Chuck and Marianne James sold the Mesa to Marcella Snyder and her husband Jon Parkin, who also own the Tibbs Drive-In in Indianapolis. According to a nice, long article in today’s Pueblo Chieftain, they’re upgrading the plumbing and other stuff and hope to reopen on Memorial Day weekend this year.
This photo appeared in the May 8, 1966 issue of the Las Cruces Sun-News. The original caption:
Aggie Drive-In Theater, located at the intersection of the Truck Bypass and West Hadley, is shown in its last stages of completion. The opening is scheduled for Thursday (12) with “Charade,” starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and “I’d Rather Be Rich,” with Sandra Dee and Andy Williams. The drive-in is equipped with a 90 x 60-foot giant screen and double-cone speakers for better listening. Lamar Gwaltney, the owner and operate of Los Cruces' newest outdoor theater, said there will be room for 600 cars. It will be open seven days a week. (Priestley)
The Las Cruces Sun-News announced on Aug. 19, 1948, the the Organ would open that night, but they were still working on the grill. The same grand opening ad ran again on Aug. 20, and the newspaper said that night would be the Organ’s premiere, so that was probably right.
When it opened the Organ had “modern central sound equipment, the same which is now used in Radio City Music Hall.” The type of loudspeaker was somehow “a recent development for the benefit of drive-in theaters, allows patrons to hear just as well with the car windows rolled up as when they are down.” (Huh?)
Predictably, it took less than a year for owner Homer Foster Bowington to announce he was installing RCA in-car speakers. After a couple of months of “coming soon” notes, the speakers were first advertised on Aug. 7, 1949.
The Organ closed for remodeling after the Nov. 3, 1954 shows, then reopened as the Fiesta on Jan. 16, 1955. Its second screen was added between July 1962 and September 1965, a Sun-News coverage gap at Newspapers.com. Video Independent Theaters bought the Aggie and the Fiesta in early 1967.
The local college student newspaper, the Round-Up, reported in February 1981 that Video’s local manager said that unlike in the big cities, “more people are going to the movies here than ever before.” The Fiesta (along with the Aggie) was still going strong at that point, and that’s the last I know about it.
The last ad I could find for the Mesa in the Farmington Daily Times was on Aug. 21, 1955, for shows through Monday, Aug. 22. Apparently, the Mesa’s final program was the Jack Palance film “Sign of the Pagan” and Maureen O'Sullivan in “Bonzo Goes to College”.
Did the Yucca last only two seasons? Its grand opening was definitely May 1, 1958, and the last movie ad I could find in the Farmington Daily Times was on Sept. 25, 1959, for shows through Saturday the 26th. Sunday’s Times had no Yucca ad, and the Oct. 4 issue’s ad said “Closed for the season / See you next spring!” Maybe it continued under the radar with Spanish-language movies, or maybe Allen Theatres saw it had built one drive-in too many.
Evidence of that last theory comes from the Oasis Drive-In, which was apparently never opened, so it doesn’t get a separate entry here on CT. Boxoffice said in January 1958 that the Allen group was starting the 986-car Oasis. An Academy Awards-themed ad on March 27, 1958 in the Times said that San Juan County patrons could watch the Oscar winners that summer at the Yucca, Rincon, Apache and Valley drive-ins, plus the Oasis Drive-In “soon”. Oasis Drive-In, Inc., incorporated in late April 1958. And that was the last Oasis Drive-In mention I could find until July 1978, when Oasis Drive-In passed along a warranty deed to Valley Drive-In Inc., which passed it to Larry Allen et al, which passed it to the City of Farmington.
Boxoffice, Oct. 19, 1957: “Porter Smith, owner of a drive-in at Aztec, N. M., and his manager, Paul Campbell, are building another drive-in. This one is between Aztec and Farmington, N. M., and will open in the spring”
Boxoffice, May 12, 1958: “Paul Campbell and Porter Smith have opened their new 350-car (with room for expansion) drive-in at Aztec, N. M. Campbell will manage”
The last ad I could find in the Farmington Daily Times for the Apache Twin was on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2001. The next day, the Apache was no longer included with the other theaters.
On March 15, 2002, a real estate ad appeared for 24 acres “known as the Apache Drive-In & adjacent properties.”
The Rincon opened on June 1, 1954, according to a story and ad (below) in the Farmington Daily News. It had a snack bar, room for “more than 200 cars”, and was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Porter Smith, Mr. and Mrs. John Pettus and Mr. and Mrs. Ury Ealum.
Film Daily, Sept. 24, 1941: “E. C. Treib, 55, owner of the Capitan Theater, Roswell, and the Apache Theater at Ruidoso, N. M., was drowned in a flood while en route between these towns. Two employes, Pete Espinosa and Manual Chavez, in car with Treib are missing.”
With the following ad, the Mt. Vue added the “Sho-Dyn” to its weekly Ruidoso News ad.
1) With the chef image, the drive-in was probably trying to position its concession stand as a standalone, or at least featured, dining establishment. The Sho-Dyn stayed in its ads through 1960.
2) I’ve looked through dozens of this drive-in’s ads in the News, but I’ve never seen “Mountain” or “View” in any of them. Although industry publications stated its name in full English, I’m included to call this drive-in the “Mt. Vue” as it apparently wanted to be known.
Ruidoso News, May 22, 1953: “The new owners of the Pueblo theatre in Ruidoso took over the reins of management early this week, relieving Bern Wilson, manager for Theatre Enterprise, Inc., Dallas, Tex., from whom the pair, R. B. Briggs of Breckenridge and J. C. Capps, Denver City, bought the entertainment spot early this month. Briggs … said the new owners plan considerable remodeling of the Pueblo.”
Boxoffice, April 28, 1969: “Commonwealth Theatres has sold the Onate Theatre and Zia Drive-In, Belen, N. M., to Gilbert Tabet.”
Boxoffice, June 16, 1969: “Gilbert Tabet, new owner of the Onate Theatre at Belen, N.M., has reopened the house following renovations. The lobby has been recarpeted and paneled, the 559 seats have been reupholstered and the exterior (including marquee) has been redecorated”
Boxoffice, Oct. 21, 1974: “The newly remodeled Onate Theatre in Belen reopened Friday (11) … The theatre, which had been dark several months, was purchased earlier this year by Fred Chapman, who spent approximately $30,000 to renovate the house. Belen’s only movie theatre, the Onate now has 470 seats, including 120 new ones. The other 350 were rebuilt. Other improvements include: new black acoustic auditorium ceiling, overhead lighting system, enlarged lobby, new restrooms, new projection equipment, improved sound system, new snack bar and new boxoffice.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote that the Trans-Lux theater folks bought the Starlighter in 1989, but it wasn’t as successful as Santa Fe’s Yucca, which Trans-Lux also owned at the time. Nevertheless, the Starlighter stayed open until at least Sept. 9, 1994, when it showed “Wagons East” with “Clear and Present Danger”.
Trans-Lux sold the Starlighter to a housing developer in early 1995, and the screen was taken down in April that year.
The Yucca’s last show was on Oct. 30, 1994, featuring something old and something new. Later notes in the Santa Fe New Mexican indicated that longtime owner Richard Wiles had given the land to Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota in the mid 1980s, and Concordia netted over $3 million when it decided to close the drive-in and sell the property. Trans-Lux was holding the Yucca sign in storage for possible reuse.
Adding a size note. The Exhibitor, Sept. 9, 1953: “At Haskell, Tex., the Old Texas, which burned last summer, is being replaced by the New Texas with Bumice Haley as manager. The 700-seat theatre is larger by 300 seats than the original theatre."
I wonder whether it was renamed. The second indoor theater (along with the under-construction Lea) in Lovington was the Mesa in January 1948, when Boxoffice reported a failed robbery attempt. The 1950 Film Daily Year Book included it with 497 seats.
Looking through the Lovington Daily Leader, the last ad I could find for the Wildcat was on Aug. 29, 1975 for shows through Aug. 31. It said that the indoor Lea would reopen on Sept. 3 that year.
Summer 1976 issues of the Daily Leader had ads for the indoor Lea but not any drive-ins.
I can’t speak to this particular loop, but it’s consistent with a car holding area for folks waiting to buy tickets at the box office. These were especially common when the drive-in entrance was on an actual highway, such as the 81’s. State highway officials would start getting unhappy about cars stopped on the highway, and this was often a retrofitted solution. Later in the decade, these kinds of lengthy stretches between the road and the box office were usually part of the original design.
I wonder how this note factored into the story of OKC’s Hillcrest, which opened with a different owner eight years later.
Boxoffice, Dec. 24, 1955: “Oklahoma City - R. Lewis Barton of Barton Theatres will begin construction of a new twin screen drive-in about January 1. Site for the new Hillcrest Drive-In is at 75th and South Pennsylvania on a hill overlooking the Oklahoma City skyline. Barton has acquired a 45-acre tract for the drive-in. Plans now are for a total capacity of around 2,000 cars … The screens will be back to back, with two projection booths and concession stands. Opening date is planned for around April 15 (1956).”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Benton, Ky. - Mr. and Mrs. Paul Harrington jr. have purchased the Lakeview Drive-In on Highway 80 near Aurora from Neal Starks of Almo. Starks, who has been in poor health for several years, will continue to operate the Tri-City Drive-In Theatre.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “The El Capitan Drive-In on Highway 90 has been purchased by S. K. Barry & Associates from Tom Sumners, owner of Tom Sumners Theatres.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Just 22 days were required for construction of the Skyway Drive-In, which was opened here recently by the Manos Amusement Co. The 400-car theatre was designed and supervised during construction by Tom Manos, son of George Manos, circuit owner … Grading operations opened the Skyway project. Four days after grading began, construction of the concrete block screen tower was started. Tower construction for the 34x82-foot screen, including painting, required 17 days. At the same time the concessions and projection building, a 26x48-foot structure, was advanced to usable condition. Ten additional days were applied to finishing inside work on this building after the drive-in opened. Opening night was just 22 days after grading operations began. The concessions building and boxoffice are of knotty pine, inside and out, the boxoffive having a modernistic roof, narrow in the back and flaring out and up in front.”
Chuck and Marianne James sold the Mesa to Marcella Snyder and her husband Jon Parkin, who also own the Tibbs Drive-In in Indianapolis. According to a nice, long article in today’s Pueblo Chieftain, they’re upgrading the plumbing and other stuff and hope to reopen on Memorial Day weekend this year.
This photo appeared in the May 8, 1966 issue of the Las Cruces Sun-News. The original caption:
Aggie Drive-In Theater, located at the intersection of the Truck Bypass and West Hadley, is shown in its last stages of completion. The opening is scheduled for Thursday (12) with “Charade,” starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and “I’d Rather Be Rich,” with Sandra Dee and Andy Williams. The drive-in is equipped with a 90 x 60-foot giant screen and double-cone speakers for better listening. Lamar Gwaltney, the owner and operate of Los Cruces' newest outdoor theater, said there will be room for 600 cars. It will be open seven days a week. (Priestley)
The Las Cruces Sun-News announced on Aug. 19, 1948, the the Organ would open that night, but they were still working on the grill. The same grand opening ad ran again on Aug. 20, and the newspaper said that night would be the Organ’s premiere, so that was probably right.
When it opened the Organ had “modern central sound equipment, the same which is now used in Radio City Music Hall.” The type of loudspeaker was somehow “a recent development for the benefit of drive-in theaters, allows patrons to hear just as well with the car windows rolled up as when they are down.” (Huh?)
Predictably, it took less than a year for owner Homer Foster Bowington to announce he was installing RCA in-car speakers. After a couple of months of “coming soon” notes, the speakers were first advertised on Aug. 7, 1949.
The Organ closed for remodeling after the Nov. 3, 1954 shows, then reopened as the Fiesta on Jan. 16, 1955. Its second screen was added between July 1962 and September 1965, a Sun-News coverage gap at Newspapers.com. Video Independent Theaters bought the Aggie and the Fiesta in early 1967.
The local college student newspaper, the Round-Up, reported in February 1981 that Video’s local manager said that unlike in the big cities, “more people are going to the movies here than ever before.” The Fiesta (along with the Aggie) was still going strong at that point, and that’s the last I know about it.
The last ad I could find for the Mesa in the Farmington Daily Times was on Aug. 21, 1955, for shows through Monday, Aug. 22. Apparently, the Mesa’s final program was the Jack Palance film “Sign of the Pagan” and Maureen O'Sullivan in “Bonzo Goes to College”.
Did the Yucca last only two seasons? Its grand opening was definitely May 1, 1958, and the last movie ad I could find in the Farmington Daily Times was on Sept. 25, 1959, for shows through Saturday the 26th. Sunday’s Times had no Yucca ad, and the Oct. 4 issue’s ad said “Closed for the season / See you next spring!” Maybe it continued under the radar with Spanish-language movies, or maybe Allen Theatres saw it had built one drive-in too many.
Evidence of that last theory comes from the Oasis Drive-In, which was apparently never opened, so it doesn’t get a separate entry here on CT. Boxoffice said in January 1958 that the Allen group was starting the 986-car Oasis. An Academy Awards-themed ad on March 27, 1958 in the Times said that San Juan County patrons could watch the Oscar winners that summer at the Yucca, Rincon, Apache and Valley drive-ins, plus the Oasis Drive-In “soon”. Oasis Drive-In, Inc., incorporated in late April 1958. And that was the last Oasis Drive-In mention I could find until July 1978, when Oasis Drive-In passed along a warranty deed to Valley Drive-In Inc., which passed it to Larry Allen et al, which passed it to the City of Farmington.
I believe this belongs here.
Boxoffice, Oct. 19, 1957: “Porter Smith, owner of a drive-in at Aztec, N. M., and his manager, Paul Campbell, are building another drive-in. This one is between Aztec and Farmington, N. M., and will open in the spring”
Boxoffice, May 12, 1958: “Paul Campbell and Porter Smith have opened their new 350-car (with room for expansion) drive-in at Aztec, N. M. Campbell will manage”
The last ad I could find in the Farmington Daily Times for the Apache Twin was on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2001. The next day, the Apache was no longer included with the other theaters.
On March 15, 2002, a real estate ad appeared for 24 acres “known as the Apache Drive-In & adjacent properties.”
The Apache opened on May 29, 1952, with a free show featuring the 1950 film “My Friend Irma Goes West” with Tom & Jerry and Popeye cartoons.
The Rincon opened on June 1, 1954, according to a story and ad (below) in the Farmington Daily News. It had a snack bar, room for “more than 200 cars”, and was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Porter Smith, Mr. and Mrs. John Pettus and Mr. and Mrs. Ury Ealum.
Found on Newspaperarchive.com
The opening double feature was the 1951 Dane Clark film “Fort Defiance” followed by Angela Lansbury in the 1952 movie “Mutiny,” both in color.
Film Daily, Sept. 24, 1941: “E. C. Treib, 55, owner of the Capitan Theater, Roswell, and the Apache Theater at Ruidoso, N. M., was drowned in a flood while en route between these towns. Two employes, Pete Espinosa and Manual Chavez, in car with Treib are missing.”
With the following ad, the Mt. Vue added the “Sho-Dyn” to its weekly Ruidoso News ad.
1) With the chef image, the drive-in was probably trying to position its concession stand as a standalone, or at least featured, dining establishment. The Sho-Dyn stayed in its ads through 1960.
2) I’ve looked through dozens of this drive-in’s ads in the News, but I’ve never seen “Mountain” or “View” in any of them. Although industry publications stated its name in full English, I’m included to call this drive-in the “Mt. Vue” as it apparently wanted to be known.
Found on Newspaperarchive.com
Ruidoso News, May 22, 1953: “The new owners of the Pueblo theatre in Ruidoso took over the reins of management early this week, relieving Bern Wilson, manager for Theatre Enterprise, Inc., Dallas, Tex., from whom the pair, R. B. Briggs of Breckenridge and J. C. Capps, Denver City, bought the entertainment spot early this month. Briggs … said the new owners plan considerable remodeling of the Pueblo.”
Boxoffice, April 28, 1969: “Commonwealth Theatres has sold the Onate Theatre and Zia Drive-In, Belen, N. M., to Gilbert Tabet.”
Boxoffice, June 16, 1969: “Gilbert Tabet, new owner of the Onate Theatre at Belen, N.M., has reopened the house following renovations. The lobby has been recarpeted and paneled, the 559 seats have been reupholstered and the exterior (including marquee) has been redecorated”
Boxoffice, Oct. 21, 1974: “The newly remodeled Onate Theatre in Belen reopened Friday (11) … The theatre, which had been dark several months, was purchased earlier this year by Fred Chapman, who spent approximately $30,000 to renovate the house. Belen’s only movie theatre, the Onate now has 470 seats, including 120 new ones. The other 350 were rebuilt. Other improvements include: new black acoustic auditorium ceiling, overhead lighting system, enlarged lobby, new restrooms, new projection equipment, improved sound system, new snack bar and new boxoffice.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote that the Trans-Lux theater folks bought the Starlighter in 1989, but it wasn’t as successful as Santa Fe’s Yucca, which Trans-Lux also owned at the time. Nevertheless, the Starlighter stayed open until at least Sept. 9, 1994, when it showed “Wagons East” with “Clear and Present Danger”.
Trans-Lux sold the Starlighter to a housing developer in early 1995, and the screen was taken down in April that year.
The Yucca’s last show was on Oct. 30, 1994, featuring something old and something new. Later notes in the Santa Fe New Mexican indicated that longtime owner Richard Wiles had given the land to Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota in the mid 1980s, and Concordia netted over $3 million when it decided to close the drive-in and sell the property. Trans-Lux was holding the Yucca sign in storage for possible reuse.
Adding a size note. The Exhibitor, Sept. 9, 1953: “At Haskell, Tex., the Old Texas, which burned last summer, is being replaced by the New Texas with Bumice Haley as manager. The 700-seat theatre is larger by 300 seats than the original theatre."
I wonder whether it was renamed. The second indoor theater (along with the under-construction Lea) in Lovington was the Mesa in January 1948, when Boxoffice reported a failed robbery attempt. The 1950 Film Daily Year Book included it with 497 seats.
Looking through the Lovington Daily Leader, the last ad I could find for the Wildcat was on Aug. 29, 1975 for shows through Aug. 31. It said that the indoor Lea would reopen on Sept. 3 that year.
Summer 1976 issues of the Daily Leader had ads for the indoor Lea but not any drive-ins.
I can’t speak to this particular loop, but it’s consistent with a car holding area for folks waiting to buy tickets at the box office. These were especially common when the drive-in entrance was on an actual highway, such as the 81’s. State highway officials would start getting unhappy about cars stopped on the highway, and this was often a retrofitted solution. Later in the decade, these kinds of lengthy stretches between the road and the box office were usually part of the original design.
It’s not a very good photo, but with newspaper information so spotty, this reinforces the idea that the Fort Union opened in May or June of 1960.
I wonder how this note factored into the story of OKC’s Hillcrest, which opened with a different owner eight years later.
Boxoffice, Dec. 24, 1955: “Oklahoma City - R. Lewis Barton of Barton Theatres will begin construction of a new twin screen drive-in about January 1. Site for the new Hillcrest Drive-In is at 75th and South Pennsylvania on a hill overlooking the Oklahoma City skyline. Barton has acquired a 45-acre tract for the drive-in. Plans now are for a total capacity of around 2,000 cars … The screens will be back to back, with two projection booths and concession stands. Opening date is planned for around April 15 (1956).”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Benton, Ky. - Mr. and Mrs. Paul Harrington jr. have purchased the Lakeview Drive-In on Highway 80 near Aurora from Neal Starks of Almo. Starks, who has been in poor health for several years, will continue to operate the Tri-City Drive-In Theatre.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “J. W. Little has purchased the Hillcrest Drive-In from Jack Scales”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “The El Capitan Drive-In on Highway 90 has been purchased by S. K. Barry & Associates from Tom Sumners, owner of Tom Sumners Theatres.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1955: “Just 22 days were required for construction of the Skyway Drive-In, which was opened here recently by the Manos Amusement Co. The 400-car theatre was designed and supervised during construction by Tom Manos, son of George Manos, circuit owner … Grading operations opened the Skyway project. Four days after grading began, construction of the concrete block screen tower was started. Tower construction for the 34x82-foot screen, including painting, required 17 days. At the same time the concessions and projection building, a 26x48-foot structure, was advanced to usable condition. Ten additional days were applied to finishing inside work on this building after the drive-in opened. Opening night was just 22 days after grading operations began. The concessions building and boxoffice are of knotty pine, inside and out, the boxoffive having a modernistic roof, narrow in the back and flaring out and up in front.”