Circus Drive-In
1702 W. Jackson Street,
Hugo,
OK
74743
1702 W. Jackson Street,
Hugo,
OK
74743
2 people
favorited this theater
Decorated in joyous circus themes, Hugo’s Circus Drive-In opened on August 23, 1950 with Ann Blyth in “Red Canyon”. It continuously operated until the late-1970’s. After that it was an on and off operation until closing completely in the early-1980’s. It was rumored that a local concern was making arrangements to begin restoration work on this festive facility to prepare it for cinema use again. This never happened and it has been demolished.
For many decades Hugo was winter quarters for several circus units. Showmen’s Rest Cemetery reflects Hugo’s connection with exotic circus folk.
Contributed by
J. D. Chapman
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
I doubt if the Circus Drive-In will ever be restored (at least at the original location). There is presently an onion factory there that processes onions for Campbell Soup. I would like to see it restored though. I was a projectionist there for three years during my high school years (1966-1969). Back then, we ran all year long and changed movies three times a week.
Hugo, OK, was once known as Circus City, U.S.A, hence the name Circus Drive-In. Here are interesting sites on this subject –
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10433
and,
View link
Circus City?
A closer address (at least for Google) is 921 N 4210 Rd, Hugo, Oklahoma. Today, B & B Onions sits on the property with no trace of the drive-in remaining save perhaps for its general triangular shape as the screen once stood on the SE edge. http://tinyurl.com/jd6tlhu
A more accurate address for this theater is 1702 W Jackson St, Hugo, OK 74743 (B & B Onions, Inc.). This points directly to the entrance road. The address listed above is incorrect.
Please update.
The address provided by jwmovies is considerably SE from the actual location of the drive-in as indicated by Google Maps.
A much closer address is Old U.S. 70 & North 4210 Road Hugo, OK 74743.
This puts it right next to the property which B&B Onions now sits. It’s not unusual for Google Maps to misidentify a location that sits outside the city limits even with a correct address, so the nearest intersection usually works far better.
Furthermore, the original entrance road to the drive-in was on Old U.S. 70 as Jackson Street was not built until much later. Its remains can still be seen on the SE side of the property.
https://tinyurl.com/yxww63l3
Status is “Demolished” and has been for 30+ years.
The first Choctaw County fair was held right here in 1914. Tom Morehead of Video Independent Theatres had a new concept for the land in 1950, the Circus Drive-In Theatre. A 30'x40' screen size greeted customers as it launched on August 23, 1950 with Ann Blyth in “Red Canyon.” (However, if the site maintains that this drive-in opened in the mid-1940s, that’s great too!)
The theatre operated seasonally from April to October/November depending on when it got cold.
It seems that some of the screen foundation may still be remaining. In addition, the outline of the old entrance road runs up the eastern side of the property.
Otherwise, no trace of the drive-in is left.