Holt Drive-In
U.S. 59 and Nickle Road,
Mound City,
MO
64470
U.S. 59 and Nickle Road,
Mound City,
MO
64470
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The Oct. 6, 1951 issue of Boxoffice had a three-page story about how Richard Sprague and Harold Van Winkle built their Mound City drive-in despite NPA restrictions on materials. Their makeshift drive-in, which opened July 3, 1951, held about 200 cars, used loudspeakers, and had a 36x24-foot screen. They built it on a flat “six-acre tract on a main highway some three miles outside of town.” A much later note in the St. Joseph News-Press said the Holt was east of Mound City, so it must have been on US 59. A 1982 aerial photo showed what might be its remains just east of Neptune Road.
That Boxoffice article never called it the Holt, but the 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Holt in Mound City, capacity 200, owners Sprauge (sic) and Van Winkle. I presume it was named for Holt County.
A 1952 Kansas City Times article mentioned that Sprague was manager of Mound City Hardware. His 1969 obituary in the News-Press said that “Sprague resided in Mound City, where he and his wife, Darlene, operated a drive-in theater.”
On Oct. 14, 1960, The Maryville (MO) Daily Forum mentioned a field trip that included a visit to the “Mound City drive-in theater.”
The Holt Drive-In was listed as open in 1952, car capacity was listed at 300. The drive-in was listed as closed in 1965