The Missouri got a new marquee in 1967, according to a Nov. 26, 1967 story in the Columbia Missourian. That article also said that the Missouri opened on May 18, 1936 with “The Traveling Saleslady.”
The Sky-Hi opened on June 30, 1965, based on an article in the Columbia Missourian on Feb. 18, 1966. It cost more than $175,000 to build and held 750 cars. “Each spearpost is lighted to make parking easier,” and electric in-car heaters let it extend its season. Manager Richard Ytell said the biggest problem in its opening months was that “many people still do not know the Sky-Hi’s location on Old 63.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, May 12, 1954: “ST. LOUIS – It will soon be free motion pictures nightly at the St. Louis City Workhouse for Warden Clarence Weismantel through the courtesy of Mayor Roy A. Parker, Brentwood, Mo., one of the owners of the new Skyline (sic) Drive-In, immediately south of the workhouse. The 700-car drive-in is to open soon. A big picture window in a bedroom on the second floor of the warden’s residence at the southeast corner of Broadway and Meramec Street has an unobstructed view of the drive-in screen. The bedroom is being converted into a den, and to help the warden enjoy the free shows, Mayor Parker has arranged to have an electric line and a drive-in speaker installed.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “Another outdoor theatre, the Skyline Drive-In at Richfield, which failed to click last year, was understood to be about ready to change hands again. This and a small drive-in near Salt Lake were the only ozoners in the (Salt Lake City) area failing to attract big business”
The Exhibitor, June 27, 1951: “In Blytheville, Ark., Bloomer brothers, Belleville, Ill., owners, have taken a lease on the former Skyline Drive-In, a 400-car project, owned by the United Drive-In, Inc., controlled by W. B. Robertson, Houston, Tex., and reopened the theatre as the North Drive-In.”
The March 16, 1958 St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried a large ad about the auction of the Lakeside Recreation Center “on the retirement of George Bennett, the present owner, from this highly successful business for reasons of age and health.” It described the drive-in screen as 65 x 110 feet and the capacity as 1087 cars. “Adjoining Kiddy Land includes miniature golf course, pony ring, merry-go-round, ferris wheel, miniature train and station, boat ride, refreshment facilities, many other features.”
On Dec. 24, 1961, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article quoting Pacific Islands Monthly’s story about the Skyline Drive-In in Port Moresby. The asphalted drive-in had room for 300 cars.
The Skyline’s last ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was on Jan. 31, 1960. The final program was (The) Naked Venus, Guns Don’t Argue, and Walk Into Hell.
According to the Washington County Historical Society, this drive-in opened as the Dixie Auto Vu, “built by a Mr. Thornton in about 1949.” The WCHS said it was bought by Merv & Mary Reber about 1952, and they sold it to Westate Theaters around 1989.
The 1955 Motion Picture Almanac listed it as the Dixie Auto Vu, capacity 200, owner Ivan H. Hunt. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog had the capacity at 240, owner R. M. Reber.
Here is the original version of this photo by Dorothea Lange. Its listing says that it’s Copyright the Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. That page guesses ca. 1956 for the date, but I think that rockyroadz' analysis of the movies shown is more likely to be accurate.
This photo, complete with staple, was from the March 1949 issue of Albuquerque Progress, published by the Albuquerque National Bank. I don’t think there was a copyright notice included in that issue, which would put it in the public domain. I found it at New Mexico Digital Collections.
The last year that the Trail advertised regular movies in The Amarillo Globe Times was 1970. By 1971, it was showing X-rated movies. On January 27, 1977, the Globe Times reported that the Trail was still active and still X-rated.
John Margolies shot a photo of the Trail in 1977, and it still had an Open sign visible in the box office window. That picture is available at the Library of Congress.
I would love to know the source of this 1977 photo, because it is almost identical to a photo by John Margolies. The clouds are the same shapes but shifted, and the tree’s shadow has moved. It seems likely that Margolies shot this within a few minutes of the photo in the Library of Congress.
Specifically, it’s this 1982 photo, part of the John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive at the Library of Congress, effectively in the public domain.
Robert A. Christensen took this photo in 1977, and reprint rights are available from the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This photo was taken by Chester H. Liebs in 1982, and its copyright has been transferred to the Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.
I found more details. This photo was taken by William J. Lucas and is part of the William J. Lucas Route 66 Photograph Collection, now available at the
Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico. That institution says on its web site that “Copyright to the original photographs has been transfered to the CSWR.”
In a 2011 book named “Fruita,” authors Denise and Steve Hight wrote that Michael Kiefer was the Majestic’s first owner in 1910. From there, the ownership went to Samuel and Lottie Sturtevant, then to Fred and Carrie Fraser, and then to Robert and Melba Walker. The Walkers were the last ones mentioned, with no discussion of the Laumer or Boughton eras suggested by the 1958 Boxoffice note above.
The Hights wrote that the theater closed in the 1960s.
The May 28, 1973 issue of Boxoffice had a long story about Walt Hefner and his “do-it-yourself” drive-in. Quoting an article in the Spokane Chronicle, Boxoffice wrote: “Asked to comment on the portions of the Starlite he helped build, Hefner replied: ‘It would be easier to say what I didn’t do.’” Professionals were involved in installing the 40x90-foot steel screen and in making sure his plumbing and electrical work was up to building codes. It took Hefner two years to complete the project, which cost him about $103,000.
Anthony L. Vazquez-Hernandez and more recently moviejs1944 uploaded images of a postcard with text and a photo of the sign all showing Starlight spelled correctly. That undated postcard must have been from 1952 or later because it mentioned the expanded 1000-car capacity and specified two-cent postage. Yet the mostly reliable Theatre Catalog switched its spelling from Starlight (1949-50 edition) to the Starlite (1952-56 editions). The Motion Picture Almanacs always called it the Starlight, but the Film Daily Year Book always showed Starlite.
What did the Colorado Springs Gazette say? In a word, both. The first reference I could find was March 27, 1948, quoted 50 years later as Starlight. The theater’s ads in 1960 occasionally said Starlight but were mostly Starlite, and all later editorial references spelled it that way. Did the sign in the photo ever get changed?
According to the Missouri Historical Society, Dorrill Studio took this photo in 1937 and still owns its copyright.
According to the Missouri Historical Society, Sievers Studio took this photo on Nov. 27, 1931, and the studio still owns its copyright.
The Missouri got a new marquee in 1967, according to a Nov. 26, 1967 story in the Columbia Missourian. That article also said that the Missouri opened on May 18, 1936 with “The Traveling Saleslady.”
The Sky-Hi opened on June 30, 1965, based on an article in the Columbia Missourian on Feb. 18, 1966. It cost more than $175,000 to build and held 750 cars. “Each spearpost is lighted to make parking easier,” and electric in-car heaters let it extend its season. Manager Richard Ytell said the biggest problem in its opening months was that “many people still do not know the Sky-Hi’s location on Old 63.”
This 1955 photo is part of the Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, May 12, 1954: “ST. LOUIS – It will soon be free motion pictures nightly at the St. Louis City Workhouse for Warden Clarence Weismantel through the courtesy of Mayor Roy A. Parker, Brentwood, Mo., one of the owners of the new Skyline (sic) Drive-In, immediately south of the workhouse. The 700-car drive-in is to open soon. A big picture window in a bedroom on the second floor of the warden’s residence at the southeast corner of Broadway and Meramec Street has an unobstructed view of the drive-in screen. The bedroom is being converted into a den, and to help the warden enjoy the free shows, Mayor Parker has arranged to have an electric line and a drive-in speaker installed.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1948: “Another outdoor theatre, the Skyline Drive-In at Richfield, which failed to click last year, was understood to be about ready to change hands again. This and a small drive-in near Salt Lake were the only ozoners in the (Salt Lake City) area failing to attract big business”
The Exhibitor, June 27, 1951: “In Blytheville, Ark., Bloomer brothers, Belleville, Ill., owners, have taken a lease on the former Skyline Drive-In, a 400-car project, owned by the United Drive-In, Inc., controlled by W. B. Robertson, Houston, Tex., and reopened the theatre as the North Drive-In.”
The March 16, 1958 St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried a large ad about the auction of the Lakeside Recreation Center “on the retirement of George Bennett, the present owner, from this highly successful business for reasons of age and health.” It described the drive-in screen as 65 x 110 feet and the capacity as 1087 cars. “Adjoining Kiddy Land includes miniature golf course, pony ring, merry-go-round, ferris wheel, miniature train and station, boat ride, refreshment facilities, many other features.”
On Dec. 24, 1961, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article quoting Pacific Islands Monthly’s story about the Skyline Drive-In in Port Moresby. The asphalted drive-in had room for 300 cars.
The Skyline’s last ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was on Jan. 31, 1960. The final program was (The) Naked Venus, Guns Don’t Argue, and Walk Into Hell.
Charles Trefts took this photo in 1945, and it’s available with “No known copyright restrictions” at the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Charles Trefts took this photo in 1945, and it’s available with “No known copyright restrictions” at the State Historical Society of Missouri.
According to the Washington County Historical Society, this drive-in opened as the Dixie Auto Vu, “built by a Mr. Thornton in about 1949.” The WCHS said it was bought by Merv & Mary Reber about 1952, and they sold it to Westate Theaters around 1989.
The 1955 Motion Picture Almanac listed it as the Dixie Auto Vu, capacity 200, owner Ivan H. Hunt. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog had the capacity at 240, owner R. M. Reber.
Here is the original version of this photo by Dorothea Lange. Its listing says that it’s Copyright the Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. That page guesses ca. 1956 for the date, but I think that rockyroadz' analysis of the movies shown is more likely to be accurate.
This photo, complete with staple, was from the March 1949 issue of Albuquerque Progress, published by the Albuquerque National Bank. I don’t think there was a copyright notice included in that issue, which would put it in the public domain. I found it at New Mexico Digital Collections.
The last year that the Trail advertised regular movies in The Amarillo Globe Times was 1970. By 1971, it was showing X-rated movies. On January 27, 1977, the Globe Times reported that the Trail was still active and still X-rated.
John Margolies shot a photo of the Trail in 1977, and it still had an Open sign visible in the box office window. That picture is available at the Library of Congress.
I would love to know the source of this 1977 photo, because it is almost identical to a photo by John Margolies. The clouds are the same shapes but shifted, and the tree’s shadow has moved. It seems likely that Margolies shot this within a few minutes of the photo in the Library of Congress.
Specifically, it’s this 1982 photo, part of the John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive at the Library of Congress, effectively in the public domain.
Robert A. Christensen took this photo in 1977, and reprint rights are available from the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This photo was taken by Chester H. Liebs in 1982, and its copyright has been transferred to the Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.
I found more details. This photo was taken by William J. Lucas and is part of the William J. Lucas Route 66 Photograph Collection, now available at the Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico. That institution says on its web site that “Copyright to the original photographs has been transfered to the CSWR.”
In a 2011 book named “Fruita,” authors Denise and Steve Hight wrote that Michael Kiefer was the Majestic’s first owner in 1910. From there, the ownership went to Samuel and Lottie Sturtevant, then to Fred and Carrie Fraser, and then to Robert and Melba Walker. The Walkers were the last ones mentioned, with no discussion of the Laumer or Boughton eras suggested by the 1958 Boxoffice note above.
The Hights wrote that the theater closed in the 1960s.
The May 28, 1973 issue of Boxoffice had a long story about Walt Hefner and his “do-it-yourself” drive-in. Quoting an article in the Spokane Chronicle, Boxoffice wrote: “Asked to comment on the portions of the Starlite he helped build, Hefner replied: ‘It would be easier to say what I didn’t do.’” Professionals were involved in installing the 40x90-foot steel screen and in making sure his plumbing and electrical work was up to building codes. It took Hefner two years to complete the project, which cost him about $103,000.
Anthony L. Vazquez-Hernandez and more recently moviejs1944 uploaded images of a postcard with text and a photo of the sign all showing Starlight spelled correctly. That undated postcard must have been from 1952 or later because it mentioned the expanded 1000-car capacity and specified two-cent postage. Yet the mostly reliable Theatre Catalog switched its spelling from Starlight (1949-50 edition) to the Starlite (1952-56 editions). The Motion Picture Almanacs always called it the Starlight, but the Film Daily Year Book always showed Starlite.
What did the Colorado Springs Gazette say? In a word, both. The first reference I could find was March 27, 1948, quoted 50 years later as Starlight. The theater’s ads in 1960 occasionally said Starlight but were mostly Starlite, and all later editorial references spelled it that way. Did the sign in the photo ever get changed?