The last ad I could find for the North 29 in the Charlotte Observer was on Jan. 2, 1973, for the double feature of “Shantytown Honeymoon” and “City Slicker at the Opry”.
At the time, the North 29 was advertising in a block with the Queen, the Albemarle Road, and the South 29. On Jan. 3, those three appeared in the Observer without the North 29.
WBOC reported yesterday that local artist Rod Pond, better known as RCP, has taken down the old Shore marquee and plans to restore it. The article said that the Shore opened in 1954 and closed in 1976, but they might have found those dates here on CT.
NorthCentralPA.com reported yesterday that, although the Point owner David Renn had previously said 2022 was its last year, the drive-in will be reopening for the 2023 season. The landowner’s plan to build a solar farm on the site has been delayed, at least, though Renn said he won’t sell 2023 season passes. Visit while you can, I guess!
If you really want to nail down the exact date of a HistoricAerials photo, you can often find the original photo at https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, which will include that date. But Historic Aerials is sooo much more convenient!
Just saying, I’ve documented drive-ins that were built in six weeks. That required good weather and an experienced builder. Most early-1950s drive-ins builders didn’t have much experience, so in a word, yaneverknow.
Here’s a summary of Somerset’s drive-in history, as printed in the Commonwealth-Journal of July 13, 1986. (The original article failed to notice that the Family and Lakeview were both built in 1951, so I skipped over those erroneous notes.)
“Ben Johnson … operated Family Drive-In from 1961 to 1965 for his father, who owned the outdoor theater from … 1953. When the lights of the new Tradewind shopping center interfered with movies showing across U.S. 27 at the Family Drive-In the theater closed and was replaced by Hardee’s and Cumberland Security Bank, Johnson said. He then purchased Lakeview Drive-In from its builders and owners, Hogan Teater, J.T. Pollard and Ralph Eller … Prior to Johnson’s purchase, Lakeview was being operated by Harry Roaden, whose uncle, O.G. Roaden, leased the theater from Teater. Pollard and Eller between 1956 and 1966. As Johnson took over at Lakeview, Roaden built 27 Twin Drive-In in 1967. He added a second screen in 1981.”
Looking at the map, that Burnside location is a much better fit for a drive-in named Lakeview. The entrance was maybe 40 or 50 yards away from the Cumberland River.
Boxoffice, Oct. 15, 1973: “Phil Borack, Tri-State, president, offered a $100 prize for the best promotional collection in the B&R Theatres' drive-ins and hardtops for the annual Will Rogers Hospital drive. Winners were Ben Johnson, manager of Lakeview Drive-In, Burnside, Ky., and Ken Neal, Russell Theatre manager, Maysville, Ky.”
When the Lakeview opened, the front-page note in the Commonwealth said it had a 520-car capacity, and it was near Burnside. Aerial photos from 1956 showed a smaller drive-in just northwest of Burnside at the modern-day corner of Ben Way Drive and US 27. (The 1951 photo showed the field under construction.) A sample address would be 84 Ben Way Dr, Somerset, KY 42501.
The Family’s ad in the June 27, 1951 Commonwealth, a few pages away from the Lakeview ad, said that it was on “Highway 27, Truck Route”. I would guess that the drive-in that was closer to Somerset was the Family.
What an extra-cool resource! Thanks for sharing, 50sSnipes! My first quick search for the Family showed that it advertised in Somerset’s Commonwealth newspaper on April 30, 1952. I’ll keep digging there.
Meanwhile, here’s the link to the Pulaski County Library’s collection of Somerset newspapers online.
Atlas Obscura weighed in on the Northfield with a few photos and the explanation for its cross-border location. Owner Carl Neilman “wanted to be in Massachusetts, but didn’t want to have to pay two union projectionists (the minimum required by Massachusetts law) every night. To avoid this, the Northfield Drive-In was built with its projection booth and snack bar in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, while also partly in Northfield, Massachusetts.”
The article added that a hurricane destroyed the screen in 1951, and its replacement is still used today. “The Cider House Rules” used the Northfield as a filming location in 1998.
On July 9, 1949, Boxoffice wrote that “Billy Tygart, local businessman”, was building a drive-in near Nashville, Ga. The Sept. 24, 1949 issue of Boxoffice noted that he had opened the “Sun-Set Drive-In”. The only Nashville GA drive-in in the 1951-52 Motion Picture Almanac list was the Sunset, capacity 100, owner W. H. Tygart.
I don’t know much about the Sunset, in particular whether it grew to be the Midway. The Exhibitor magazine wrote on March 28, 1951: “For the second time, the screen at the Sunset Drive-In, Nashville, Ga., was blown down by windstorms.” That would be my guess for why it closed.
The Sept. 13, 1952 issue of Boxoffice noted that Stein Theatres had opened “the 200-car Midway Drive-In, managed by Howard Mainor.” The 1953-54 Motion Picture Almanac listed the Midway with a capacity of 200 cars, owner L. A. Stein.
A 1956 aerial photo showed a small drive-in on the northeast corner of state highway 76 (the Adel Highway) and road 198. The drive-in was gone by 1972, and no trace of it survives today. The house now at that corner has the address of 1753 GA-76, Nashville, GA 31639.
A quote from a Mississippi Free Press story about Ocala Drive-In owner John Watzke: “His first attempt at reopening a drive-in(?) was the Star Theater in Covington, La., in the late 1990s. The effort ultimately proved to be short-lived when the location’s proximity to downtown Covington and a lack of sufficient parking spaces led to poor attendance.”
I believe the Film Daily Year Book got it wrong. I doubt that this was ever called “Motor-In”.
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “Motor Movies, Stockton’s first drive-in, was scheduled to open May 7. Joe Blumenfeld of Blumenfeld Theatres announced that the theatre will be managed by S. R. Claggett, who for the past two years has been operating drive-ins in southern California.”
A paragraph from my book, “Drive-Ins of Colorado”:
(Herb Gumper) died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip in July 1964. Herbert’s son Max took over the Roundup, keeping it running for about another decade. Boxoffice reported that he installed a new marquee before the 1971 season, so we know it was open then, but the (La Jara) Gazette didn’t include any ads for it in the summer of 1972.
Thanks for the link, DavidZornig! (Here’s the archived version in case it becomes unavailable at the Daily Record.) I had heard that the movies were only available to overnight visitors, but that article says it’s available to anyone for some weekend screenings. I’m planning my summer trip now! :)
This 1982 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1984 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This 1979 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress, and is effectively in the public domain.
This is a cropped version of a 1987 photo by John Margolies, part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive at the Library of Congress. It’s effectively in the public domain.
This 1982 photo by John Margolies is part of the John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive of the Library of Congress. As the original contributor indicated, it’s in the public domain.
That 1979 photo by John Margolies is part of the Library of Congress’s John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive, and is effectively in the public domain.
The last ad I could find for the North 29 in the Charlotte Observer was on Jan. 2, 1973, for the double feature of “Shantytown Honeymoon” and “City Slicker at the Opry”.
At the time, the North 29 was advertising in a block with the Queen, the Albemarle Road, and the South 29. On Jan. 3, those three appeared in the Observer without the North 29.
WBOC reported yesterday that local artist Rod Pond, better known as RCP, has taken down the old Shore marquee and plans to restore it. The article said that the Shore opened in 1954 and closed in 1976, but they might have found those dates here on CT.
NorthCentralPA.com reported yesterday that, although the Point owner David Renn had previously said 2022 was its last year, the drive-in will be reopening for the 2023 season. The landowner’s plan to build a solar farm on the site has been delayed, at least, though Renn said he won’t sell 2023 season passes. Visit while you can, I guess!
If you really want to nail down the exact date of a HistoricAerials photo, you can often find the original photo at https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, which will include that date. But Historic Aerials is sooo much more convenient!
Just saying, I’ve documented drive-ins that were built in six weeks. That required good weather and an experienced builder. Most early-1950s drive-ins builders didn’t have much experience, so in a word, yaneverknow.
Here’s a summary of Somerset’s drive-in history, as printed in the Commonwealth-Journal of July 13, 1986. (The original article failed to notice that the Family and Lakeview were both built in 1951, so I skipped over those erroneous notes.)
“Ben Johnson … operated Family Drive-In from 1961 to 1965 for his father, who owned the outdoor theater from … 1953. When the lights of the new Tradewind shopping center interfered with movies showing across U.S. 27 at the Family Drive-In the theater closed and was replaced by Hardee’s and Cumberland Security Bank, Johnson said. He then purchased Lakeview Drive-In from its builders and owners, Hogan Teater, J.T. Pollard and Ralph Eller … Prior to Johnson’s purchase, Lakeview was being operated by Harry Roaden, whose uncle, O.G. Roaden, leased the theater from Teater. Pollard and Eller between 1956 and 1966. As Johnson took over at Lakeview, Roaden built 27 Twin Drive-In in 1967. He added a second screen in 1981.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 8, 1953: “Somerset, Ky. - Ben W. Johnson of Ashland purchased the Family Drive-In from Raymond L. Edwards.”
Boxoffice, April 23, 1962: “TOC is booking and buying for the Family Drive-In at Somerset, Ky., owned by Ben Johnson”
Boxoffice, Jan. 16, 1967: “The Family Drive-In, Somerset, Ky., has been sold by owner Ben Johnson to the supermarket next door.”
Looking at the map, that Burnside location is a much better fit for a drive-in named Lakeview. The entrance was maybe 40 or 50 yards away from the Cumberland River.
Boxoffice, Oct. 15, 1973: “Phil Borack, Tri-State, president, offered a $100 prize for the best promotional collection in the B&R Theatres' drive-ins and hardtops for the annual Will Rogers Hospital drive. Winners were Ben Johnson, manager of Lakeview Drive-In, Burnside, Ky., and Ken Neal, Russell Theatre manager, Maysville, Ky.”
When the Lakeview opened, the front-page note in the Commonwealth said it had a 520-car capacity, and it was near Burnside. Aerial photos from 1956 showed a smaller drive-in just northwest of Burnside at the modern-day corner of Ben Way Drive and US 27. (The 1951 photo showed the field under construction.) A sample address would be 84 Ben Way Dr, Somerset, KY 42501.
The Family’s ad in the June 27, 1951 Commonwealth, a few pages away from the Lakeview ad, said that it was on “Highway 27, Truck Route”. I would guess that the drive-in that was closer to Somerset was the Family.
What an extra-cool resource! Thanks for sharing, 50sSnipes! My first quick search for the Family showed that it advertised in Somerset’s Commonwealth newspaper on April 30, 1952. I’ll keep digging there.
Meanwhile, here’s the link to the Pulaski County Library’s collection of Somerset newspapers online.
Once again, I’d love to know 50sSnipes' source. When I went digging, all I found for Somerset was more Family Drive-In.
Boxoffice, Aug. 8, 1953: “Somerset, Ky. - Ben W. Johnson of Ashland purchased the Family Drive-In from Raymond L. Edwards.”
Boxoffice, April 23, 1962: “TOC is booking and buying for the Family Drive-In at Somerset, Ky., owned by Ben Johnson”
Boxoffice, Jan. 16, 1967: “The Family Drive-In, Somerset, Ky., has been sold by owner Ben Johnson to the supermarket next door.”
Atlas Obscura weighed in on the Northfield with a few photos and the explanation for its cross-border location. Owner Carl Neilman “wanted to be in Massachusetts, but didn’t want to have to pay two union projectionists (the minimum required by Massachusetts law) every night. To avoid this, the Northfield Drive-In was built with its projection booth and snack bar in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, while also partly in Northfield, Massachusetts.”
The article added that a hurricane destroyed the screen in 1951, and its replacement is still used today. “The Cider House Rules” used the Northfield as a filming location in 1998.
There’s a lengthy article about the history and people of the Manahawkin at Jersey Shore Online today. I saved an Internet Archive link.
On July 9, 1949, Boxoffice wrote that “Billy Tygart, local businessman”, was building a drive-in near Nashville, Ga. The Sept. 24, 1949 issue of Boxoffice noted that he had opened the “Sun-Set Drive-In”. The only Nashville GA drive-in in the 1951-52 Motion Picture Almanac list was the Sunset, capacity 100, owner W. H. Tygart.
I don’t know much about the Sunset, in particular whether it grew to be the Midway. The Exhibitor magazine wrote on March 28, 1951: “For the second time, the screen at the Sunset Drive-In, Nashville, Ga., was blown down by windstorms.” That would be my guess for why it closed.
The Sept. 13, 1952 issue of Boxoffice noted that Stein Theatres had opened “the 200-car Midway Drive-In, managed by Howard Mainor.” The 1953-54 Motion Picture Almanac listed the Midway with a capacity of 200 cars, owner L. A. Stein.
A 1956 aerial photo showed a small drive-in on the northeast corner of state highway 76 (the Adel Highway) and road 198. The drive-in was gone by 1972, and no trace of it survives today. The house now at that corner has the address of 1753 GA-76, Nashville, GA 31639.
A quote from a Mississippi Free Press story about Ocala Drive-In owner John Watzke: “His first attempt at reopening a drive-in(?) was the Star Theater in Covington, La., in the late 1990s. The effort ultimately proved to be short-lived when the location’s proximity to downtown Covington and a lack of sufficient parking spaces led to poor attendance.”
I believe the Film Daily Year Book got it wrong. I doubt that this was ever called “Motor-In”.
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “Motor Movies, Stockton’s first drive-in, was scheduled to open May 7. Joe Blumenfeld of Blumenfeld Theatres announced that the theatre will be managed by S. R. Claggett, who for the past two years has been operating drive-ins in southern California.”
Boxoffice, May 22, 1948: “Blumenfeld Theatres opened the Marin County Motor Movies May 21.”
A paragraph from my book, “Drive-Ins of Colorado”:
(Herb Gumper) died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip in July 1964. Herbert’s son Max took over the Roundup, keeping it running for about another decade. Boxoffice reported that he installed a new marquee before the 1971 season, so we know it was open then, but the (La Jara) Gazette didn’t include any ads for it in the summer of 1972.
Thanks for the link, DavidZornig! (Here’s the archived version in case it becomes unavailable at the Daily Record.) I had heard that the movies were only available to overnight visitors, but that article says it’s available to anyone for some weekend screenings. I’m planning my summer trip now! :)
According to a photo caption published May 20, 1948 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Bellwood was scheduled to open “on or about May 27” that year.