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.
Howard Larsen, who would later build the Webb City Drive-In, owned the Civic for a while. I wonder whether he was any relation to architect Larry Larsen.
Howard was included in Neosho MO Daily News story on March 28, 1947 as having attended the Kansas-Missouri Theatre Assocation of independent owners. On Feb. 11, 1950, the Joplin Globe quoted Howard to say the scandalous Bergman film “Stromboli” would not be shown at the Civic.
Springfield News-Leader, Feb. 20, 1958: (Russ Wilhoit’s obituary) “With his brother, the late Ed Wilhoit, he owned and operated the old Princess Theater, recently renamed the Four Star”
Variety, June 16, 1954: “Dave Forbes, who formerly operated houses in Freeberg and Vienna, Mo., rushing completion of ozoner near Crocker, Mo.”
Independent Film Journal, June 25, 1954: “Mr. and Mrs. Dave Forbes started construction of a small ozoner about a mile from the city limits of Crocker, Mo. on the road to Iberia, which they plan to open in early July.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1963: “Mr. and Mrs. David Forbes, Crocker, Mo., were on the (St. Louis Film) Row recently on their first buying trip of the season. They report that they have completed remodeling and redecorating their concession stand and remodeling the projection booth.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 18, 1978: “CROCKER, MO. - The Ozark Drive-In here was sold by Dave and Ruth Forbed to Dale Routh as of August 7. The sale ends 25 years of operation under the Forbes' management.”
This is a crop of a Missouri Department of Transportation photo from the Missouri State Archives. As long as they’re credited, their photos are in the public domain.
Thumbing through some other photos, I discovered that this is a slight crop of a Missouri State Archives picture taken by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Per their usage agreement, as long as you give them credit, their photos are in the public domain.
I don’t know where this fits. Boxoffice, July 11, 1953: “Clifford H. Hough of Lebanon … has opened his new drive-in at Camdenton, Mo., in the Lake of the Ozarks area.”
The Hopkins and Hough families collaborated in 1949 on a drive-in project in Rolla MO that was bought out by Rowe Carney just before it was to open. Maybe they tried again in Camdenton.
Variety, March 15, 1950: “Clifford Hough sold his interest in drive-in near Lebanon, Ill. (sic), to his father; he will build an ozoner near Aurora, Mo.” (Hough was described in early 1952 as the owner of the Moonlite Drive-In south of Lebanon MO.)
Same theater? Film Daily, July 2, 1948: “R. E. Carney Theaters of Rolla, Mo., is erecting a new quonset-type theater in St. James, Mo., where the circuit now operates the 300-seat Lyric.”
The 1950 Film Daily Year Book listed three theaters in St. James: the Lyric (seating 384), the Rowe (600), and the St. James (no figure).
Boxoffice, March 22, 1971: “Commonwealth (Theatres) will acquire three theatres in Rolla … (effective) April 4: Uptown Theatre, Ritz Theatre, Rolla Drive-In and a drive-in theatre site … Completion of the drive-in remodeling, which includes addition of new equipment to serve the finest quality food and drink items, is slated to coincide with the opening of the 1971 drive-in season.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 23, 1950: “Inclement weather has delayed opening date for the Starlight Drive-In near Salem, Mo., owned by L. L. Pruitt of Steelville, Mo., and Paul Hamaker"
According to aerial photos, between the time it opened and 1984, the 19 added two more ramps in the back. It started as a 200-car drive-in, but a 2005 story said the drive-in could pack 300 cars onto its field, thanks to radio sound.
Also, Karen Spreng is taking a one-year break for 2021. She told me she was having projector problems and was looking for a contractor to redo the concession building. And that she was generally busy with other stuff. Let’s hope the 19 answers the bell in 2022.
Cuba Review, Oct. 5, 1944: “Adolph Meier, manager of the Cuba Theatre, is again improving his show house. Recently he had a marquee built on the front of his building and now he is having the lobby and the ticket seller’s booth painted.”
Variety, Sept. 19, 1951: “Mrs. Anna Frances Bousser, part owner of the Cuba Theatre, Cuba, Mo., died at her home there Sept. 7. Her husband and four daughters survive.” Mrs. Bousser was Adolph’s mother-in-law.
Taos News, Sept. 6, 1984: “When Kit Carson Drive-In’s screen faded Saturday night (Sept. 1) on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” the drive-in scene may have gone dark in Taos County for good. Drive-in owner Les Dollison sold the four acres for a rumored $600,000 to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He is looking for another location, but associates say the cost of land and zoning restrictions may prohibit building anew. No one remembers the title of the first movie when the drive-in opened in 1954. The founder was a man remembered only as Mr. Taylor, a Texan, who later sold to Billy Buetler … Former manager Eddie Rimbert remembers screening R-rated movies briefly in the mid-70s. The 365-car parking lot would be deserted, but when a Disney film was on the screen, families packed the drive-in."
Later issues confirmed that the Wal-Mart began construction on the site in the summer of 1985. And that at least part of the Kit Carson’s old sign is now used for the Rodeo de Taos.
Deming (NM) Headlight, April 20, 1978: “Les Dollison, who owns the movie theaters here, also owns the theater in Socorro. He recenly sponsored a "Name the Drive-In” contest, according to the “Defensor Chieftain” there. Clair Mirabel, 18, won with “Sierra Vista.” She got a $100 check and a year’s pass to the drive-in."
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.
Howard Larsen, who would later build the Webb City Drive-In, owned the Civic for a while. I wonder whether he was any relation to architect Larry Larsen.
Howard was included in Neosho MO Daily News story on March 28, 1947 as having attended the Kansas-Missouri Theatre Assocation of independent owners. On Feb. 11, 1950, the Joplin Globe quoted Howard to say the scandalous Bergman film “Stromboli” would not be shown at the Civic.
The teaser ads called it “new,” and the Dickinson held its grand opening on March 3, 1946 in Webb City.
Webb City Dickinson grand opening ad 03 Mar 1946, Sun Joplin Globe (Joplin, Missouri) Newspapers.com
The 1950 Film Daily Year Book said that the Dickinson Theatre (466 seats) was on Main Street, as was the Junior (550).
Springfield News-Leader, Feb. 20, 1958: (Russ Wilhoit’s obituary) “With his brother, the late Ed Wilhoit, he owned and operated the old Princess Theater, recently renamed the Four Star”
Variety, June 16, 1954: “Dave Forbes, who formerly operated houses in Freeberg and Vienna, Mo., rushing completion of ozoner near Crocker, Mo.”
Independent Film Journal, June 25, 1954: “Mr. and Mrs. Dave Forbes started construction of a small ozoner about a mile from the city limits of Crocker, Mo. on the road to Iberia, which they plan to open in early July.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Jan. 30, 1963: “Mr. and Mrs. David Forbes, Crocker, Mo., were on the (St. Louis Film) Row recently on their first buying trip of the season. They report that they have completed remodeling and redecorating their concession stand and remodeling the projection booth.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 18, 1978: “CROCKER, MO. - The Ozark Drive-In here was sold by Dave and Ruth Forbed to Dale Routh as of August 7. The sale ends 25 years of operation under the Forbes' management.”
This is a crop of a Missouri Department of Transportation photo from the Missouri State Archives. As long as they’re credited, their photos are in the public domain.
Thumbing through some other photos, I discovered that this is a slight crop of a Missouri State Archives picture taken by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Per their usage agreement, as long as you give them credit, their photos are in the public domain.
I don’t know where this fits. Boxoffice, July 11, 1953: “Clifford H. Hough of Lebanon … has opened his new drive-in at Camdenton, Mo., in the Lake of the Ozarks area.”
The Hopkins and Hough families collaborated in 1949 on a drive-in project in Rolla MO that was bought out by Rowe Carney just before it was to open. Maybe they tried again in Camdenton.
Variety, March 15, 1950: “Clifford Hough sold his interest in drive-in near Lebanon, Ill. (sic), to his father; he will build an ozoner near Aurora, Mo.” (Hough was described in early 1952 as the owner of the Moonlite Drive-In south of Lebanon MO.)
Same theater? Film Daily, July 2, 1948: “R. E. Carney Theaters of Rolla, Mo., is erecting a new quonset-type theater in St. James, Mo., where the circuit now operates the 300-seat Lyric.”
The 1950 Film Daily Year Book listed three theaters in St. James: the Lyric (seating 384), the Rowe (600), and the St. James (no figure).
Boxoffice, March 22, 1971: “Commonwealth (Theatres) will acquire three theatres in Rolla … (effective) April 4: Uptown Theatre, Ritz Theatre, Rolla Drive-In and a drive-in theatre site … Completion of the drive-in remodeling, which includes addition of new equipment to serve the finest quality food and drink items, is slated to coincide with the opening of the 1971 drive-in season.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 23, 1950: “Inclement weather has delayed opening date for the Starlight Drive-In near Salem, Mo., owned by L. L. Pruitt of Steelville, Mo., and Paul Hamaker"
According to aerial photos, between the time it opened and 1984, the 19 added two more ramps in the back. It started as a 200-car drive-in, but a 2005 story said the drive-in could pack 300 cars onto its field, thanks to radio sound.
Also, Karen Spreng is taking a one-year break for 2021. She told me she was having projector problems and was looking for a contractor to redo the concession building. And that she was generally busy with other stuff. Let’s hope the 19 answers the bell in 2022.
Two more stray bits.
Cuba Review, Oct. 5, 1944: “Adolph Meier, manager of the Cuba Theatre, is again improving his show house. Recently he had a marquee built on the front of his building and now he is having the lobby and the ticket seller’s booth painted.”
Variety, Sept. 19, 1951: “Mrs. Anna Frances Bousser, part owner of the Cuba Theatre, Cuba, Mo., died at her home there Sept. 7. Her husband and four daughters survive.” Mrs. Bousser was Adolph’s mother-in-law.
Taos News, Sept. 6, 1984: “When Kit Carson Drive-In’s screen faded Saturday night (Sept. 1) on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” the drive-in scene may have gone dark in Taos County for good. Drive-in owner Les Dollison sold the four acres for a rumored $600,000 to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He is looking for another location, but associates say the cost of land and zoning restrictions may prohibit building anew. No one remembers the title of the first movie when the drive-in opened in 1954. The founder was a man remembered only as Mr. Taylor, a Texan, who later sold to Billy Buetler … Former manager Eddie Rimbert remembers screening R-rated movies briefly in the mid-70s. The 365-car parking lot would be deserted, but when a Disney film was on the screen, families packed the drive-in."
Later issues confirmed that the Wal-Mart began construction on the site in the summer of 1985. And that at least part of the Kit Carson’s old sign is now used for the Rodeo de Taos.
Deming (NM) Headlight, April 20, 1978: “Les Dollison, who owns the movie theaters here, also owns the theater in Socorro. He recenly sponsored a "Name the Drive-In” contest, according to the “Defensor Chieftain” there. Clair Mirabel, 18, won with “Sierra Vista.” She got a $100 check and a year’s pass to the drive-in."