The opening date was May 5, 1950. As was later reported, the first double feature was “Jolson Sings Again” and “Riders in the Sky,” and it also included the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Long Haired Hare”.
According to a Grand Opening article, the drive-in accommodated 700 cars in its 15 acres “atop the hill at Eighth Street and Brookside Avenue”. It had a grassed-in playground, lighted speaker poles, and attendants to wipe windshields and fix flat tires.
The 8th Street had three 25-foot poles at the back of the viewing area where “moonlight” lamps were operated by dimmers. A Gazette Telegraph story said that they were “the first to be installed west of the Mississippi River and are the latest type developed for drive-in theatres.”
The drive-in was managed by Ralph Langston, who had worked as an assistant manager for the South Drive-In in Englewood CO.
The Starlight’s final ad before its screen tower was destroyed was in the Sept. 24, 1976 issue of the Rocky Ford Daily Gazette. Since that ad didn’t specify which days the shows would run, my guess for its final night would be Sunday, Sept. 26. The program was “Born to Kill” and “Jackson County Jail”.
A quick check of the July 11, 1977 Daily Gazette showed ads for indoor theaters (the Grand and the Fox), and the La Junta drive-in (which must have repaired its screen), but not the Starlight.
Boxoffice, Feb. 3, 1945: “BRIGHTON, COLO. – M. H. Philipsen of Denver has taken over management of the Rex Theatre here, replacing Duane Welch who moved to California. Philipsen managed the Santa Fe Theatre in Denver for Atlas Theatre Corp.”
Later Boxoffice notes tell this story: Philipsen moved over to manage the Kar-Vu Drive-In when it opened in April 1950, apparently replaced at the Rex by P. R. Ruddick. When the army recalled Ruddick later that year, Philipsen temporarily returned during the winter of 1950-51. In May 1951, Atlas brought in T. V. Austin from Salt Lake City to manage the Rex, freeing Philipsen to concentrate on the Kar-Vu.
The Pines’ first ad in the Fort Collins Coloradoan was May 29, 1968, featuring “The Way West” and “The Hallelujah Trail”. It ended with the note, “Drive south and save!” (The Pines charged 90 cents per adult while the Starlite charged a full $1.)
There’s a huge, detailed story about the Rio (and a few other things) by Bob Amick (is that you, rda?) in the Dec. 12, 2016 issue of the (Meeker) Herald Times. There’s even more in an accompanying PDF to the article.
The family of Don Dennis, who was reportedly a projectionist at the Valley in the late 1950s, has a huge page of photos and info about the theater.
That page said that Schumour Theaters was a division of Gibralter Entertainment, a confederation consortium of small chains in
Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado run mainly by Charles Gilmour M. C. Schulte. Schumour owned the Valley early in the 1950s, and “Mitch Kelloff owned the Valley Theater in the 50’s and into the 60’s.” There are more photos, newspaper ads, and other souvenirs than I have room to describe here. DonDennisFamily.com did a great job in assembling all of it to show off to all of us internet historians.
The (Grand Junction CO) Daily Sentinel, Nov. 5, 1947: “Craig – Construction of the new Craig theatre was started recently on the site of the old theatre which was destroyed by fire May 9. Cost of the building is estimated at $120,000. Plans include two stores flanking the theatre lobby and entrance; capacity will be 600. Schumour Theatres, Inc., which also owns the West theatre here, is building the Craig.”
In the May 2018 issue of History La Plata, Charles DiFerdinando wrote, “The Basin Drive-In Theatre opened at 2300 Main Street on June 23, 1950 with the feature film, "Oh, You Beautiful Doll”.
In the May 2018 issue of History La Plata, Charles DiFerdinando wrote, “On March 10, 1957, the Durango Herald-News announced the opening of Durango’s newest drive-in theatre, the Rocket Drive In, 3 miles south of Durango. It opened with a double feature: "To Hell and Back” starring Audie Murphy, and “Gun Slinger”. Managed by Jack Scales, the Rocket could accommodate 450 cars."
Looks like 2012 was the Starlite’s final season. The Sterling Journal-Advocate, reported on June 12, 2013 that the annual High Plains Music Fest used to be held “at the now-closed Starlite Drive In.” A check of the 2012 Fest verified that the Starlite hosted it that year.
The Greeley Daily Tribune ran a story on Aug. 9, 1948 that co-owners Emmett W. Savard and Rudolph Meyer would open a drive-in “soon,” contrasting that with the Motorena’s announced (and later achieved) Aug. 21 opening date. “The theater, which is located on 10 acres, will be equipped to accommodate 400 cars for the present, but when entirely completed will handle 800 automobiles. The screen, which is 40x60, will face to the north, away from the highway.”
The Greeley’s first ad in the Daily Tribune wasn’t until Wed., Sept. 8, 1948. It didn’t mention anything about a grand opening, but “Now Showing” was “Swiss Family Robinson” and “‘Neath Canadian Skies.”
The Rocket’s final ad in the local Daily Sentinel said it was showing “Summer School” and “Back to the Beach” on “FRI-SAT-SUN”. That ad ran through Labor Day, Sept. 5, 1987, all the way through Thursday, Sept. 10. It was gone on Friday, Sept. 11, so I’m guessing that the Rocket’s final night was Sept. 4.
This time, the answer to davidcoppock’s question took a little digging, though not a full year’s worth. (Sorry for the delay.) Tsaya is a Navajo word for “house under the rock,” and also the name of a trading post known to the Navajo near the Four Corners region.
That was pretty much the only use of the word until 2005, when Pablo Holman invented a small purse (or cell-phone holster) that straps to a woman’s thigh and named it the Tsaya. Was he thinking of the Navajo word when he did that? I’ll let you know if I ever find out.
(Update: That guy, Pablos Holman, wrote to explain that “Tsaya is the Japanese word for the sheath of a Samurai sword. Usually transliterated as "saya” though.“)
The Mountain Mail had an article on June 21, 2018 that provided the full history.
The building went up in 1888, replacing the Craig Opera that had burned down. The first event in the new Salida Opera House was a New Year’s Ever party featuring light from 75 electric bulbs.
The theater shut down from 1901 to 1914, when it reopened showing movies as the Empress Theatre.
A fire in January 1942 gutted the rear of what had become the Salida Theatre. It was renamed the Unique in 1966, “when it was owned by Louis (sic) and Mary Groy.”
In 2007, the city condemned the building. That year, Salcat Industries, owned by Bobby Hartslief of South Africa, bought the Unique and stabilized the building. In 2011 new owner Tim Pollak of Florence, Italy, razed the back of the building to save the front 40 feet and its façade. Later that decade, the inside was converted to three storefronts on the first floor and three condos on the second, and that’s what it looked like at the time of the article.
The Mountain Mail, June 2, 1966: “Thursday installation of the new marquee at the “new” theater in Salida was completed. At the same location as the Salida Theatre, Lewis Groy has completely remodeled the theatre inside and out and has given it a new name, the Unique. With close to 500 seats downstairs on the completely new concrete floor and with the inside and out showing a new coat of paint, the place really has the “new look.” ”
This theater reopened soon after BigScreen’s post as Peak Cinemas. New home page: http://peakcinemas.com/
Huerfano World Journal, March 21, 2019: “Peak Cinemas celebrated with a ribbon cutting on March 7, hosted by the Trinidad and Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, marking new ownership and big changes. Formally (sic) the Movie Picture Showhouse, Peak Cinemas, at 3600 East Main Street in Trindad, welcomed a crowd of nearly 400 with a special day-early showing of the new Captain Marvel movie in all four theaters … New owners Kenneth and Robert Beck, a father-son duo, have come to an agreement with International Bank to revive Trinidad’s movie experience. Inspiration stuck for veterans Kenneth and Robert with the desire to reopen the Peak Cinema’s drive-in movie theater just down the road which has been closed since the late 1980’s. Looking to the future brings hopes of reopening the drive-in theater.”
Now home to Triple-H Self Storage, which lists its address as 22240 Highway 160, according to the Dec. 6, 2018 Huerfano World Journal. The photo accompanying the story showed the old Trail concession / projection building still there.
Considering the Motion Picture Almanac dates above, this was probably the end. Boxoffice, April 18, 1977: “Erratic weather patterns created a dust storm with high winds which destroyed the screen tower of the Starlite Drive-In, Rocky Ford, and partially destroyed the tower in the LaJunta Drive-In.”
Photo by Marti Dodge, according to its undated postcard, published by McGrew Color Graphics of Kansas City MO. I don’t know its copyright status, but I’d bet money that it’s not CC licensed.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 23, 1966: “The Black Hills Amusement Co. will operate the State hardtop and the Soui (sic) Drive-In, Rapid City, S.D. The firm also runs the Elk and Rapid houses and two drive-ins in the city. Former owners were John and Tom George.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 9, 1958: “Les Dollison has opened the new 500-seat Loma, Socorro, N. M. It replaces the former Loma, which burned some time back.”
The opening date was May 5, 1950. As was later reported, the first double feature was “Jolson Sings Again” and “Riders in the Sky,” and it also included the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Long Haired Hare”.
According to a Grand Opening article, the drive-in accommodated 700 cars in its 15 acres “atop the hill at Eighth Street and Brookside Avenue”. It had a grassed-in playground, lighted speaker poles, and attendants to wipe windshields and fix flat tires.
The 8th Street had three 25-foot poles at the back of the viewing area where “moonlight” lamps were operated by dimmers. A Gazette Telegraph story said that they were “the first to be installed west of the Mississippi River and are the latest type developed for drive-in theatres.”
The drive-in was managed by Ralph Langston, who had worked as an assistant manager for the South Drive-In in Englewood CO.
The Starlight’s final ad before its screen tower was destroyed was in the Sept. 24, 1976 issue of the Rocky Ford Daily Gazette. Since that ad didn’t specify which days the shows would run, my guess for its final night would be Sunday, Sept. 26. The program was “Born to Kill” and “Jackson County Jail”.
A quick check of the July 11, 1977 Daily Gazette showed ads for indoor theaters (the Grand and the Fox), and the La Junta drive-in (which must have repaired its screen), but not the Starlight.
Boxoffice, Feb. 3, 1945: “BRIGHTON, COLO. – M. H. Philipsen of Denver has taken over management of the Rex Theatre here, replacing Duane Welch who moved to California. Philipsen managed the Santa Fe Theatre in Denver for Atlas Theatre Corp.”
Later Boxoffice notes tell this story: Philipsen moved over to manage the Kar-Vu Drive-In when it opened in April 1950, apparently replaced at the Rex by P. R. Ruddick. When the army recalled Ruddick later that year, Philipsen temporarily returned during the winter of 1950-51. In May 1951, Atlas brought in T. V. Austin from Salt Lake City to manage the Rex, freeing Philipsen to concentrate on the Kar-Vu.
I found this at KnoxBlogs.com, credited to (Department of Energy archives/Frank Hoffman photograph).
The Pines’ first ad in the Fort Collins Coloradoan was May 29, 1968, featuring “The Way West” and “The Hallelujah Trail”. It ended with the note, “Drive south and save!” (The Pines charged 90 cents per adult while the Starlite charged a full $1.)
There’s a huge, detailed story about the Rio (and a few other things) by Bob Amick (is that you, rda?) in the Dec. 12, 2016 issue of the (Meeker) Herald Times. There’s even more in an accompanying PDF to the article.
The family of Don Dennis, who was reportedly a projectionist at the Valley in the late 1950s, has a huge page of photos and info about the theater.
That page said that Schumour Theaters was a division of Gibralter Entertainment, a confederation consortium of small chains in Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado run mainly by Charles Gilmour M. C. Schulte. Schumour owned the Valley early in the 1950s, and “Mitch Kelloff owned the Valley Theater in the 50’s and into the 60’s.” There are more photos, newspaper ads, and other souvenirs than I have room to describe here. DonDennisFamily.com did a great job in assembling all of it to show off to all of us internet historians.
The (Grand Junction CO) Daily Sentinel, Nov. 5, 1947: “Craig – Construction of the new Craig theatre was started recently on the site of the old theatre which was destroyed by fire May 9. Cost of the building is estimated at $120,000. Plans include two stores flanking the theatre lobby and entrance; capacity will be 600. Schumour Theatres, Inc., which also owns the West theatre here, is building the Craig.”
It amazes me how often the same theater gets sold by the same guy/company more than once.
Variety, Nov. 5, 1958: “Hugh Haynes took over the Valley, Fowler, Colo., from Schumour Corp., and will operate it five days a week.”
In the May 2018 issue of History La Plata, Charles DiFerdinando wrote, “The Basin Drive-In Theatre opened at 2300 Main Street on June 23, 1950 with the feature film, "Oh, You Beautiful Doll”.
In the May 2018 issue of History La Plata, Charles DiFerdinando wrote, “On March 10, 1957, the Durango Herald-News announced the opening of Durango’s newest drive-in theatre, the Rocket Drive In, 3 miles south of Durango. It opened with a double feature: "To Hell and Back” starring Audie Murphy, and “Gun Slinger”. Managed by Jack Scales, the Rocket could accommodate 450 cars."
Looks like 2012 was the Starlite’s final season. The Sterling Journal-Advocate, reported on June 12, 2013 that the annual High Plains Music Fest used to be held “at the now-closed Starlite Drive In.” A check of the 2012 Fest verified that the Starlite hosted it that year.
The Greeley Daily Tribune ran a story on Aug. 9, 1948 that co-owners Emmett W. Savard and Rudolph Meyer would open a drive-in “soon,” contrasting that with the Motorena’s announced (and later achieved) Aug. 21 opening date. “The theater, which is located on 10 acres, will be equipped to accommodate 400 cars for the present, but when entirely completed will handle 800 automobiles. The screen, which is 40x60, will face to the north, away from the highway.”
The Greeley’s first ad in the Daily Tribune wasn’t until Wed., Sept. 8, 1948. It didn’t mention anything about a grand opening, but “Now Showing” was “Swiss Family Robinson” and “‘Neath Canadian Skies.”
The Rocket’s final ad in the local Daily Sentinel said it was showing “Summer School” and “Back to the Beach” on “FRI-SAT-SUN”. That ad ran through Labor Day, Sept. 5, 1987, all the way through Thursday, Sept. 10. It was gone on Friday, Sept. 11, so I’m guessing that the Rocket’s final night was Sept. 4.
This time, the answer to davidcoppock’s question took a little digging, though not a full year’s worth. (Sorry for the delay.) Tsaya is a Navajo word for “house under the rock,” and also the name of a trading post known to the Navajo near the Four Corners region.
That was pretty much the only use of the word until 2005, when Pablo Holman invented a small purse (or cell-phone holster) that straps to a woman’s thigh and named it the Tsaya. Was he thinking of the Navajo word when he did that? I’ll let you know if I ever find out.
(Update: That guy, Pablos Holman, wrote to explain that “Tsaya is the Japanese word for the sheath of a Samurai sword. Usually transliterated as "saya” though.“)
The Mountain Mail had an article on June 21, 2018 that provided the full history.
The building went up in 1888, replacing the Craig Opera that had burned down. The first event in the new Salida Opera House was a New Year’s Ever party featuring light from 75 electric bulbs.
The theater shut down from 1901 to 1914, when it reopened showing movies as the Empress Theatre.
A fire in January 1942 gutted the rear of what had become the Salida Theatre. It was renamed the Unique in 1966, “when it was owned by Louis (sic) and Mary Groy.”
In 2007, the city condemned the building. That year, Salcat Industries, owned by Bobby Hartslief of South Africa, bought the Unique and stabilized the building. In 2011 new owner Tim Pollak of Florence, Italy, razed the back of the building to save the front 40 feet and its façade. Later that decade, the inside was converted to three storefronts on the first floor and three condos on the second, and that’s what it looked like at the time of the article.
The Mountain Mail, June 2, 1966: “Thursday installation of the new marquee at the “new” theater in Salida was completed. At the same location as the Salida Theatre, Lewis Groy has completely remodeled the theatre inside and out and has given it a new name, the Unique. With close to 500 seats downstairs on the completely new concrete floor and with the inside and out showing a new coat of paint, the place really has the “new look.” ”
This theater reopened soon after BigScreen’s post as Peak Cinemas. New home page: http://peakcinemas.com/
Huerfano World Journal, March 21, 2019: “Peak Cinemas celebrated with a ribbon cutting on March 7, hosted by the Trinidad and Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, marking new ownership and big changes. Formally (sic) the Movie Picture Showhouse, Peak Cinemas, at 3600 East Main Street in Trindad, welcomed a crowd of nearly 400 with a special day-early showing of the new Captain Marvel movie in all four theaters … New owners Kenneth and Robert Beck, a father-son duo, have come to an agreement with International Bank to revive Trinidad’s movie experience. Inspiration stuck for veterans Kenneth and Robert with the desire to reopen the Peak Cinema’s drive-in movie theater just down the road which has been closed since the late 1980’s. Looking to the future brings hopes of reopening the drive-in theater.”
Now home to Triple-H Self Storage, which lists its address as 22240 Highway 160, according to the Dec. 6, 2018 Huerfano World Journal. The photo accompanying the story showed the old Trail concession / projection building still there.
Considering the Motion Picture Almanac dates above, this was probably the end. Boxoffice, April 18, 1977: “Erratic weather patterns created a dust storm with high winds which destroyed the screen tower of the Starlite Drive-In, Rocky Ford, and partially destroyed the tower in the LaJunta Drive-In.”
Photo by Marti Dodge, according to its undated postcard, published by McGrew Color Graphics of Kansas City MO. I don’t know its copyright status, but I’d bet money that it’s not CC licensed.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 23, 1966: “The Black Hills Amusement Co. will operate the State hardtop and the Soui (sic) Drive-In, Rapid City, S.D. The firm also runs the Elk and Rapid houses and two drive-ins in the city. Former owners were John and Tom George.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 9, 1958: “Les Dollison has opened the new 500-seat Loma, Socorro, N. M. It replaces the former Loma, which burned some time back.”
From the April 24, 1957 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe to be in the public domain.
From the April 24, 1957 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe to be in the public domain.