Wow! I passed by the former site of the Berry Theater today, and I was taken aback. The corner near where it used to be is now occupied by a large, fairly new and clean Super 7-Eleven. Interesting, since there was once a conventionally-sized 7-Eleven fifty years ago at the corner of Berry and Jennings, virtually on the new store’s site. One question I have is would anyone here know who was the architect for the White/Berry Theater?
“The city was named for the viceroy of New Spain from 1653 to 1660, Don Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, the Duke of Alburquerque. The first ‘r’ in the spelling of the title was subsequently dropped, but it’s named after a Spanish duke, thus ‘Duke City’.”
The title photo is fascinating in that the marquee is an exact copy of Fort Worth’s Parkaire Drive-In Theatre, with just a few minor exceptions! The Parkaire opened a year before the Duke City, and the marquee’s colors was a dark green body with a golden yellow arrow. Would anyone here know or remember the Duke City’s colors? Thanks, all!
Beth36, the other drive-in theatre your Mom remembers was the Pike. Here’s a link to its page:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/24729
If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to carry this conversation with you offline because I have a few other questions I’d like to ask about your uncle. Where could I reach you at, please? Thank you again, Beth36!
Thank you for your response, Beth36! In my extensive research and cross-referencing I believe I have a hunch as to what the artwork was on the Mansfield’s first screen tower. It may have been a scene depicting male and female flamenco dancers with a guitarist sitting in the background. My hunch is based on two items: first, the opening night ad in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, of which I have a copy of now. Second, it appears that Spanish-themed scenes adorned the front of similarly-designed screen towers designed by the original architect of the theatres, one Harvey A. Jordan. Your mentioning of a bull fighter is fascinating, and seems to confirm my hunch. Still, if you wouldn’t mind, please do ask your Mother about the mural, and also, please tell us about your uncle and his association with drive-in theatres. Thank you, again!
FASCINATING information concerning the Hillsboro! Concerning the underground speakers, would anyone here have any additional information about them, please? I can tell everyone here that there were a few other drive-in theatres in Texas that used a similar sound system at around the same time before, during, and not too long after World War II.
Jodih, the only closed drive-in theatre still standing is the Meadowbrook. The concession building is long gone, but the screen and ticket office with marquee on its roof is still around. The problem is that the property is now owned by a waste disposal company, with many, many dumpsters on the lot. It might not be the best place to do a fashion photoshoot.
I’ve found a “gem” of a photograph of this drive-in theatre at the website below! The detail of the photo is amazing, and I’m wondering if this was taken the same day or week of its grand opening? Enjoy!
EXCELLENT photo, Drive-In 1954! Its correct name was the Bowie Boulevard Drive-In Theatre, which was later shortened to the Boulevard Drive-In Theatre. It opened on July 18, 1941 and was Fort Worth’s very first “ozoner”, operated by the Underwood-Ezell/Claude Ezell Circuit. After it closed in December of 1960, it was torn down almost two years later and on its site was built a Neiman Marcus store. The building now houses a learning center for the Fort Worth ISD.
The Bordertown Twin Drive-In Theatre opened on July 4, 1951. Screen #1 (its north screen) showed ‘Bedtime for Bonzo’, while Screen #2 (its south screen) showed ‘Red Canyon’, and both features were accompanied by two color cartoons.
Kencmcintyre’s link is dead, but if you go to Historic Aerial’s website and type in “Route 30 Devon, Pennsylvania”, you’ll find the drive-in theatre, beginning in 1957. According to Kerry Segrave’s book ‘Drive-In Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933’, the inventor of the drive-in, Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., and his wife lived close to this theatre, and they sometimes visited it to watch movies.
The concept of segregated drive-in theatres is an interesting subject that should be thoroughly researched for its historical value, since it was the walk-in theaters that traditionally implemented this practice. According to the book ‘The American Drive-In Movie Theatre’ by Don and Susan Sanders, there was one such “ozoner” in Fort Worth in operation sometime from the early- to mid-‘50s called the “Lariat”. I did a little research and couldn’t find a drive-in with that name, but I found one called the Kar-Vue, located on Rosedale Ave./Spur 303, just to the west of where South Loop 820 is located. I’ve had one person say that they recall seeing a drive-in in that particular area. So far, the information I have on it is scant at best. Hopefully, someone here can shed some more light about it, if possible.
BIG KUDOS to whomever posted the above pic of the Cowtown Drive-In Theatre! Along with the matching nighttime shot, the other daytime shot at the ‘Fort Worth…the Way We Were’ website, and the shot in Boxoffice Magazine, it has become the most photographed drive-in theatre in Fort Worth. If I may ask, where was it found? Thanks, again!
Joe, if I may make a suggestion, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps would be an excellent resource in discovering where the Odeon Theater may have been located. The Perry-Castañeda Library map collection at the University of Texas in Austin has a limited online archive. Also, the Fort Worth Library downtown can access more years of the Sanborn maps.
According to visual evidence at HistoricAerials.com, the building was in existence as late as 1963, but demolished and converted to a parking lot as part of an expanded shopping center by 1970.
jamestv, I’m now wondering if the photo on Flickr is the Mid-Cities. Based on your above statements, and photographic evidence from Historic Aerials, the pic may be of another drive-in theatre. I have a hunch about which one it might be, but I’ll have to do some more research on it before I give my answer. In the meantime, a pic of the Mid-Cities goes on.
Like many of my generation, I know of Mr. Shepherd as the narrator of the classic holiday movie ‘A Christmas Story’. He was definitely a master storyteller who led a fascinating life. Thank you very much for posting this clip!
THANK YOU FloridaDriveIns and Mike Rogers for the information and video! Here’s another question for either of you, or anyone else with knowledge about the following. There’s a drive-in theatre still in operation in Lakeland, FL called the Silver Moon, and it’s screen tower looks exactly like the Beach’s. Is there a possibility that Mr. McCormick built that theatre, too, or that the two screen towers were built by two separate owners from an early common design exclusive to Florida? Thank you, again.
I just found a photo of the Mid-Cities Drive-In Theatre on Flickr, courtesy of the Euless Historical Preservation Committee. It’s at the following url:
AMAZING! When my late mother and I moved to the Mid-Cities in 1976, the theatre was already closed (which is confirmed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives), and all that was left was the broken and weathered marquee at the entrance along old Highway 183 (now Highway 10).
I’m curious, but would anyone have a picture or remember the appearance of that old marquee? I seem to remember that it was up until about 1980, when it was demolished. A BIG THANK YOU to the Euless Historical Preservation Committee for posting the pic!
I have a question for Mike Rogers, please. Would you happen to know if Phil Isley Theatres opened the Riverside, or later acquired it from the initial owners in the late-‘50s? Thank you.
I did a Google search for it, David. I believe the Dallas Morning News has an online archive, but it would be restricted to viewing exclusively from a public or college library, and I wouldn’t know if it would consist of only text or the actual paper. Also, there would probably be a subscription fee involved if it was accessible from a private PC. In doing research on the drive-in theatres of Fort Worth, I’ve come to discover that the Star-Telegram’s complete archive is availble only at the Central Library downtown, so maybe a trip to Dallas’s downtown library will yield some “treasure” for you!
Wow! I passed by the former site of the Berry Theater today, and I was taken aback. The corner near where it used to be is now occupied by a large, fairly new and clean Super 7-Eleven. Interesting, since there was once a conventionally-sized 7-Eleven fifty years ago at the corner of Berry and Jennings, virtually on the new store’s site. One question I have is would anyone here know who was the architect for the White/Berry Theater?
davidcoppock, I found your answer:
“The city was named for the viceroy of New Spain from 1653 to 1660, Don Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, the Duke of Alburquerque. The first ‘r’ in the spelling of the title was subsequently dropped, but it’s named after a Spanish duke, thus ‘Duke City’.”
The title photo is fascinating in that the marquee is an exact copy of Fort Worth’s Parkaire Drive-In Theatre, with just a few minor exceptions! The Parkaire opened a year before the Duke City, and the marquee’s colors was a dark green body with a golden yellow arrow. Would anyone here know or remember the Duke City’s colors? Thanks, all!
Beth36, the other drive-in theatre your Mom remembers was the Pike. Here’s a link to its page:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/24729
If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to carry this conversation with you offline because I have a few other questions I’d like to ask about your uncle. Where could I reach you at, please? Thank you again, Beth36!
Thank you for your response, Beth36! In my extensive research and cross-referencing I believe I have a hunch as to what the artwork was on the Mansfield’s first screen tower. It may have been a scene depicting male and female flamenco dancers with a guitarist sitting in the background. My hunch is based on two items: first, the opening night ad in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, of which I have a copy of now. Second, it appears that Spanish-themed scenes adorned the front of similarly-designed screen towers designed by the original architect of the theatres, one Harvey A. Jordan. Your mentioning of a bull fighter is fascinating, and seems to confirm my hunch. Still, if you wouldn’t mind, please do ask your Mother about the mural, and also, please tell us about your uncle and his association with drive-in theatres. Thank you, again!
FASCINATING information, dallasmovietheaters! Any more information about the Cinemart Theaters circuit, please? Thank you.
FASCINATING information concerning the Hillsboro! Concerning the underground speakers, would anyone here have any additional information about them, please? I can tell everyone here that there were a few other drive-in theatres in Texas that used a similar sound system at around the same time before, during, and not too long after World War II.
Jodih, the only closed drive-in theatre still standing is the Meadowbrook. The concession building is long gone, but the screen and ticket office with marquee on its roof is still around. The problem is that the property is now owned by a waste disposal company, with many, many dumpsters on the lot. It might not be the best place to do a fashion photoshoot.
I’ve found a “gem” of a photograph of this drive-in theatre at the website below! The detail of the photo is amazing, and I’m wondering if this was taken the same day or week of its grand opening? Enjoy!
http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15150coll2/id/3452
EXCELLENT photo, Drive-In 1954! Its correct name was the Bowie Boulevard Drive-In Theatre, which was later shortened to the Boulevard Drive-In Theatre. It opened on July 18, 1941 and was Fort Worth’s very first “ozoner”, operated by the Underwood-Ezell/Claude Ezell Circuit. After it closed in December of 1960, it was torn down almost two years later and on its site was built a Neiman Marcus store. The building now houses a learning center for the Fort Worth ISD.
The Palo Duro Drive-In Theatre opened on March 11, 1949. Its opening night feature was ‘River Lady’, which it also showed the next night.
The Bordertown Twin Drive-In Theatre opened on July 4, 1951. Screen #1 (its north screen) showed ‘Bedtime for Bonzo’, while Screen #2 (its south screen) showed ‘Red Canyon’, and both features were accompanied by two color cartoons.
A couple of photos of the screen tower can be found at the following website:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36130592
Despite its simplistic architecture, its rough and rustic appearance is amazing! It’s a shame that its no longer standing.
Gentlemen, I believe I’ve found a webpage that has some interesting information on the Trail Drive-In Theatre:
http://www.mywvhome.com/trail.htm
An impressive-looking screen tower!
Kencmcintyre’s link is dead, but if you go to Historic Aerial’s website and type in “Route 30 Devon, Pennsylvania”, you’ll find the drive-in theatre, beginning in 1957. According to Kerry Segrave’s book ‘Drive-In Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933’, the inventor of the drive-in, Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., and his wife lived close to this theatre, and they sometimes visited it to watch movies.
The concept of segregated drive-in theatres is an interesting subject that should be thoroughly researched for its historical value, since it was the walk-in theaters that traditionally implemented this practice. According to the book ‘The American Drive-In Movie Theatre’ by Don and Susan Sanders, there was one such “ozoner” in Fort Worth in operation sometime from the early- to mid-‘50s called the “Lariat”. I did a little research and couldn’t find a drive-in with that name, but I found one called the Kar-Vue, located on Rosedale Ave./Spur 303, just to the west of where South Loop 820 is located. I’ve had one person say that they recall seeing a drive-in in that particular area. So far, the information I have on it is scant at best. Hopefully, someone here can shed some more light about it, if possible.
Would anyone here know which issue of Boxoffice Magazine the Texas Stadium Drive-In Theatre article appeared in, please? Thank you.
BIG KUDOS to whomever posted the above pic of the Cowtown Drive-In Theatre! Along with the matching nighttime shot, the other daytime shot at the ‘Fort Worth…the Way We Were’ website, and the shot in Boxoffice Magazine, it has become the most photographed drive-in theatre in Fort Worth. If I may ask, where was it found? Thanks, again!
Joe, if I may make a suggestion, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps would be an excellent resource in discovering where the Odeon Theater may have been located. The Perry-Castañeda Library map collection at the University of Texas in Austin has a limited online archive. Also, the Fort Worth Library downtown can access more years of the Sanborn maps.
According to visual evidence at HistoricAerials.com, the building was in existence as late as 1963, but demolished and converted to a parking lot as part of an expanded shopping center by 1970.
jamestv, I’m now wondering if the photo on Flickr is the Mid-Cities. Based on your above statements, and photographic evidence from Historic Aerials, the pic may be of another drive-in theatre. I have a hunch about which one it might be, but I’ll have to do some more research on it before I give my answer. In the meantime, a pic of the Mid-Cities goes on.
Like many of my generation, I know of Mr. Shepherd as the narrator of the classic holiday movie ‘A Christmas Story’. He was definitely a master storyteller who led a fascinating life. Thank you very much for posting this clip!
THANK YOU FloridaDriveIns and Mike Rogers for the information and video! Here’s another question for either of you, or anyone else with knowledge about the following. There’s a drive-in theatre still in operation in Lakeland, FL called the Silver Moon, and it’s screen tower looks exactly like the Beach’s. Is there a possibility that Mr. McCormick built that theatre, too, or that the two screen towers were built by two separate owners from an early common design exclusive to Florida? Thank you, again.
I just found a photo of the Mid-Cities Drive-In Theatre on Flickr, courtesy of the Euless Historical Preservation Committee. It’s at the following url:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eulesshistory/4691999409/
AMAZING! When my late mother and I moved to the Mid-Cities in 1976, the theatre was already closed (which is confirmed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives), and all that was left was the broken and weathered marquee at the entrance along old Highway 183 (now Highway 10).
I’m curious, but would anyone have a picture or remember the appearance of that old marquee? I seem to remember that it was up until about 1980, when it was demolished. A BIG THANK YOU to the Euless Historical Preservation Committee for posting the pic!
I have a question for Mike Rogers, please. Would you happen to know if Phil Isley Theatres opened the Riverside, or later acquired it from the initial owners in the late-‘50s? Thank you.
I did a Google search for it, David. I believe the Dallas Morning News has an online archive, but it would be restricted to viewing exclusively from a public or college library, and I wouldn’t know if it would consist of only text or the actual paper. Also, there would probably be a subscription fee involved if it was accessible from a private PC. In doing research on the drive-in theatres of Fort Worth, I’ve come to discover that the Star-Telegram’s complete archive is availble only at the Central Library downtown, so maybe a trip to Dallas’s downtown library will yield some “treasure” for you!