51 Outdoor Theater

1201 Post Road,
Plover, WI 54467

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51 Outdoor Theater

The theater opened on May 19, 1949.

The theater was owned and operated by Badger Outdoor Theaters of Minneapolis.

The capacity was 450 cars.

The theater entrance was on Highway 51 (now Business 51) and the exit was on Tommys Turnpike (Theatre Drive). It was still open in 1992, but had closed and was demolished by the mid to late-1990’s.

Contributed by Ed Wilke

Recent comments (view all 11 comments)

edwilke
edwilke on January 26, 2007 at 1:09 am

Here’s a link with a picture of the 51 Outdoor Theater.

View link

edwilke
edwilke on March 8, 2007 at 8:20 pm

The 51 Outdoor Theater is where I thought it was. The entrance and exit road of the theater is called Theater Dr. (The road is still there behind the bar.) The exit went out to Tommys Turnpike.

Here are some links.

Aerial photo 1992

View link

Topographical map 1976

View link

There is presently an empty grocery store on the site.

About half of the ramps from the theater are still there. I saw them on a recent aerial view of the property from map quest.

edwilke
edwilke on October 10, 2007 at 5:30 am

The drive-in was operating in 1977, the drive-in closed for the season on November 13, 1977. The last movies for that season were “Maniac” and “Cannonball”.

MrDriveIn
MrDriveIn on December 3, 2008 at 10:14 pm

Any comments or questions regarding any drive-in theater in Wisconsin, please check out my website at
www.drive-inthruwisconsin.com Or contact me at I will give you complete and accurate information about Wisconsin drive-in theaters, just ask. Thanks, Charles Bruss

heritagepubstpt
heritagepubstpt on May 8, 2013 at 10:14 am

I am the co-owner of a small business in downtown Stevens Point. We display historic photos and memorabilia of Stevens Point/Plover at our place. We would love to know where we can find a copy of the documentary for the Fox Theater. Thank you!

heritagepubstpt
heritagepubstpt on May 8, 2013 at 10:16 am

edwilke – the aerial photo and topographical map are no longer available via the links provided :(

edwilke
edwilke on September 25, 2013 at 4:52 pm

It’s a master thesis… The Grand Opera House of Stevens Point, 1894-1994 / by Russell F. Haines. It’s located in the UWSP library reference room, Call Number: F589.S76 H25 1995. There is a book and VHS.

I’m researching for the 2 missing links…

Mmandarano
Mmandarano on September 25, 2013 at 5:09 pm

Using the following address maps closest to this drive-in’s location: 1251 US 51 Business, Plover, WI

jwmovies
jwmovies on March 20, 2019 at 12:05 pm

A more accurate address for this theater is now 1201 Post Rd, Plover, WI 54467. This points directly to the entrance road for the drive in and the former grocery store.

Please update.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on September 14, 2019 at 2:49 pm

Still In Operational In 1992, Demolished Sometime In The Mid-Late 1990’s, And Now A Parking Lot Now Sits In The Abandoned Outline.

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