Murray Drive-In
622 S. 4th Street,
Murray,
KY
42071
622 S. 4th Street,
Murray,
KY
42071
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The address for this drive in was 622 S 4th St, Murray, KY 42071.
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While H.P. Vinson had an interest in the theatres in Murray, the main man was Tommy Brown, who lived in Murray. H.P. booked the product for these theatres in Murray from his office at the Sundown Drive-In, in Columbia, TN. I worked for H.P. in Columbia. I recall being at the Murray Drive-In, in the summer of 1979. They were running ‘Grease’ and ‘Saturday Night Fever’ as a double feature. I remember they still were running carbon arc, but had adapted to larger reels, to only have 1 or 2 changeovers.
I started work at the Murray Drive-In when about 15 years old. Barbecuing ribs and chickens was my first job as well as making bug-enhanced cotton candy. The ‘Boss’ would often appear out of the darkness just before intermission to throw a quart of vegetable oil into the barbecue pit and then dissapear again into the night. The resulting flames really got people out of their steamed-up cars and into the concession stand. I usually could not save the chickens when this happened.
I loved making popcorn, frying burgers and mixing the mustard-heavy slaw. Pizza was my favorite.
Most of my time was as projectionist. Showing classic ‘B’ and'C' movies to audiences that were far more interested in making out and producing front page drive-in news.
I could not imagine a better experience for the teens of any generation.
I grew-up in Murray and remember that “Jim Thorpe — All American” was the first movie that I saw at this theatre. I don’t know if this was the first film they played but if not it was among the earliest. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) shows this film as being released on August 24, 1951 and since films typically played in Murray about six weeks after their release this theatre must have opened in October of 1951.