Norway Drive-In
1278 Main Street,
Oxford,
ME
04270
1278 Main Street,
Oxford,
ME
04270
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The Norway Drive-In opened on June 24, 1954 with Alan Ladd in “Saskatchewan” and John Hodiak in “Mission Over Korea”. It was operated by Lester Soule. By 1957 it was operated by Daytz Theatre Enterprises Corp. I recall this drive-in from the short time (two weeks) I filled in as a projectionist, the few times as a kid I was taken by my parents and the one or two times I took my girlfriend there.
It was your typical drive-in located in a wide-open field, midway between Oxford and Norway, ME. The back of the screen was parallel with the road, there were no roads behind the drive-in and it was protected by a large stand of trees on the left side and the rear. To the right was a large farm. The projection booth was typical - not too large, but not overly cramped. Simplex projectors if I recall correctly. Bottom of each compartment had the requisite sanitary pad to absorb the oil leakage that develops over many years of wear (and non-replacement of seals). All cinder-block construction.
Typical tiled-wall concession stand serving pre-bagged burgers, hot dogs, fries, candy, soda, coffee and popcorn. It was closed by 1994. Now, there’s a traffic light to let people out on to Route 26.
Contributed by
Roger Kirk
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
This opened on May 6th, 1955. grand opening ad is at View link
you will have to pan back one page.
In 1956 it parked 350 cars and was owned by Lester Souce.
Thanks Mike.
Grand opening ad and USGS aerial photo posted here.
Approx. address for this drive-in was around 1272 Main Street, Oxford, ME 04270. Some ramps are still there. Walmart is actually south of this.
The drive-in had been totally demolished by 1998.
Looking at the 2012 Google Street View, a for sale sign is on the lot. But that had disappeared by 2016.
Today, only the outline, ramps, entrance/exit road, and the foundations of the screen and projector booth/concession stand remain.
The theater I believe was still mostly abandoned right after the adjacent Walmart opened south of the former drive-in on October 18, 1994. So I believe that Walmart did not purchased the drive-in property and decided to buy it south of it.
The “Grand Opening” ad from May 6, 1955 is misleading; it should say “Grand Re-opening”. I have found the actual grand opening ad from the June 24, 1954 issue of the Portland Press Herald and uploaded it in the Photos section. I’ve come across this occurrence a few times in doing drive-in research.
A closer address is 1278 Main St, Oxford, ME.
It’s not exact, but right next door to what’s left of the drive-in.
https://tinyurl.com/2s3z9ab7
Some of its original installations include a 50x46ft screen, a 40x30ft concession/projection building, and a capacity of 300 cars. it was first owned by Lester Soule, and was later operated by Daytz Theatre Enterprises Corporation.
The Norway Drive-In closed after the 1985 season, and was last owned by Kenneth Kilgore of Paris, Maine.