Thanks to the amazing work of the Reference Desk staff at the New Mexico State Library, I have more new info.
The exact date of the County’s grand opening was Oct. 29, 1948, with the double feature of “Way Out West” and “Bad Men of Missouri.”
The more surprising news is that there was an ad in the Tucumcari News on Aug. 24, 1956 announcing that the No Name Drive-In Theatre, “(Formerly County Drive-In)”, was under new management. The No Name continued to advertise through the summer of 1957.
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “Opening of the new Riverside Drive-In, being built by Commonwealth Theatres on the site of the old racetrack northwest of North Kansas City, delayed by frequent rains, has been set for July 22”
Boxoffice, July 24, 1948: “KANSAS CITY — The Riverside Drive-In on highway 71 northwest of North Kansas City, third ozoner to be launched by the Commonwealth Amusement Corp., was opened last Thursday night (22). Situated on the site of the old race track in Platte county, the new 900-car drive-in is equipped with in-car speakers and a new type of all-wood screen said to be one of the largest in the United States. Features of the new open-air theatre include a playground for children, refreshment stands and novel color-lighted decorative effects. Since many patrons must cross the Fairfax toll bridge on the highway between their homes and the drive-in site, a round trip passage coupon will be presented at the boxoffice to any applicant as he leaves. Construction of the new open-air theatre was supervised by Jack Braunagel, manager of the drive-in division of the Commonwealth circuit. Paul Stonum is manager.”
Over on the CT page about the indoor Berwan Theatre is a note that lines up with the MPA ownership change.
“My family owned the Berwan and Grande Drive In. It wass open through the late 1970s, then we closed it and eventually it was torn down. The Drive In stayed open a few more years—1981, 1982?—then we sold it as well. The new owners (don’t know their names) kept it open for one or two more seasons but eventually sold it and it too was demolished.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 23, 1961: “George M. Jennings recently won a district court judgment for $9,015 against the D-X Sunray Oil Co. for loss of business suffered by Jennings' 81 Drive-In south of Duncan from Dec. 15, 1958, through May 1, 1961, during which time the DX refinery near the airer neglected to replace a stack muffler. The resulting loud noise discouraged patronage at the drive-in, Jennings alleged.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 23, 1961: “In town (Oklahoma City) … Jack Hankins, who formerly operated Hankins Drive-In at Lawton, which he disposed of a few years ago to his opposition, Volney Hamm, who operates the Mount Scott”
But in the Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit list, the Video Independent Theatres chain included the Sheridan through the 1964 edition. In 1965, Video’s entry didn’t mention the Sheridan. No idea where the drive-in list people got that “Metropolitan Theas.”
Weird! In the Edwards and Plumlee entry in the 1960 Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit list, it shows that the company owns both the Corral Drive-In in Farmington and the Belt Drive-In in Flat River.
An online PDF list of Southern Missouri theaters includes the Belt, “? 1961-? 1975 / Edwards and Plumlee Theatres owned this drive-in.” But a spot check of the Flat River Daily Journal’s Edwards and Plumlee ad from 1963 doesn’t show it. I’ll bet that online list got the info from the MPA, which got it cross-wired somewhere and took a long time to fix it.
Boxoffice, March 12, 1973: “The Lakeside Drive-In, Pawnee, has been sold to Pat McCray and his wife Sandra by Mr. and Mrs. Milan G. Steele, who built the airer in 1953 and operated it continuously as a family theatre. The family policy will be carried on by the McCrays, who also own the Pawnee Western Auto Store.”
Thanks for the note, Kenmore. Tulsa TV Memories is an excellent site, though sometimes I can’t tell where their info came from. In this case, it says that the Apache “Closed by June 1984, presumably end of 1983 season.” That sounds like what I’d write if I had only a June 1984 issue of Tulsa World and the Apache didn’t advertise in it. Left unsaid is a reason to believe it was open in 1983 or any other given year.
I want to emphasize that I love Wesley Horton’s work, and I’d give a whole roll of nickels to be able to correspond with him. But I digress.
Cool that you worked at the 11th Street, Kenmore! Do you know why it closed in 1959, then reopened in 1964, or are my dates wrong? (I guess it would be more helpful if you go to that drive-in’s page to describe what happened.)
Please help me out here. As I type, the Apache’s description above says that it closed in 1979. That’s quite possible, since it fell of the Motion Picture Almanac’s annual list after the 1982 edition. But where did 1979 come from? Is that when the Apache stopped advertising? Did historian Wesley Horton write a note about that somewhere? Is this the personal memory of someone who worked there? Knowing the source would help me better understand how reliable that date is.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, June 1, 1966: “BOSTON—Richard A. Smith, president. General Cinema Corp., announced acquisition of two drive-ins by the Boston-based chain. The theatres are the Admiral Twin, Tulsa, Okla., and the Young Street, Buffalo, N. Y. Announcements of the acquisition of the drive-ins were made in joint statements by Smith and H. B. Robb and Alex Blue, operators of the Admiral Twin; and Nate Dickman and Harry Berkson, operators of the Young Street. The linking of the two drive-in theatres to the chain brings the number of units in the circuit to 106.”
Motion Picture Herald, Oct. 31, 1953: “Tecumseh drive-in theatre, Shawnee, Okla., had its first preview Oct. 21 at 11:30 p.m. Admission for Adults only 65 cents.”
The more I look at this photo, the more I think it was colorized for a calendar. There’s a hint of a hole at the top, and the edges of the wind-blown plant above the Now! sign are green past the plant itself. I love how this looks, but I doubt it was real.
A photo caption at the Oklahoma Historical Society, from the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection, reads, “Photograph of the sign for the Airview Drive In, opened 1951, closed September 10, 1981, Tulsa, OK.” They got the opening date right, and that closing date had to come from somewhere. Then again, that was a Thursday, which would have been an odd day to close. Maybe the Airview closed on Labor Day 1981 (Sept. 7) and didn’t reopen the following Friday? Who knows?
The 1949-50 and 1950-51 Theatre Catalogs each had only one drive-in in West Helena, the 4th Street, Exec: Ed Blair, capacity 300. I’m not sure whether that’s the same drive-in.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog had only one drive-in in West Helena, the Airvue, Exec: J. L. Anderson, capacity 200.
The Exhibitor, March 5, 1952: “S. W. Anderson, West Helena, Ark., … announced the opening of his Airview Drive-In.”
The Exhibitor, March 26, 1952: “The Airview Drive-In, West Helena, Ark., and the Starlight, Kosciusko, Miss., opened for the season.”
The Motion Picture Almanac listed the Airvue through its 1976 edition. When it rebooted its drive-in list in 1977, West Helena’s drive-in became the Dixie.
The Claremore Daily Progress, April 19, 2014: “The Rogers Drive-In showed its final movie in 1997. A short time later it was leveled to make room for a rental storage complex.”
However, a long article in the Daily Progress, reprinted in the Okmulgee Daily Times on Nov. 1, 1996, sure made it sound like the Rogers closed that year. “On a recent Sunday evening … It’s time to say goodbye to an old friend … Leo D. Woodall has owned the theater for 15 seasons now. In the film room he watches the final frames click, click, click … "I hate to see it go down,” Woodall says. “It’s like giving a child up, it really is. I’m sorry for the people. A lot have expressed their dissatisfaction on it.” … Theater manager Carol Heaton … has said some goodbyes tonight. She will be forced to say more before the last movie is complete … Woodall says he won’t be here when the screen comes down. He couldn’t bear to watch it … The last car exits, turning west toward Claremore. The lights are flicked off forever."
I really love this 1991 photo by Frank Armstrong. I’m glad the Internet Archive captured its information from the Panopticon Gallery web site, which no longer includes it. I strongly suspect that Armstrong (or his estate) retained the copyright.
The last ad I could find for the Twilite in the Joplin Globe was on Sunday, Oct. 30, 1977. The final double feature was “Don’t Look In The Basement” and “Old Dracula”. The ad said “ends Sunday”, so it looks like that was the last night.
For once, the Motion Picture Almanac was right. Commonwealth operated the Tri-State for all of its life. I just uploaded its final(?) Joplin Globe ad from Sept. 4, 1988, and it’s the only theater in town under the Commonwealth banner.
I would double- and triple-check any source I found that contradicted Wesley Horton’s work. In this case, it’s undeniably true that March 6, 1948 was not a Friday. But March 26, 1948 was.
One more minor flaw in Horton’s date, this March 26 ad specifies that the 77 will open for the season on Easter Sunday - March 28, 1948.
William Bradfield owned the Roxy from at least 1948 (when a note in The Exhibitor called it the Roxy) to December 1963, when he sold it along with two drive-ins to Dickinson Theatres, effective April 1964.
Thanks to the amazing work of the Reference Desk staff at the New Mexico State Library, I have more new info.
The exact date of the County’s grand opening was Oct. 29, 1948, with the double feature of “Way Out West” and “Bad Men of Missouri.”
The more surprising news is that there was an ad in the Tucumcari News on Aug. 24, 1956 announcing that the No Name Drive-In Theatre, “(Formerly County Drive-In)”, was under new management. The No Name continued to advertise through the summer of 1957.
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “Opening of the new Riverside Drive-In, being built by Commonwealth Theatres on the site of the old racetrack northwest of North Kansas City, delayed by frequent rains, has been set for July 22”
Boxoffice, July 24, 1948: “KANSAS CITY — The Riverside Drive-In on highway 71 northwest of North Kansas City, third ozoner to be launched by the Commonwealth Amusement Corp., was opened last Thursday night (22). Situated on the site of the old race track in Platte county, the new 900-car drive-in is equipped with in-car speakers and a new type of all-wood screen said to be one of the largest in the United States. Features of the new open-air theatre include a playground for children, refreshment stands and novel color-lighted decorative effects. Since many patrons must cross the Fairfax toll bridge on the highway between their homes and the drive-in site, a round trip passage coupon will be presented at the boxoffice to any applicant as he leaves. Construction of the new open-air theatre was supervised by Jack Braunagel, manager of the drive-in division of the Commonwealth circuit. Paul Stonum is manager.”
Over on the CT page about the indoor Berwan Theatre is a note that lines up with the MPA ownership change.
“My family owned the Berwan and Grande Drive In. It wass open through the late 1970s, then we closed it and eventually it was torn down. The Drive In stayed open a few more years—1981, 1982?—then we sold it as well. The new owners (don’t know their names) kept it open for one or two more seasons but eventually sold it and it too was demolished.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 23, 1961: “J. C. Drake reopened the old Moore Theatre in Duncan, renaming it the Rodeo”
Boxoffice, Oct. 23, 1961: “George M. Jennings recently won a district court judgment for $9,015 against the D-X Sunray Oil Co. for loss of business suffered by Jennings' 81 Drive-In south of Duncan from Dec. 15, 1958, through May 1, 1961, during which time the DX refinery near the airer neglected to replace a stack muffler. The resulting loud noise discouraged patronage at the drive-in, Jennings alleged.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 23, 1961: “In town (Oklahoma City) … Jack Hankins, who formerly operated Hankins Drive-In at Lawton, which he disposed of a few years ago to his opposition, Volney Hamm, who operates the Mount Scott”
But in the Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit list, the Video Independent Theatres chain included the Sheridan through the 1964 edition. In 1965, Video’s entry didn’t mention the Sheridan. No idea where the drive-in list people got that “Metropolitan Theas.”
Weird! In the Edwards and Plumlee entry in the 1960 Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit list, it shows that the company owns both the Corral Drive-In in Farmington and the Belt Drive-In in Flat River.
An online PDF list of Southern Missouri theaters includes the Belt, “? 1961-? 1975 / Edwards and Plumlee Theatres owned this drive-in.” But a spot check of the Flat River Daily Journal’s Edwards and Plumlee ad from 1963 doesn’t show it. I’ll bet that online list got the info from the MPA, which got it cross-wired somewhere and took a long time to fix it.
Boxoffice, March 12, 1973: “The Lakeside Drive-In, Pawnee, has been sold to Pat McCray and his wife Sandra by Mr. and Mrs. Milan G. Steele, who built the airer in 1953 and operated it continuously as a family theatre. The family policy will be carried on by the McCrays, who also own the Pawnee Western Auto Store.”
Thanks for the note, Kenmore. Tulsa TV Memories is an excellent site, though sometimes I can’t tell where their info came from. In this case, it says that the Apache “Closed by June 1984, presumably end of 1983 season.” That sounds like what I’d write if I had only a June 1984 issue of Tulsa World and the Apache didn’t advertise in it. Left unsaid is a reason to believe it was open in 1983 or any other given year.
I want to emphasize that I love Wesley Horton’s work, and I’d give a whole roll of nickels to be able to correspond with him. But I digress.
Cool that you worked at the 11th Street, Kenmore! Do you know why it closed in 1959, then reopened in 1964, or are my dates wrong? (I guess it would be more helpful if you go to that drive-in’s page to describe what happened.)
Please help me out here. As I type, the Apache’s description above says that it closed in 1979. That’s quite possible, since it fell of the Motion Picture Almanac’s annual list after the 1982 edition. But where did 1979 come from? Is that when the Apache stopped advertising? Did historian Wesley Horton write a note about that somewhere? Is this the personal memory of someone who worked there? Knowing the source would help me better understand how reliable that date is.
Boxoffice, Nov. 5, 1973: “Charles Townsend … in now in Nowata, Okla., operating the Rex Theatre and the Sky-Vue Drive-In, which he recently bought.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, June 1, 1966: “BOSTON—Richard A. Smith, president. General Cinema Corp., announced acquisition of two drive-ins by the Boston-based chain. The theatres are the Admiral Twin, Tulsa, Okla., and the Young Street, Buffalo, N. Y. Announcements of the acquisition of the drive-ins were made in joint statements by Smith and H. B. Robb and Alex Blue, operators of the Admiral Twin; and Nate Dickman and Harry Berkson, operators of the Young Street. The linking of the two drive-in theatres to the chain brings the number of units in the circuit to 106.”
Motion Picture Herald, Oct. 31, 1953: “Tecumseh drive-in theatre, Shawnee, Okla., had its first preview Oct. 21 at 11:30 p.m. Admission for Adults only 65 cents.”
The more I look at this photo, the more I think it was colorized for a calendar. There’s a hint of a hole at the top, and the edges of the wind-blown plant above the Now! sign are green past the plant itself. I love how this looks, but I doubt it was real.
A photo caption at the Oklahoma Historical Society, from the Griffith-Video Independent Theatres Collection, reads, “Photograph of the sign for the Airview Drive In, opened 1951, closed September 10, 1981, Tulsa, OK.” They got the opening date right, and that closing date had to come from somewhere. Then again, that was a Thursday, which would have been an odd day to close. Maybe the Airview closed on Labor Day 1981 (Sept. 7) and didn’t reopen the following Friday? Who knows?
The 1949-50 and 1950-51 Theatre Catalogs each had only one drive-in in West Helena, the 4th Street, Exec: Ed Blair, capacity 300. I’m not sure whether that’s the same drive-in.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog had only one drive-in in West Helena, the Airvue, Exec: J. L. Anderson, capacity 200.
The Exhibitor, March 5, 1952: “S. W. Anderson, West Helena, Ark., … announced the opening of his Airview Drive-In.”
The Exhibitor, March 26, 1952: “The Airview Drive-In, West Helena, Ark., and the Starlight, Kosciusko, Miss., opened for the season.”
The Motion Picture Almanac listed the Airvue through its 1976 edition. When it rebooted its drive-in list in 1977, West Helena’s drive-in became the Dixie.
Boxoffice, July 4, 1977: “The Skyvu Drive-In, Purcell, is being dismantled and will be replaced by some other business venture.”
I found a drive-in on the south side Highway 22 west of town. Approximate address is 2508 W Walnut St.
The Claremore Daily Progress, April 19, 2014: “The Rogers Drive-In showed its final movie in 1997. A short time later it was leveled to make room for a rental storage complex.”
However, a long article in the Daily Progress, reprinted in the Okmulgee Daily Times on Nov. 1, 1996, sure made it sound like the Rogers closed that year. “On a recent Sunday evening … It’s time to say goodbye to an old friend … Leo D. Woodall has owned the theater for 15 seasons now. In the film room he watches the final frames click, click, click … "I hate to see it go down,” Woodall says. “It’s like giving a child up, it really is. I’m sorry for the people. A lot have expressed their dissatisfaction on it.” … Theater manager Carol Heaton … has said some goodbyes tonight. She will be forced to say more before the last movie is complete … Woodall says he won’t be here when the screen comes down. He couldn’t bear to watch it … The last car exits, turning west toward Claremore. The lights are flicked off forever."
I really love this 1991 photo by Frank Armstrong. I’m glad the Internet Archive captured its information from the Panopticon Gallery web site, which no longer includes it. I strongly suspect that Armstrong (or his estate) retained the copyright.
The last ad I could find for the Twilite in the Joplin Globe was on Sunday, Oct. 30, 1977. The final double feature was “Don’t Look In The Basement” and “Old Dracula”. The ad said “ends Sunday”, so it looks like that was the last night.
For once, the Motion Picture Almanac was right. Commonwealth operated the Tri-State for all of its life. I just uploaded its final(?) Joplin Globe ad from Sept. 4, 1988, and it’s the only theater in town under the Commonwealth banner.
I would double- and triple-check any source I found that contradicted Wesley Horton’s work. In this case, it’s undeniably true that March 6, 1948 was not a Friday. But March 26, 1948 was.
One more minor flaw in Horton’s date, this March 26 ad specifies that the 77 will open for the season on Easter Sunday - March 28, 1948.
William Bradfield owned the Roxy from at least 1948 (when a note in The Exhibitor called it the Roxy) to December 1963, when he sold it along with two drive-ins to Dickinson Theatres, effective April 1964.