I’m not sure what you mean by “distorted” as I’ve seen plenty of aerials that are not 100% clear.
I have yet to run across an aerial that was not properly dated by NETR because the photographs themselves are time and date stamped when they were shot. I had to use such a photo to prove that another drive-in received its second screen 10 years before the description on this site stated it happened.
Having said that, this may be an exception not because of the condition of the aerial, but because there is a large tree present at the back of the drive-in behind where the ticket booth used to be.
Trees of that size take several years to grow. And since the 1955 aerial shows no such tree at all, then NETR might’ve messed this one up.
This puts it right where the entrance road use to be. Today, the property connects to Malone Road.
A 1983 aerial shows the drive-in had been closed for some time, but it was still intact. A decade later, the drive-in was totally demolished. Today, there are no traces of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 5544 Marianna Hwy, Donalsonville, GA.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the entrance road.
A 1957 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but by 1974 the screen was gone and replaced by the church. The projection booth/concession stand was removed as well.
Apart from the entrance and exit roads which are in use by the church and a private home respectively, only the general outline of the drive-in remains.
A closer address is 15375 Old Bloomfield Rd, Dexter, MO.
This puts it next to where the projection booth/concession stand once stood. A large part of the drive-in now sits under MO-25 since two more lanes were added at some point between 1962 and 1979.
A closer address is 1420 W Business U.S. 60, Dexter, MO.
This puts it right next to the old entrance road. From the aerial photos, it was demolished between 1980 and 1985. Leaving only the projection booth/concession stand which is still present today.
A closer address is 15302 SC-200, Great Falls, SC.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in looking fairly new. With the ticket booth near the screen and one along the exit road.
By 1964, the drive-in was clearly closed with the residential streets constructed. The screen and projection booth were still standing. By 1983, it had been completely demolished with no trace remaining.
From 1955 to 1969, the drive-in had an exit road that connected to Searcy Avenue. The 1955 aerial shows what appears to be a ticket booth where the road meets the drive-in. It’s certainly a structure identical to the ticket booth near the screen, but I cannot say what it was used for.
The advertisement lists the Iris Drive-In as being on Memorial Drive.
The only drive-in on Memorial Drive, which runs for just a few miles, is the Spaulding Drive-In.
Either the two drive-ins are the same OR the Spaulding Drive-In was located somewhere else. And wherever that was, I cannot find another drive-in around Griffin, GA in the 1962 aerial. That doesn’t mean another drive-in did not exist, but if it did I have yet to find it.
The advertisement lists the Iris Drive-In as being on Memorial Drive.
The only drive-in on Memorial Drive, which runs for just a few miles, is the Spaulding Drive-In.
Either the two drive-ins are the same OR the Spaulding Drive-In was located somewhere else. And wherever that was, I cannot find another drive-in around Griffin, GA in the 1962 aerial. That doesn’t mean another drive-in did not exist, but if it did I have yet to find it.
The current address is 6196 University Ave, Birmingham, AL.
The address of the property has changed as it has been cut off from what is now Messer Airport HWY. The drive-in sat astride what was Enterprise Rent-A-Car/Hertz and Avis with the screen sitting on the former and the bulk of the drive-in on the latter.
The entrance to the drive-in is on Black Street. You can still see a little of it in Google Maps. The drive-in was never connected to Route 30.
However, Google Maps does not have an address for the property. A May 2023 Google Street View does show what’s left of the concession stand/projector booth and part of the general outline is still present.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in under construction with a projection booth and separate concession stand, but the screen isn’t there yet. This was never a true “autoscope” that was converted, it was a standard drive-in.
By 1959, it was fully constructed and operational. And while rather sizable, I’d say the advertisements of “600 cards and 600 walk-ins” is a sizable exaggeration. Perhaps 300 to 350 cars and no seats that I can see for the walk-ins, so they had to stand.
By 1975, the drive-in had been totally demolished and replaced with businesses.
A closer address is 1922 Rawlins Rd, Atchison, KS.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right next to the drive-in. The drive-in sat on the SE side of the property.
It was still intact (sorta) in 1991, but was demolished by 2006. Today, the area is overgrown with only the general outline still being recognizable as a drive-in.
I’m not sure what you mean by “distorted” as I’ve seen plenty of aerials that are not 100% clear.
I have yet to run across an aerial that was not properly dated by NETR because the photographs themselves are time and date stamped when they were shot. I had to use such a photo to prove that another drive-in received its second screen 10 years before the description on this site stated it happened.
Having said that, this may be an exception not because of the condition of the aerial, but because there is a large tree present at the back of the drive-in behind where the ticket booth used to be.
Trees of that size take several years to grow. And since the 1955 aerial shows no such tree at all, then NETR might’ve messed this one up.
This drive-in appears to have closed in the 1950s as a 1960 aerial shows the screen is gone.
A closer address is 1600 N Main St, Blakely, GA.
This puts it right where the entrance road use to be. Today, the property connects to Malone Road.
A 1983 aerial shows the drive-in had been closed for some time, but it was still intact. A decade later, the drive-in was totally demolished. Today, there are no traces of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/599bctuu
A closer address is 5544 Marianna Hwy, Donalsonville, GA.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the entrance road.
A 1957 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but by 1974 the screen was gone and replaced by the church. The projection booth/concession stand was removed as well.
Apart from the entrance and exit roads which are in use by the church and a private home respectively, only the general outline of the drive-in remains.
https://tinyurl.com/bddcrarj
A closer address is 15375 Old Bloomfield Rd, Dexter, MO.
This puts it next to where the projection booth/concession stand once stood. A large part of the drive-in now sits under MO-25 since two more lanes were added at some point between 1962 and 1979.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/ywzwzb5b
A closer address is 1420 W Business U.S. 60, Dexter, MO.
This puts it right next to the old entrance road. From the aerial photos, it was demolished between 1980 and 1985. Leaving only the projection booth/concession stand which is still present today.
https://tinyurl.com/2kdbsmak
Interestingly enough, there aerials from 1950 and 1951 available on NETR.
The 1950 aerial shows a mostly completed drive-in, but no projector booth. The 1951 aerial does show a projector booth.
Since the 1950 aerial shows leaves on the trees, it means that what MichaelKilgore discovered is not contradicted by the aerial photos.
A closer address is 1406 6th St SW, Warren, OH.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it on the property.
Today, the property is empty and overgrown. But you can still see slight traces of the drive-in in terms of the outline and hints of ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/bddwn38d
A closer address is 15302 SC-200, Great Falls, SC.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in looking fairly new. With the ticket booth near the screen and one along the exit road.
By 1964, the drive-in was clearly closed with the residential streets constructed. The screen and projection booth were still standing. By 1983, it had been completely demolished with no trace remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/4edd36p5
From 1955 to 1969, the drive-in had an exit road that connected to Searcy Avenue. The 1955 aerial shows what appears to be a ticket booth where the road meets the drive-in. It’s certainly a structure identical to the ticket booth near the screen, but I cannot say what it was used for.
By 1973, the exit road had vanished.
The advertisement lists the Iris Drive-In as being on Memorial Drive.
The only drive-in on Memorial Drive, which runs for just a few miles, is the Spaulding Drive-In.
Either the two drive-ins are the same OR the Spaulding Drive-In was located somewhere else. And wherever that was, I cannot find another drive-in around Griffin, GA in the 1962 aerial. That doesn’t mean another drive-in did not exist, but if it did I have yet to find it.
The advertisement lists the Iris Drive-In as being on Memorial Drive.
The only drive-in on Memorial Drive, which runs for just a few miles, is the Spaulding Drive-In.
Either the two drive-ins are the same OR the Spaulding Drive-In was located somewhere else. And wherever that was, I cannot find another drive-in around Griffin, GA in the 1962 aerial. That doesn’t mean another drive-in did not exist, but if it did I have yet to find it.
The current address is 6196 University Ave, Birmingham, AL.
The address of the property has changed as it has been cut off from what is now Messer Airport HWY. The drive-in sat astride what was Enterprise Rent-A-Car/Hertz and Avis with the screen sitting on the former and the bulk of the drive-in on the latter.
Today, all three businesses have closed.
https://tinyurl.com/y376p37j
A closer address is 930 W Corsicana St, Athens, TX.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it on the property.
Today, it is home to HVAC Manufacturing Company, but the outline and some of the ramps still survive.
https://tinyurl.com/5x6f896v
Sometime after May 2023, but before September 2023 the land was cleared of all the trees. It has been for sale for several years.
A closer address is 943 County Rd 106, Amsterdam, NY.
This puts it right across the street from the drive-in’s entrance road which can still be seen today.
Yes, Google Maps lists the address in Amsterdam which makes little sense, but there it is.
https://tinyurl.com/42dp7vre
The entrance to the drive-in is on Black Street. You can still see a little of it in Google Maps. The drive-in was never connected to Route 30.
However, Google Maps does not have an address for the property. A May 2023 Google Street View does show what’s left of the concession stand/projector booth and part of the general outline is still present.
The panels have been taken off the screen leaving only the skeleton.
Although a couple of buildings have been constructed on the property, you can still barely make out a few ramps.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in under construction with a projection booth and separate concession stand, but the screen isn’t there yet. This was never a true “autoscope” that was converted, it was a standard drive-in.
By 1959, it was fully constructed and operational. And while rather sizable, I’d say the advertisements of “600 cards and 600 walk-ins” is a sizable exaggeration. Perhaps 300 to 350 cars and no seats that I can see for the walk-ins, so they had to stand.
By 1975, the drive-in had been totally demolished and replaced with businesses.
A closer address is 1501 Dawson Rd, Princeton, KY.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property.
Today, the property has two private residences and virtually no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/3xekenuk
As of a November 2020 Google Street View, the footers for the main screen are still present.
A closer address is 1922 Rawlins Rd, Atchison, KS.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right next to the drive-in. The drive-in sat on the SE side of the property.
It was still intact (sorta) in 1991, but was demolished by 2006. Today, the area is overgrown with only the general outline still being recognizable as a drive-in.
https://tinyurl.com/5n97m7kz
Most of the property is covered in trees. If any remnants of the drive-in remain, they cannot be spotted from Google Maps.
A closer address is 549 Day Hoit Dr, Wallins Creek, KY.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it on the property. By 1983, the drive-in was gone and the trailer park was well established.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/mmynkjz4