Here’s one of those transactions. Boxoffice, July 20, 1959: “Frank Barnes has sold the Elite Theatre in Crawford, Neb., to Jim Stockwell. Barnes is moving to Washington state.”
Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “David Thomason will bring films back to Cope, Colo., by way of a new 150-seat theatre to be named the Rainbow, and replacing the Homestead which burned. The opening will be this month.”
Boxoffice, July 20, 1959: “Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Thomason have sold the Rainbo (sic) in Cope, Colo., and moved to Denver. The new owner is Harry Pyle.”
Motion Picture Daily, April 7, 1960: D. L. Thomason, who operated the Rainbow Theatre, Cope, Colo., for a number of years before moving to Arizona, has returned to Colorado and plans to reopen the theatre in mid-April."
A note in the April 1, 1950 issue of Boxoffice said that the Crest was Commonwealth’s first drive-in when it opened in 1948. At the time of the article, the circuit had grown to four active drive-ins with 11 more expected to open that year.
Boxoffice, April 1, 1950: “Although crop dusting is an established practice in the agricultural south, Thomas Finin, manager of the Keno Family Drive-In near Kenosha, Wis., applied the technique to his theatre area to rid it of mosquitoes. When the boring insects made it so uncomfortable for patrons in cars they began to abandon the drive-in, Finin employed a local crop spraying form who covers the area with DDT sprayed from a plane flying some 20 feet above the ground. The treatment has proved entirely successful.”
The April 1, 1950 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page article about the unusual steps that owner Herbert H. Hinze took in developing his 416-car drive-in, at that point about to open just outside Rogers.
“Among the innovations in the theatre is an all-steel, buckle-proof screen and screen tower, movable speaker junction posts, two back ramps designed for truck patrons and specially designed and built speakers and amplification equipment.”
The screen tower was 64x55 feet for a 60x48-foot screen with rounded corners. A T-shaped concession stand, twin playgrounds on either side of the screen, a square concrete dance floor in front, and a very narrow layout were other unusual features. Hinze was planning a contest to name the drive-in.
This is from the Better Theatres section of the Oct. 10, 1953 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which should be in the public domain.
The original caption: In preparation for wide-screen projection and also for the showing of 3-D films, the screen tower of the Gloria drive-in at Lima, Ohio, was recently redesigned and rebuilt. Remodeling, as shown in the process of completion above, included enlarging the screen to almost twice its original width and painting it with EPRAD’s “Uni-Max” paint, which is designed for both 2-D and 3-D projection. The work was done by the Theatre Equipment Company, Toledo. The drive-in also installed new Strong projection lamps and generators and new aperture plates. Over 12 other drive-in theatres have been equipped for 3-D by the same company, according to Al Boudouris, president, including the Gratiot at Detroit and the Tower, between Elyria and Lorain, Ohio.
This photo is in the US National Archives. Because it was created by the US Government, the photo is in the public domain.
Original caption: DRIVE-IN THEATER STUDY, 1949, by American Association of State Highway Officials. Drive in Theatre located at 87th & Cicero Sts. In Chicago. The Twin Air Open Theatre. Photo by T. W. Kines 7/27/48.
The March 4, 1950 issue of Boxoffice ran a short story about the Big Sombrero Drive-In Theatre, which it placed in Sulphur Springs AR. Owner J. Bye Coverston used snap-on speakers, which he would hand out to each car when it came in, then collect as it exited. “When a patron fails to turn in his speaker he is asked to return to the ramp and get it.”
Coverston said, possibly in jest, that his position on the border helped with taxes. “The Arkansas-Missouri state line runs right through my drive-in,” he said with a broad grin, “and if taxation becomes unfavorable in Arkansas, I just move my boxoffice into Missouri and operate from there.”
A 1955 aerial photo showed the entirety of the drive-in on the Missouri side except for one entrance off the highway in Arkansas. Maybe that’s where the box office was in 1950?
The Modern Theatre section of the April 7, 1958 issue of Boxoffice ran a one-page article about the Autoscope’s efficient concession stand. Among the details:
The drive-in was run by Clark Smith, who learned the trade in Texas “before returning to his native western Kentucky county”. The Autoscope held 600 cars and 600 walk-ins, had a 105x52-foot screen, and cost $125,000 to build. It opened July 24, 1957. Cairo IL provided a lot of the patronage, but the bulk of it came “from Ballard County, population 8,545, Smith’s drive-in being the only outdoor operation in the county.”
Thumbing through old issues of the Morton Tribune, I saw an ad in the Aug. 12, 1954 edition saying that the Indian would open Saturday, Aug. 21. That would be very late in the year for a season opener, making me wonder whether the screen destruction in April 1953 was before the Indian opened for business. Anyway, that first movie in the following week’s ad was “Drums of Tahiti” with Dennis O'Keefe.
FYI, Morton High School’s sports teams were called the Indians.
Boxoffice, Feb. 18, 1950: I. Q. Mize, president of the Highway Amusement Co., told the story of his last-minute naming of the drive-in. “One morning before daylight as he and his wife were arising earlier than usual, Mize glanced through a bedroom window and was entranced with the silvery appearance of the moon which shone through his bedroom window.”
The Parrot really existed, if not for very long, according to more issues of the Aurora Democrat.
On Sept. 14, 1928, it ran a schedule of movies beginning Saturday, Sept. 15. “Under new management the old Hollywood, now known as the Parrot, will make earnest effort to give Aurora a picture show that we can all be proud of. Only the best pictures will be shown and every effort will be made to please you. Let’s all go!”
Sept. 21, 1928: “The Parrot Theatre, which has been artistically re-decorated, promises to be an attraction to Aurora’s movie fans this season. The new management are showing the best pictures obtainable, and with good music and comfortable seats, an evening at the Parrot is an evening of real enjoyment.”
Sept. 28, 1928: Ainslie R. Davis was appointed manager.
Oct. 11, 1929: The Women’s Library Club put on a play at the Parrot on Oct. 8.
Jan. 1, 1932: “The building formerly occupied by the Parrot theatre at Emporia and Colfax is being remodeled into a store building.”
Same location, wonder what happened? Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1950: “A permit has been issued to construct a $31,100 drive-in at First and Alma streets in San Jose, to be built by Daley Bros. of San Francisco for the Shamrock Amusement Co. The drive-in will be on the circus grounds property.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1950: (under the erroneous headline “Build Winston Drive-In”) WINSTON, ORE. – Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bender of Roseburg, former owners of the Shamrock motel, are building a new theatre here for opening in April. The theatre will seat 420 persons.
The first appearance for the “Conesus Lake Drive-In” in the annual Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list was the 1958 edition, owner Jos. Iamon, no capacity. In 1960, that changed to T. J. Meagher, 580 cars. The MPA continued to list it that way through 1976.
In 1977, when the MPA rebooted its drive-in list, the drive-in was just “Conesus,” moved under Livonia, and was owned by R. Iamon. In the 1983 MPA, it was back to “Conesus Lake,” and the owner was Szczesniak. That’s how it stayed through the final MPA drive-in list in 1988.
The Dec. 12, 1934 issue of the Craig Empire Courier announced the reopening of the Victory after a weekend closure to install a new sound system and other improvements. “The side and rear walls (of the main auditorium) have been paneled and attractive scenes painted at intervals.” Owner Alma Evans also installed an electrically-controlled curtain.
Boxoffice, May 21, 1949: “Sam Reed, who operates the Placer in Fairplay, is in other business also. In fact he is kept busy by a college camp and a hamburger stand in addition to the theatre.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1949: “Sam Reed, who has been operating the Placer, Fairplay, for some months, along with other R. D. Ervin properties, returned to Denver. He is doing some relief operating until he completes future plans”
CSWalczak’s link was acting odd for me, so here’s the Internet Archive backup version.
For a couple more details, here’s the story in the March 17, 1945 issue of Boxoffice:
Fire did $175,000 damage to the Egyptian Theatre, Scottsbluff, Neb., practically destroying the building, the only things saved being the booth and the front of the house. The theatre, owned by W. H. Ostenberg and operated as a unit of Gibralter Enterprises, will be rebuilt as soon as possible. No film was burned. The house had 1,016 seats.
Per Cape Girardeau TV station KFVS, the former Montgomery will reopen in October as the Rock ‘N’ Roll Drive-In. From photos on its Facebook page, they’ve done a lot of work to clear the viewing field and take the foliage off the sturdy concrete screen.
The Lincoln Journal Star ran an article today talking about the history of the city’s drive-ins, focusing mainly on the West O and its drawbacks. The author complained about frequent noise from the nearby Burlington Railroad hump yard as well as its position near the flight path for Lincoln Airport. He said that the West O’s final night was June 23, 1985.
Here’s one of those transactions. Boxoffice, July 20, 1959: “Frank Barnes has sold the Elite Theatre in Crawford, Neb., to Jim Stockwell. Barnes is moving to Washington state.”
Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “David Thomason will bring films back to Cope, Colo., by way of a new 150-seat theatre to be named the Rainbow, and replacing the Homestead which burned. The opening will be this month.”
Boxoffice, July 20, 1959: “Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Thomason have sold the Rainbo (sic) in Cope, Colo., and moved to Denver. The new owner is Harry Pyle.”
Motion Picture Daily, April 7, 1960: D. L. Thomason, who operated the Rainbow Theatre, Cope, Colo., for a number of years before moving to Arizona, has returned to Colorado and plans to reopen the theatre in mid-April."
Motion Picture Herald, Sept. 6, 1947: “Tomas Martinez is rebuilding front of El Cortez, after it was wrecked by runaway truck.”
A note in the April 1, 1950 issue of Boxoffice said that the Crest was Commonwealth’s first drive-in when it opened in 1948. At the time of the article, the circuit had grown to four active drive-ins with 11 more expected to open that year.
Boxoffice, April 1, 1950: “Although crop dusting is an established practice in the agricultural south, Thomas Finin, manager of the Keno Family Drive-In near Kenosha, Wis., applied the technique to his theatre area to rid it of mosquitoes. When the boring insects made it so uncomfortable for patrons in cars they began to abandon the drive-in, Finin employed a local crop spraying form who covers the area with DDT sprayed from a plane flying some 20 feet above the ground. The treatment has proved entirely successful.”
Boxoffice ran the same photo, cropped a little differently, in its April 1, 1950 issue, which is in the public domain.
The April 1, 1950 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page article about the unusual steps that owner Herbert H. Hinze took in developing his 416-car drive-in, at that point about to open just outside Rogers.
“Among the innovations in the theatre is an all-steel, buckle-proof screen and screen tower, movable speaker junction posts, two back ramps designed for truck patrons and specially designed and built speakers and amplification equipment.”
The screen tower was 64x55 feet for a 60x48-foot screen with rounded corners. A T-shaped concession stand, twin playgrounds on either side of the screen, a square concrete dance floor in front, and a very narrow layout were other unusual features. Hinze was planning a contest to name the drive-in.
This is from the Better Theatres section of the Oct. 10, 1953 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which should be in the public domain.
The original caption: In preparation for wide-screen projection and also for the showing of 3-D films, the screen tower of the Gloria drive-in at Lima, Ohio, was recently redesigned and rebuilt. Remodeling, as shown in the process of completion above, included enlarging the screen to almost twice its original width and painting it with EPRAD’s “Uni-Max” paint, which is designed for both 2-D and 3-D projection. The work was done by the Theatre Equipment Company, Toledo. The drive-in also installed new Strong projection lamps and generators and new aperture plates. Over 12 other drive-in theatres have been equipped for 3-D by the same company, according to Al Boudouris, president, including the Gratiot at Detroit and the Tower, between Elyria and Lorain, Ohio.
This photo is in the US National Archives. Because it was created by the US Government, the photo is in the public domain.
Original caption: DRIVE-IN THEATER STUDY, 1949, by American Association of State Highway Officials. Drive in Theatre located at 87th & Cicero Sts. In Chicago. The Twin Air Open Theatre. Photo by T. W. Kines 7/27/48.
Here’s the link to the photo in the National Archives. Since it was created by the US Government, this photo is in the public domain.
The March 4, 1950 issue of Boxoffice ran a short story about the Big Sombrero Drive-In Theatre, which it placed in Sulphur Springs AR. Owner J. Bye Coverston used snap-on speakers, which he would hand out to each car when it came in, then collect as it exited. “When a patron fails to turn in his speaker he is asked to return to the ramp and get it.”
Coverston said, possibly in jest, that his position on the border helped with taxes. “The Arkansas-Missouri state line runs right through my drive-in,” he said with a broad grin, “and if taxation becomes unfavorable in Arkansas, I just move my boxoffice into Missouri and operate from there.”
A 1955 aerial photo showed the entirety of the drive-in on the Missouri side except for one entrance off the highway in Arkansas. Maybe that’s where the box office was in 1950?
The Modern Theatre section of the April 7, 1958 issue of Boxoffice ran a one-page article about the Autoscope’s efficient concession stand. Among the details:
The drive-in was run by Clark Smith, who learned the trade in Texas “before returning to his native western Kentucky county”. The Autoscope held 600 cars and 600 walk-ins, had a 105x52-foot screen, and cost $125,000 to build. It opened July 24, 1957. Cairo IL provided a lot of the patronage, but the bulk of it came “from Ballard County, population 8,545, Smith’s drive-in being the only outdoor operation in the county.”
Thumbing through old issues of the Morton Tribune, I saw an ad in the Aug. 12, 1954 edition saying that the Indian would open Saturday, Aug. 21. That would be very late in the year for a season opener, making me wonder whether the screen destruction in April 1953 was before the Indian opened for business. Anyway, that first movie in the following week’s ad was “Drums of Tahiti” with Dennis O'Keefe.
FYI, Morton High School’s sports teams were called the Indians.
Boxoffice, Feb. 18, 1950: I. Q. Mize, president of the Highway Amusement Co., told the story of his last-minute naming of the drive-in. “One morning before daylight as he and his wife were arising earlier than usual, Mize glanced through a bedroom window and was entranced with the silvery appearance of the moon which shone through his bedroom window.”
Three 1950 notes from Boxoffice:
On Feb. 18, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Amato had sold the Uptown building to Nathan and Helen Snyder.
On May 27, the Snyders had sold it to George Sawaya, owner of the Peak Drive-In and the Strand.
But on June 24: “Nadine Caselnova has closed the Uptown in Trinidad, and the theatre will be dismantled and the building remodeled into a storeroom.”
The Parrot really existed, if not for very long, according to more issues of the Aurora Democrat.
On Sept. 14, 1928, it ran a schedule of movies beginning Saturday, Sept. 15. “Under new management the old Hollywood, now known as the Parrot, will make earnest effort to give Aurora a picture show that we can all be proud of. Only the best pictures will be shown and every effort will be made to please you. Let’s all go!”
Sept. 21, 1928: “The Parrot Theatre, which has been artistically re-decorated, promises to be an attraction to Aurora’s movie fans this season. The new management are showing the best pictures obtainable, and with good music and comfortable seats, an evening at the Parrot is an evening of real enjoyment.”
Sept. 28, 1928: Ainslie R. Davis was appointed manager.
Oct. 11, 1929: The Women’s Library Club put on a play at the Parrot on Oct. 8.
Jan. 1, 1932: “The building formerly occupied by the Parrot theatre at Emporia and Colfax is being remodeled into a store building.”
Same location, wonder what happened? Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1950: “A permit has been issued to construct a $31,100 drive-in at First and Alma streets in San Jose, to be built by Daley Bros. of San Francisco for the Shamrock Amusement Co. The drive-in will be on the circus grounds property.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1950: (under the erroneous headline “Build Winston Drive-In”) WINSTON, ORE. – Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bender of Roseburg, former owners of the Shamrock motel, are building a new theatre here for opening in April. The theatre will seat 420 persons.
The first appearance for the “Conesus Lake Drive-In” in the annual Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list was the 1958 edition, owner Jos. Iamon, no capacity. In 1960, that changed to T. J. Meagher, 580 cars. The MPA continued to list it that way through 1976.
In 1977, when the MPA rebooted its drive-in list, the drive-in was just “Conesus,” moved under Livonia, and was owned by R. Iamon. In the 1983 MPA, it was back to “Conesus Lake,” and the owner was Szczesniak. That’s how it stayed through the final MPA drive-in list in 1988.
The Dec. 12, 1934 issue of the Craig Empire Courier announced the reopening of the Victory after a weekend closure to install a new sound system and other improvements. “The side and rear walls (of the main auditorium) have been paneled and attractive scenes painted at intervals.” Owner Alma Evans also installed an electrically-controlled curtain.
Boxoffice, May 21, 1949: “Sam Reed, who operates the Placer in Fairplay, is in other business also. In fact he is kept busy by a college camp and a hamburger stand in addition to the theatre.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 17, 1949: “Sam Reed, who has been operating the Placer, Fairplay, for some months, along with other R. D. Ervin properties, returned to Denver. He is doing some relief operating until he completes future plans”
CSWalczak’s link was acting odd for me, so here’s the Internet Archive backup version.
For a couple more details, here’s the story in the March 17, 1945 issue of Boxoffice:
Fire did $175,000 damage to the Egyptian Theatre, Scottsbluff, Neb., practically destroying the building, the only things saved being the booth and the front of the house. The theatre, owned by W. H. Ostenberg and operated as a unit of Gibralter Enterprises, will be rebuilt as soon as possible. No film was burned. The house had 1,016 seats.
Per Cape Girardeau TV station KFVS, the former Montgomery will reopen in October as the Rock ‘N’ Roll Drive-In. From photos on its Facebook page, they’ve done a lot of work to clear the viewing field and take the foliage off the sturdy concrete screen.
The Lincoln Journal Star ran an article today talking about the history of the city’s drive-ins, focusing mainly on the West O and its drawbacks. The author complained about frequent noise from the nearby Burlington Railroad hump yard as well as its position near the flight path for Lincoln Airport. He said that the West O’s final night was June 23, 1985.
The Voice of America produced a video about the Family Drive-In in July 2013. It’s available at the Internet Archive, and it’s in the public domain.