Boxoffice, Sept. 24, 1955: “Purchase of the Pittsburg Automovie by Blumenfeld Theatres was announced recently by Nate Blumenfeld. The amount involved was reported as $157,500 for the 508-car drive-in. The new owner will do some remodeling and improve the sound system … The Pittsburg Automovie has been in operation since August 1947, with Sylvester Enea sr., as major stockholder.”
Boxoffice, July 16, 1955: “GRANGEVILLE, IDA. - A new drive-in one mile south of here on the Mount Idaho Road is slated to open late this month for Al Wagner, owner of the Blue Fox Theatre here. The drive-in will accommodate 300 cars and will have a screen measuring 72x32 feet.”
Boxoffice, July 30, 1955: “Ground has been broken here for a new drive-in for Al Wagner & Sons. The airer, located one-half mile south of the Grangeville-Harpster highway, will accommodate 300 cars and is expected to be opened late this summer. Footings have been poured on the 72x32-foot screen. John Wagner, Blue Fox Theatre manager, and his brother Al jr. will operate the drive-in.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 10, 1955: “Boasting a 72x32 screen, one of the largest in this part of the country, the Sunset Auto Vue has made its debut as Grangeville’s new drive-in. RCA projectors and 300 speakers, tilted screen on a tower 48 feet off the ground, and latest type concession equipment are features of the ozoner, which is just a mile from Grangeville’s business center.”
Boxoffice, April 21, 1951: TUCSON - New drive-in here, the city’s fourth, is the Cactus, recently opened by Wes Becker and Hugh Downs. The open-airer has accommodations for 600 cars and features a “snackateria.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 10, 1955: “Sero Amusement, of which Bob Benton is general manager, has acquired the Cactus and Rodeo drive-ins in the Tucson area from Wes Becker and Hugh Downs”
Boxoffice, Sept. 10, 1955: “Sero Amusement, of which Bob Benton is general manager, has acquired the Cactus and Rodeo drive-ins in the Tucson area from Wes Becker and Hugh Downs”
A few more details. Boxoffice, Sept. 3, 1955: “Late September is the target date for opening of the Skyline Drive-In, according to owner Pat Tappan. Planned for 650 cars, the Skyline is budgeted at $100,000. It will occupy 22 acres one-half mile north of the fairgrounds on the former airbase road."
The Joe Bob Report, Aug. 7, 1995: “The Foster Drive-In, on Foster Road just east of Interstate 205 in Portland, Oregon, has been bought up by the evil Norman Lear and his drive-in hating Act III Theaters, and they’ve already put up a "Drive-In Property For Sale” sign. The three-screen theater is badly in need of repairs to its AM radio sound system, but don’t count on fat cat Norman to do it. The snack bar is boring and overpriced, too."
The Joe Bob Report, Oct. 17, 1994: “Apathy Alert! / Only three cars showed up for the final night of the Espanola Drive-In in Espanola, New Mexico, which is pure-dee pitiful."
The Joe Bob Report, May 30, 1994: “The Delta Drive-In, on Highway 61 near Morley, Missouri, is being slowly ripped down by area residents who want scrap lumber. What is this, a town of zombies or something? The Delta was erected in 1949 by Earl Ferrell of Sikeston, who sometimes filled it to its 300-car capacity during his famed dusk-to-dawn shows in the sixties. It’s now the home of an auto salvage company - a graveyard, in other words. Let history record that the last movie to be seen there was Desperately Seeking Susan.”
The Joe Bob Report, Nov. 15, 1993: “The Skyview Drive-In in Belleville, Illinois, was supposed to be ripped down three years ago so somebody could build a shopping center. They even had a big closing-night party to mourn the place. But it still stands, and it’s still in business. In fact, it’s the last surviving theater of the once powerful Bloomer Amusement Company theater circuit, which was founded in vaudeville days. The Skyview opened in 1949 and was originally known as the Pink Drive-In because of the costumes worn by concession stand workers. It included pony rides, a Ferris wheel, and fire truck and train rides for children.”
The Joe Bob Report, Sept. 6, 1993: “The Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been rescued from oblivion by Richard D. Smith, a former division manager for General Cinema who couldn’t stand to see his old bosses sell it off, and so he bought it himself. It’s twenty-six acres and the last drive-in in Tulsa. What an American.”
The Joe Bob Report, July 12, 1993: “The Meadow Drive-In, on State Highway 9 outside Stigler, Oklahoma, burned to the ground one Wednesday night … The drive-in lasted forty years, beginning in 1951, when Jack Pierce opened it with Mickey Rooney starring in All Ashore. At one time the Meadow had "Buck Night” (one dollar per carload), but they had to discontinue because too many people came in hay trucks filled with thirty or forty people."
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Oak Hills Drive-In in Ada, Oklahoma, has been ripped down and replaced with a new hospital, but here’s what’s suspicious. They already had a hospital, and the old one stands empty!"
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Sky-Hi Drive-In Theatre, on Old Highway 63 in Columbia, Missouri, is overgrown with five-foot weeds, and its 355 acres are soon to be gone, replaced with a shopping and housing development. The Sky-Hi opened in 1965 and closed in 1986.”
The Joe Bob Report, Oct. 19, 1992: “The Mountain View Drive-In in Cashmere, Washington, is dead. Defunct. Kaplooey. No hope. Locals are heading for the View Dale Drive-In in Wenatchee and the Park Drive-In in Soap Lake.”
Two data points suggest that the Decatur opened in 1950 or 1951.
Exhibitor, May 17, 1950: “Open-air theatres under construction in Indiana are: … Decatur Drive-In, Decatur, Ind., by Decatur Drive-In, Inc.”
The Joe Bob Report, May 31, 1993: “Bureaucrat Alert! The Decatur Drive-In, on U.S. 33 at Salem Road, about a mile outside Decatur, Indiana, never opened this year, ending forty-one years of continuous operation. We reported that it might happen, and it did happen. The State of Indiana confiscated 2 ¼ acres of the drive-in to build a new highway cloverleaf. That land once housed the marquee, the ticket booth, the fence, 120 of the 400 speaker posts, the electrical system, and the septic system. Here’s the worst of it - it would cost $100,000 to replace all that stuff and keep the drive-in running, but the state refuses to pay, says all it’s good for is farmland. Owner Alan J. Kalver vows to fight, but he’s not optimistic."
The Joe Bob Report, May 3, 1993: “Republican Alert! The Kailua Drive-In, located at the foot of the Koolaus in Honolulu, on the slopes of the Kawainui Swamp, opened in 1965 with a James Bond flick and closed twenty-seven years later with One Good Cop and New Jack City. Why? Because some guy decided they needed the space (it holds 1,600 cars) for yet another golfers' driving range for Japanese tourists. Price of the driving range: $4.7 million. Pitiful.”
Joe Bob Report, Jan. 11, 1993: “Superior Being Alert! In 1977 God saw it to send Hurricane Belle to the eastern end of Long Island, New York, where it blew the Flanders Drive-In screen at least halfway to Connecticut. The drive-in has never been torn down, but this year a forest of scrub pine broke through the parking lot. Things are looking grim indeed. Bruce Thompson of Stanford, California, reminds us that, without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.”
Boxoffice, July 23, 1955: “The Roxy Theatre building in Pleasanton has been sold to Peter Christensen, local merchant. Agreement of purchase called for the theatre to vacate the building by July 20, Christensen said. The sale leaves the community with just one theatre, the Valley Drive-In on Santa Rita road. The Roxy was built about 25 years ago by Charles Chicazola, was later sold to H. S. Hamm and the Westside Theatre, who operated it until the present.”
Boxoffice, July 16, 1955: “CASHMERE, WASH. - Ben and Delphi?? Slowe have opened their new Mountain View Drive-In on Pine Flat between Cashmere and Dryden. Norman Slowe, their son who has been associated with them in the operation of the Vale Theatre here, will manage the airer.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “V. C. Shattuck, owner-operator of the Tahoe Theatre at Kings Beach, and Jack Neugebauer, owner and manager of the Donner Theatre at Truckee, purchased the Brockway Theatre at Kings Beach from Tom Lucas, who built it.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “projectionists Local 303 has continued to advertise that the new Hamilton Drive-In does not employ its members. Manager-owner J. Dydzak has said he operates his own machines.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “WENATCHEE, WASH. - A late-July opening has been scheduled for the 600-car Pow Wow Drive-In that Peter Barnes is building north of here. The 90x45-foot screen and other equipment will be installed by Modern Theatre Equipment Co. of Seattle.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1955: “OROVILLE, WASH. – The new Powwow Drive-In was opened here recently by Peter Barnes”
The Van-Del dismantled its third screen a few years ago, and winds toppled the second last weekend. (See the WPTA story.) Saunders said the drive-in is insured and will rebuild its second screen.
According to a seller at HipPostcard.com, that photo was the front of a postcard published without a copyright notice and mailed with a 1-cent stamp. That would mean it’s in the public domain.
Boxoffice, Sept. 24, 1955: “Purchase of the Pittsburg Automovie by Blumenfeld Theatres was announced recently by Nate Blumenfeld. The amount involved was reported as $157,500 for the 508-car drive-in. The new owner will do some remodeling and improve the sound system … The Pittsburg Automovie has been in operation since August 1947, with Sylvester Enea sr., as major stockholder.”
Boxoffice, July 16, 1955: “GRANGEVILLE, IDA. - A new drive-in one mile south of here on the Mount Idaho Road is slated to open late this month for Al Wagner, owner of the Blue Fox Theatre here. The drive-in will accommodate 300 cars and will have a screen measuring 72x32 feet.”
Boxoffice, July 30, 1955: “Ground has been broken here for a new drive-in for Al Wagner & Sons. The airer, located one-half mile south of the Grangeville-Harpster highway, will accommodate 300 cars and is expected to be opened late this summer. Footings have been poured on the 72x32-foot screen. John Wagner, Blue Fox Theatre manager, and his brother Al jr. will operate the drive-in.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 10, 1955: “Boasting a 72x32 screen, one of the largest in this part of the country, the Sunset Auto Vue has made its debut as Grangeville’s new drive-in. RCA projectors and 300 speakers, tilted screen on a tower 48 feet off the ground, and latest type concession equipment are features of the ozoner, which is just a mile from Grangeville’s business center.”
Boxoffice, April 21, 1951: TUCSON - New drive-in here, the city’s fourth, is the Cactus, recently opened by Wes Becker and Hugh Downs. The open-airer has accommodations for 600 cars and features a “snackateria.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 10, 1955: “Sero Amusement, of which Bob Benton is general manager, has acquired the Cactus and Rodeo drive-ins in the Tucson area from Wes Becker and Hugh Downs”
Boxoffice, Sept. 10, 1955: “Sero Amusement, of which Bob Benton is general manager, has acquired the Cactus and Rodeo drive-ins in the Tucson area from Wes Becker and Hugh Downs”
A few more details. Boxoffice, Sept. 3, 1955: “Late September is the target date for opening of the Skyline Drive-In, according to owner Pat Tappan. Planned for 650 cars, the Skyline is budgeted at $100,000. It will occupy 22 acres one-half mile north of the fairgrounds on the former airbase road."
The Joe Bob Report, Aug. 7, 1995: “The Foster Drive-In, on Foster Road just east of Interstate 205 in Portland, Oregon, has been bought up by the evil Norman Lear and his drive-in hating Act III Theaters, and they’ve already put up a "Drive-In Property For Sale” sign. The three-screen theater is badly in need of repairs to its AM radio sound system, but don’t count on fat cat Norman to do it. The snack bar is boring and overpriced, too."
The Joe Bob Report, Oct. 17, 1994: “Apathy Alert! / Only three cars showed up for the final night of the Espanola Drive-In in Espanola, New Mexico, which is pure-dee pitiful."
The Joe Bob Report, May 30, 1994: “The Delta Drive-In, on Highway 61 near Morley, Missouri, is being slowly ripped down by area residents who want scrap lumber. What is this, a town of zombies or something? The Delta was erected in 1949 by Earl Ferrell of Sikeston, who sometimes filled it to its 300-car capacity during his famed dusk-to-dawn shows in the sixties. It’s now the home of an auto salvage company - a graveyard, in other words. Let history record that the last movie to be seen there was Desperately Seeking Susan.”
The Joe Bob Report, Nov. 15, 1993: “The Skyview Drive-In in Belleville, Illinois, was supposed to be ripped down three years ago so somebody could build a shopping center. They even had a big closing-night party to mourn the place. But it still stands, and it’s still in business. In fact, it’s the last surviving theater of the once powerful Bloomer Amusement Company theater circuit, which was founded in vaudeville days. The Skyview opened in 1949 and was originally known as the Pink Drive-In because of the costumes worn by concession stand workers. It included pony rides, a Ferris wheel, and fire truck and train rides for children.”
The Joe Bob Report, Sept. 6, 1993: “The Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been rescued from oblivion by Richard D. Smith, a former division manager for General Cinema who couldn’t stand to see his old bosses sell it off, and so he bought it himself. It’s twenty-six acres and the last drive-in in Tulsa. What an American.”
The Joe Bob Report, July 12, 1993: “The Meadow Drive-In, on State Highway 9 outside Stigler, Oklahoma, burned to the ground one Wednesday night … The drive-in lasted forty years, beginning in 1951, when Jack Pierce opened it with Mickey Rooney starring in All Ashore. At one time the Meadow had "Buck Night” (one dollar per carload), but they had to discontinue because too many people came in hay trucks filled with thirty or forty people."
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Oak Hills Drive-In in Ada, Oklahoma, has been ripped down and replaced with a new hospital, but here’s what’s suspicious. They already had a hospital, and the old one stands empty!"
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Sky-Hi Drive-In Theatre, on Old Highway 63 in Columbia, Missouri, is overgrown with five-foot weeds, and its 355 acres are soon to be gone, replaced with a shopping and housing development. The Sky-Hi opened in 1965 and closed in 1986.”
The Joe Bob Report, Oct. 19, 1992: “The Mountain View Drive-In in Cashmere, Washington, is dead. Defunct. Kaplooey. No hope. Locals are heading for the View Dale Drive-In in Wenatchee and the Park Drive-In in Soap Lake.”
Two data points suggest that the Decatur opened in 1950 or 1951.
Exhibitor, May 17, 1950: “Open-air theatres under construction in Indiana are: … Decatur Drive-In, Decatur, Ind., by Decatur Drive-In, Inc.”
The Joe Bob Report, May 31, 1993: “Bureaucrat Alert! The Decatur Drive-In, on U.S. 33 at Salem Road, about a mile outside Decatur, Indiana, never opened this year, ending forty-one years of continuous operation. We reported that it might happen, and it did happen. The State of Indiana confiscated 2 ¼ acres of the drive-in to build a new highway cloverleaf. That land once housed the marquee, the ticket booth, the fence, 120 of the 400 speaker posts, the electrical system, and the septic system. Here’s the worst of it - it would cost $100,000 to replace all that stuff and keep the drive-in running, but the state refuses to pay, says all it’s good for is farmland. Owner Alan J. Kalver vows to fight, but he’s not optimistic."
The Joe Bob Report, May 3, 1993: “Republican Alert! The Kailua Drive-In, located at the foot of the Koolaus in Honolulu, on the slopes of the Kawainui Swamp, opened in 1965 with a James Bond flick and closed twenty-seven years later with One Good Cop and New Jack City. Why? Because some guy decided they needed the space (it holds 1,600 cars) for yet another golfers' driving range for Japanese tourists. Price of the driving range: $4.7 million. Pitiful.”
Joe Bob Report, Jan. 11, 1993: “Superior Being Alert! In 1977 God saw it to send Hurricane Belle to the eastern end of Long Island, New York, where it blew the Flanders Drive-In screen at least halfway to Connecticut. The drive-in has never been torn down, but this year a forest of scrub pine broke through the parking lot. Things are looking grim indeed. Bruce Thompson of Stanford, California, reminds us that, without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.”
Boxoffice, July 23, 1955: “The Roxy Theatre building in Pleasanton has been sold to Peter Christensen, local merchant. Agreement of purchase called for the theatre to vacate the building by July 20, Christensen said. The sale leaves the community with just one theatre, the Valley Drive-In on Santa Rita road. The Roxy was built about 25 years ago by Charles Chicazola, was later sold to H. S. Hamm and the Westside Theatre, who operated it until the present.”
Boxoffice, July 16, 1955: “CASHMERE, WASH. - Ben and Delphi?? Slowe have opened their new Mountain View Drive-In on Pine Flat between Cashmere and Dryden. Norman Slowe, their son who has been associated with them in the operation of the Vale Theatre here, will manage the airer.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “V. C. Shattuck, owner-operator of the Tahoe Theatre at Kings Beach, and Jack Neugebauer, owner and manager of the Donner Theatre at Truckee, purchased the Brockway Theatre at Kings Beach from Tom Lucas, who built it.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “projectionists Local 303 has continued to advertise that the new Hamilton Drive-In does not employ its members. Manager-owner J. Dydzak has said he operates his own machines.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “WENATCHEE, WASH. - A late-July opening has been scheduled for the 600-car Pow Wow Drive-In that Peter Barnes is building north of here. The 90x45-foot screen and other equipment will be installed by Modern Theatre Equipment Co. of Seattle.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1955: “OROVILLE, WASH. – The new Powwow Drive-In was opened here recently by Peter Barnes”
The Van-Del dismantled its third screen a few years ago, and winds toppled the second last weekend. (See the WPTA story.) Saunders said the drive-in is insured and will rebuild its second screen.
I found a sharper version of this photo at Picryl.com, which says it’s in the public domain.
According to a seller at HipPostcard.com, that photo was the front of a postcard published without a copyright notice and mailed with a 1-cent stamp. That would mean it’s in the public domain.