The theater did not close in 1975, it was still in operation even before and after incidents. The theater closed at the end of the 1987 season after screening X-Rated films for a truckload of years since April 18, 1969.
Opened on July 3, 1952 with “Bagdad” along with a few unnamed short subjects, and was closed around the same month the Starlite closed its gates in September 1985.
The Beltline and the Starlite were the only drive-ins in Columbia to have a much more appropriate fare on films, which both theaters picked up first-run movies throughout most of its history, but sometimes can pick up a few other mixtures but not very harmful to audiences.
This theater actually first started off as the “Alta Vista Drive-In”, opening its gates in June 1947. The Alta Vista changed its name to the Twilite in 1954, and it became the Starlite in November 1980 until closing around the same month the Beltline closed in September 1985.
The Beltline and the Starlite were the only drive-ins in Columbia to have a much more appropriate fare on films, which both theaters picked up first-run movies throughout most of its history, but sometimes can pick up a few other mixtures but not very harmful to audiences.
The Skyway Drive-In held onto a huge amount of incidents during 1975 where a robbery took place including action with a pistol, and in 1977 and 1978 when the theater took all for suitings and claimants.
After closing for a few years beginning in 1977 due to the ownership and the theater filing a suiting, the theater reopened in 1981 but after just 2 years on running mostly not-so-suitable drive-in fare, it closed again, this time for the final time in 1983.
It also opened with a Tom and Jerry cartoon in “The Two Mousketeers” and a MGM “News Of The Day” newsreel.
The “Sun-Set” name lasted until 1955 when the name was correctly reduced to “Sunset”, although some papers recommend that name as early as August 1954.
The Sunset Drive-In ended its life at the end of the 1987 season, after screening X-rated films for a truckload of years since April 18, 1969.
Before the theater began running its longtime stunt with X-rated films, the last first-run feature the Sunset ran before flipping the table is Sean Connery’s “ThunderBall” which only ran for a week beginning on April 11, 1969.
The theater had a few incidents from here-and-there such as robberies, protesting letters, and even the manager, 26-year-old Michael Vassey, arrested from the Columbia Police Department in March 1975 due to the theater screening X rated films out into the public, and was later charged with violation of the state law later that first week of July of that year.
Actually, according to the Martinsville Reporter-Times, the Martinsville Drive-In didn’t open until 2 days later. It opened on May 19, 1950 with “The Great Dan Patch” and “Here Comes Trouble” (unknown if short subjects were added due to blurriness).
The Strand Theatre Was Heavily Destroyed By A Fire On April 20, 1972, And Was Rebuilt In 1974, Reopening That Year, As The Strand Cinema As A One-Story Concrete Block Building Lasted Until The Theater Being Demolished In 1990.
The owners and the projectionist of this theater were arrested in August 1971 by the Martinsburg Police Department for showing an explicit film, but were freed by a $300 bond days later.
Opened With Chester Morris In “Counterfeit”, Along With A Popeye Cartoon In “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard”, And A Performance By Russ Morgan And His Orchestra In “Music In The Morgan Manner”.
The 550-seat capacity State Theatre was actually located in Timmonsville which opened on October 15, 1940 with “They Drove By Night” (I’m totally not sure if any short subjects were added, but I’m not sure at the moment). The State Theatre contain the frontage being measured 40ft and the theater as nearly 100ft, and has a capacity of 550, with 375 in the main theater and 175 for the balcony for colored people.
I cannot find the grand opening date, but the earliest attraction I can find is a January 18, 1928 attraction for “Aunt Dinah” and “Glover And Snooks”. The hunt still continues.
This 300-car capacity Circle Drive-In was located on a 8-9 acre tract of land embracing 28 city lots and is one of a few drive-ins to be located inside the city limits in South Carolina as of 1949. Speaking of 1949, it opened on April 6, 1949 with “Sitting Pretty” with no extras. CinemaScope was installed on June 27, 1954 with “Knights Of The Round Table” as its first CinemaScope film. It was remodeled on June 7, 1961, reopening with “Bend Of The River”. It was closed on May 14, 1977 due to a failed ownership change.
The Rio opened on March 15, 1941, just 24 hours right after the Palace reopened its doors after remodeling. The Rio opened with Rufe Davis in “Barnyard Follies” as a Saturday matinee only.
The theater did not close in 1975, it was still in operation even before and after incidents. The theater closed at the end of the 1987 season after screening X-Rated films for a truckload of years since April 18, 1969.
The Louis Joliet Cinema actually opened during the same year the Louis Joliet Mall opened in 1978 according to some snippets from the Chicago Tribune.
Opened on July 3, 1952 with “Bagdad” along with a few unnamed short subjects, and was closed around the same month the Starlite closed its gates in September 1985.
The Beltline and the Starlite were the only drive-ins in Columbia to have a much more appropriate fare on films, which both theaters picked up first-run movies throughout most of its history, but sometimes can pick up a few other mixtures but not very harmful to audiences.
This theater actually first started off as the “Alta Vista Drive-In”, opening its gates in June 1947. The Alta Vista changed its name to the Twilite in 1954, and it became the Starlite in November 1980 until closing around the same month the Beltline closed in September 1985.
The Beltline and the Starlite were the only drive-ins in Columbia to have a much more appropriate fare on films, which both theaters picked up first-run movies throughout most of its history, but sometimes can pick up a few other mixtures but not very harmful to audiences.
The Skyway Drive-In held onto a huge amount of incidents during 1975 where a robbery took place including action with a pistol, and in 1977 and 1978 when the theater took all for suitings and claimants.
After closing for a few years beginning in 1977 due to the ownership and the theater filing a suiting, the theater reopened in 1981 but after just 2 years on running mostly not-so-suitable drive-in fare, it closed again, this time for the final time in 1983.
It also opened with a Tom and Jerry cartoon in “The Two Mousketeers” and a MGM “News Of The Day” newsreel.
The “Sun-Set” name lasted until 1955 when the name was correctly reduced to “Sunset”, although some papers recommend that name as early as August 1954.
The Sunset Drive-In ended its life at the end of the 1987 season, after screening X-rated films for a truckload of years since April 18, 1969.
Before the theater began running its longtime stunt with X-rated films, the last first-run feature the Sunset ran before flipping the table is Sean Connery’s “ThunderBall” which only ran for a week beginning on April 11, 1969.
The theater had a few incidents from here-and-there such as robberies, protesting letters, and even the manager, 26-year-old Michael Vassey, arrested from the Columbia Police Department in March 1975 due to the theater screening X rated films out into the public, and was later charged with violation of the state law later that first week of July of that year.
Opened On May 17, 1972 With George Segal In “The Hot Rock”.
The Princess Theatre opened on July 15, 1927 with Jackie Coogan in “Johnie, Get Your Haircut” with no extras which was shown for one day.
Actually, according to the Martinsville Reporter-Times, the Martinsville Drive-In didn’t open until 2 days later. It opened on May 19, 1950 with “The Great Dan Patch” and “Here Comes Trouble” (unknown if short subjects were added due to blurriness).
Still in operation since 1967.
Opened On November 22, 1985.
Opened On October 27, 1995.
The Strand Theatre Was Heavily Destroyed By A Fire On April 20, 1972, And Was Rebuilt In 1974, Reopening That Year, As The Strand Cinema As A One-Story Concrete Block Building Lasted Until The Theater Being Demolished In 1990.
The owners and the projectionist of this theater were arrested in August 1971 by the Martinsburg Police Department for showing an explicit film, but were freed by a $300 bond days later.
Plitt also operated the Park Terrace before Cineplex Odeon took over.
Opened With Chester Morris In “Counterfeit”, Along With A Popeye Cartoon In “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard”, And A Performance By Russ Morgan And His Orchestra In “Music In The Morgan Manner”.
That’s when the theater opened its doors to the public. The theater held its formal opening 4 days earlier with a showing of “They Drove By Night”.
The 550-seat capacity State Theatre was actually located in Timmonsville which opened on October 15, 1940 with “They Drove By Night” (I’m totally not sure if any short subjects were added, but I’m not sure at the moment). The State Theatre contain the frontage being measured 40ft and the theater as nearly 100ft, and has a capacity of 550, with 375 in the main theater and 175 for the balcony for colored people.
Opened On December 3, 1964 With Elvis In “Roustabout”.
Opened On March 27, 1969 With “Support Your Local Sheriff”.
I cannot find the grand opening date, but the earliest attraction I can find is a January 18, 1928 attraction for “Aunt Dinah” and “Glover And Snooks”. The hunt still continues.
This 300-car capacity Circle Drive-In was located on a 8-9 acre tract of land embracing 28 city lots and is one of a few drive-ins to be located inside the city limits in South Carolina as of 1949. Speaking of 1949, it opened on April 6, 1949 with “Sitting Pretty” with no extras. CinemaScope was installed on June 27, 1954 with “Knights Of The Round Table” as its first CinemaScope film. It was remodeled on June 7, 1961, reopening with “Bend Of The River”. It was closed on May 14, 1977 due to a failed ownership change.
Opened On July 1, 1965.
Opened In 2004.
The Rio opened on March 15, 1941, just 24 hours right after the Palace reopened its doors after remodeling. The Rio opened with Rufe Davis in “Barnyard Follies” as a Saturday matinee only.