferred from the Paulo to the Lakewood Drive-In, Long Beach.”
To be picky, the drive-in site is well east of Erie and slightly east of present-day Lawrence Park. It’s within Northwest Harborcreek, a census-designated place, although the Erie post office delivers its mail. And it probably opened in early 1949, possibly late 1948.
Boxoffice, Aug. 7, 1948: “ERIE, PA. — Star Drive-In, Inc., will open its new outdoor theatre in Lawrence Park at Iroquis avenue and Nagle road in September. The owners, William Coleman and Joseph Gold, entered the drive-in field several years ago, operating the Star at West 12th and Pittsburgh avenue.”
The Exhibitor, March 9, 1949: “William Coleman, coowner. Star Drive-In, as well as the newly constructed Lawrence Park Drive-In, which he operates with his partner, Joe Gold, recently returned from a vacation trip to Florida.”
The Exhibitor, April 13, 1949: “Joseph Gold, co-owner with William Coleman, Star Drive-In, arrived in Pittsburgh following a vacation of several months in Florida, and transacted a lot of business prior to the opening of the new Lawrence Park Drive-In, Wesleyville, Pa.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 1, 1951: “Erie, Pa. - Blatt Bros. Theatres has acquired two outdoor theatres here - the Star and the Lawrence Park - from William Coleman and Joseph Gold.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, May 11, 1955: “Blatt Brothers opened their Lawrence Park Drive-In, Erie, Pa., after widening their screen to present CinemaScope productions.”
Boxoffice, July 9, 1949: (under Theatre Openings) Whitesburg, Ky. - Elinda Ann Drive-In, 300 cars, 360 walk-in seats, opened by Dr. B. F. Wright June 15.
Boxoffice, July 23, 1949: “Our (The Exhibitor Has His Say) contributor, Art V. Phillips, … is very proud of his employer’s new Elinda Ann Theatre (Drive-In) on State Highway 15 within the city limits of Whitesburg, Ky. This opened June 15, to quote Phillips, "with a bang!” He proudly details its capacity of 332 cars, with RCA in-car speakers, but mentions that the most unique thing is the special enclosed, roofed and well ventilated “seat-in section.” This seats 360 patrons and has newly installed International leather-cushioned seats."
This 1980 photo by John Margolies is part of the Library of Congress’s John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive. It’s effectively in the public domain.
I found this 1967 photo on an excellent 2013 blog post, full of San Antonio drive-in theater photos, by Tom Shelton. It’s from the Zintgraff Studio Photograph Collection of the UTSA Libraries. UTSA is the copyright holder for photos in that collection, and has licensed it via the Creative Commons license attribution-no derivatives license, version 4.0.
Boxoffice, Aug. 2, 1976: “Clyde Bolt, operator of the Viking and Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., opened two new theatres here July 15. The duplex is called the Village 1 and 2 and is located in the shopping center by that name.”
Boxoffice, April 20, 1964: “J. M. Pruitt, who operates the Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., has taken over the operation of the Hi-Way 29 Drive-In in the same town from Wilby-Kincey Theatres”
Boxoffice, May 16, 1953: (under Theatre Openings) “Anderson, S.C. - The Fox Drive-In was opened recently by Preston Temple and Bill Sanders.”
Boxoffice, April 20, 1964: “J. M. Pruitt, who operates the Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., has taken over the operation of the Hi-Way 29 Drive-In in the same town from Wilby-Kincey Theatres”
Boxoffice, Aug. 2, 1976: “Clyde Bolt, operator of the Viking and Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., opened two new theatres here July 15. The duplex is called the Village 1 and 2 and is located in the shopping center by that name.”
The Marlin Democrat included a short history of the Majestic/Palace in a March 11, 2020 article on its 95th anniversary. Highlights:
“In 1912, the “Majestic” Theater was born in Marlin, built by a “Mr. Christian.” It sat on Railroad Street, now Heritage Row, and showed Birth of a Nation as it’s first film. The building was later purchased by film connoisseur J.C. Chatmas … When another of his similar entrepreneurial ventures, the Orpheum Opera House, burned down in 1921, he decided that the Majestic was in need of renovation to avoid a similar fate.
He bought the building in 1924 and because of the condition of disarray, Chatmas decided it would be in best interest to tear the whole thing down and start from scratch.
Construction on The Palace Theatre was completed in 1925 … J.C. Chatmus ran the place with the help of his right-hand man, Casey, until his death in 1966, but it was operated by family members for another nine years after such time. The Chatmus Family held onto the theater until 1980, when it was donated to the First Presbyterian Church of Marlin."
The non-profit Marlin Palace Theater Center, Inc., was then formed to restore the Palace.
The American Dream’s latest (?) web site has listings through June 2020: http://americandreamdrivein.com/
But its Facebook page had posts with movies through September 2022: https://www.facebook.com/americandreamdrivein I guess the place is still active.
Boxoffice, April 1, 1939: “The San-Val Drive-In, in Burbank, has reopened after being dark for a month while damages, caused by Southern California’s windstorm of a month or so ago, were repaired”
Boxoffice, Aug. 5, 1939: “First giveaway ever booked in a drive-in theatre is being given a tryout at Seth Perkins' San-Val. Perkins is handing out free crockery to every woman patron once weekly.”
Today, the Taos News ran a nice little interview with Margo Beutler Gins, daughter of the guy who owned the Kit Carson from 1962 to 1970. The only new detail I could find was the big wind, a dust devil or tornado, that blew down the screen on April 22, 1969.
The Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1952: “William Shiell, Algiers, La., and E. Jenner, Ellisville, Miss., assumed full ownership of the Marrero Drive-In, Marrero, La. In turn, they sold their interest in the Algiers Drive-In, Algiers, La., and the Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., to their former associates, Fred T. McLendon, McLendon Theatres, Union Springs, Ala., and M. A. “Max” Connett, Max Connett Theatres. Shiell will continue to hold the reins of the Marrero Drive-In. In addition, he will have charge of the buying and booking heretofore handled by Sammy Wright, M. A. “Max” Connett Booking Service.”
The Exhibitor, Sept. 2, 1953: “E. R. Sellers and his brother and Bob Conrad purchased Fred T. McLendon’s and M. A. Connett’s interest in the Hub Drive-In and Twin Hub Drive-In, Lafayete, La., along with Milton Guidry, who already shared in ownership operations.”
The Exhibitor, Sept. 23, 1953: “E. R. and R. A. Sellers, Milton Guidry, and R. J. “Bob” Conrad formed the Evangeline Drive-In Corporation to operate the Hub and Twin Hub Drive-Ins, Lafayette, La. The four have taken over M. A. Connett’s and Fred T. McLendon’s interest, Milton Guidry already had a hand in the projects as partners of the latter two. All but R. A. Sellers are experienced in theatre and drive-in operations. E. R. Sellers and Guidry own and operate the Yam Drive-In, Opelousas, La. The latter is also interested in the Nona, Lafayette, La., and Conrad owns the Bruce, Jennings, La., and Sunset, Sunset, La.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 21, 1956: “The Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., still is closed for rebuilding of the screen tower which was flattened during a severe wind storm.”
In a 1958 aerial photo, a drive-in that was still in pretty good shape was visible about 3 miles east of Lafayette on then-US 90. (I’d call it south-southeast of town, but you get the idea.) Hints of the ramps were still there in 1998, and the land was still vacant in 2013. By April 2015, it was occupied by an office products store. The address today is 3045 W Pinhook Road, Lafayette LA 70508.
The Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1952: “William Shiell, Algiers, La., and E. Jenner, Ellisville, Miss., assumed full ownership of the Marrero Drive-In, Marrero, La. In turn, they sold their interest in the Algiers Drive-In, Algiers, La., and the Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., to their former associates, Fred T. McLendon, McLendon Theatres, Union Springs, Ala., and M. A. “Max” Connett, Max Connett Theatres.”
The Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1952: “William Shiell, Algiers, La., and E. Jenner, Ellisville, Miss., assumed full ownership of the Marrero Drive-In, Marrero, La. In turn, they sold their interest in the Algiers Drive-In, Algiers, La., and the Hub Drive-In, Lafayette, La., to their former associates, Fred T. McLendon, McLendon Theatres, Union Springs, Ala., and M. A. “Max” Connett, Max Connett Theatres. Shiell will continue to hold the reins of the Marrero Drive-In. In addition, he will have charge of the buying and booking heretofore handled by Sammy Wright, M. A. “Max” Connett Booking Service.”
The Exhibitor, Feb. 16, 1955: “R. A. Sellers one of the four owners interested in Hub Drive-In Theatres, Inc., reported that they shut down operations at the Lafayette Drive-In, Lafayette, La.”
The Exhibitor, March 9, 1955: “The Lafayette Drive-In, Lafayette, La., will close for good advised E. R. Sellers, one of the owners. Hub Drive- In Theatres, Inc., operators of two other drive-ins in that city, the Hub and Twin.”
The Exhibitor, Nov. 18, 1953: “The Pat, Lafayette, La., will observe its fifth anniversary on Dec. 8. Mathews Guidry and Percy Duplissey, owners, have plans for a celebration.”
The Exhibitor, Feb. 13, 1952: “Milton Guidry advised that his Loit, Lafayette, La., has been converted to a clothing establishment.”
The Tampa Bay Times ran an article about Ted Freiwald, who owns the Ruskin Family Drive-In with his wife Karen. According to the Times, the drive-in opened on April 16, 1952, Freiwald’s 19th birthday.
Looking at the 1951 newspaper ads for the drive-in, I was reminded of the regional usage of “Twin” - it’s a way of including the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. (For example, the name of the baseball team there.) That would explain the name that would otherwise be misleading until 1958, when the drive-in switched to a two-sided screen.
Boxoffice, April 28, 1980: “Don Dorsey, owner of the Dorseyland Drive-In in Caribou, Me., has purchased the Polaris Drive-In in that city from Reginald Bernard. Stan Davis' Cinema Booking Service will serve the new owner.”
Dorseyland owner Don Dorsey wrote, co-produced, and directed the 1971 movie, “Love and Kisses.” That movie was described at the time as X-rated, but IMDb gives it an R. (Maybe after more editing?) A few weeks after the movie’s release, somebody sawed through the wooden posts that supported the drive-in’s screen, allowing it to be toppled by wind.
Here you go, Hires2U.
Boxoffice, Oct. 18, 1965: “Pacific Drive-In Theatres announced personnel changes … Hans Korten, Orange County swing manager, moved into the Paulo Drive-In, Santa Ana, and Bill Spurlin was transferred from the Paulo to the Lakewood Drive-In, Long Beach.”
To be picky, the drive-in site is well east of Erie and slightly east of present-day Lawrence Park. It’s within Northwest Harborcreek, a census-designated place, although the Erie post office delivers its mail. And it probably opened in early 1949, possibly late 1948.
Boxoffice, Aug. 7, 1948: “ERIE, PA. — Star Drive-In, Inc., will open its new outdoor theatre in Lawrence Park at Iroquis avenue and Nagle road in September. The owners, William Coleman and Joseph Gold, entered the drive-in field several years ago, operating the Star at West 12th and Pittsburgh avenue.”
The Exhibitor, March 9, 1949: “William Coleman, coowner. Star Drive-In, as well as the newly constructed Lawrence Park Drive-In, which he operates with his partner, Joe Gold, recently returned from a vacation trip to Florida.”
The Exhibitor, April 13, 1949: “Joseph Gold, co-owner with William Coleman, Star Drive-In, arrived in Pittsburgh following a vacation of several months in Florida, and transacted a lot of business prior to the opening of the new Lawrence Park Drive-In, Wesleyville, Pa.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 1, 1951: “Erie, Pa. - Blatt Bros. Theatres has acquired two outdoor theatres here - the Star and the Lawrence Park - from William Coleman and Joseph Gold.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, May 11, 1955: “Blatt Brothers opened their Lawrence Park Drive-In, Erie, Pa., after widening their screen to present CinemaScope productions.”
Boxoffice, July 9, 1949: (under Theatre Openings) Whitesburg, Ky. - Elinda Ann Drive-In, 300 cars, 360 walk-in seats, opened by Dr. B. F. Wright June 15.
Boxoffice, July 23, 1949: “Our (The Exhibitor Has His Say) contributor, Art V. Phillips, … is very proud of his employer’s new Elinda Ann Theatre (Drive-In) on State Highway 15 within the city limits of Whitesburg, Ky. This opened June 15, to quote Phillips, "with a bang!” He proudly details its capacity of 332 cars, with RCA in-car speakers, but mentions that the most unique thing is the special enclosed, roofed and well ventilated “seat-in section.” This seats 360 patrons and has newly installed International leather-cushioned seats."
This 1980 photo by John Margolies is part of the Library of Congress’s John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive. It’s effectively in the public domain.
I found this 1967 photo on an excellent 2013 blog post, full of San Antonio drive-in theater photos, by Tom Shelton. It’s from the Zintgraff Studio Photograph Collection of the UTSA Libraries. UTSA is the copyright holder for photos in that collection, and has licensed it via the Creative Commons license attribution-no derivatives license, version 4.0.
Boxoffice, Aug. 2, 1976: “Clyde Bolt, operator of the Viking and Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., opened two new theatres here July 15. The duplex is called the Village 1 and 2 and is located in the shopping center by that name.”
Boxoffice, April 20, 1964: “J. M. Pruitt, who operates the Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., has taken over the operation of the Hi-Way 29 Drive-In in the same town from Wilby-Kincey Theatres”
Boxoffice, May 16, 1953: (under Theatre Openings) “Anderson, S.C. - The Fox Drive-In was opened recently by Preston Temple and Bill Sanders.”
Boxoffice, April 20, 1964: “J. M. Pruitt, who operates the Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., has taken over the operation of the Hi-Way 29 Drive-In in the same town from Wilby-Kincey Theatres”
Boxoffice, Aug. 2, 1976: “Clyde Bolt, operator of the Viking and Fox Drive-In, Anderson, S.C., opened two new theatres here July 15. The duplex is called the Village 1 and 2 and is located in the shopping center by that name.”