St. Bernard Drive-In
St. Bernard Highway,
Arabi,
LA
70032
St. Bernard Highway,
Arabi,
LA
70032
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 14 comments
Boxoffice, July 25, 1960: “A lightning rod now graces the screen tower at the St. Bernard Drive-In, Arabi, installed after the tower was struck by lightning while a picture was in progress. The lightning burned a spot in the screen and stained a portion of it with smudge. Joe Williams, who was working at the concessions stand at the time, said that the show was halted to permit viewers to recover from the shock, then was continued. The screen was repaired the following day.”
Opened on 1/7/1949 witn “The bride goes wild”.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 8001 W St Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, LA 70043. Now Palms Casino!
This opened on July 1st, 1949. The grand opening ad is in the photo section
Thanks tisloews i will check it out.Sorry it took so long to see your post.
Announcing a book about New Orleans Movie Theaters
THEREâ€\S ONE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The History of the Neighborhood Theaters in New Orleans
is being written by 89-year-old Rene Brunet, the dean of the motion picture industry in Louisiana, and New Orleans historian and preservationist Jack Stewart. The 160-page,coffee table book will be released in November and is being published by Arthur Hardy Enterprises, Inc. Attention will be focused on 50 major neighborhood and downtown theaters, culled from a list of nearly 250 that have dotted the cityâ€\s landscape since the first “nickelodeon†opened in 1896 at 626 Canal Street. The book will be divided by neighborhoods and will open with a map and a narrative about each area. Each major theater will feature “then and now†photographs, historic information, and a short series of quotes from famous New Orleanians and from regular citizens who will share their recollections.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
We are trying to acquire memorabilia and additional photos of this theater for this publication. (deadline July 1.) You will be credited in the book and receive a free autographed copy if we publish the picture that you supply. Please contact Arthur Hardy at or call 504-913-1563 if you can help.
Mike check out the Palace/State A.K.A. LOEWS STATE in New Orleans on my homepage lots of photos and info on this theatre,I went there many times as a kid we would got to New Orleans every summer to vist relatives there.It on my favorites list.
NOW SHOWING at the ST. BERNARD Drive -in.
“SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER” at 8:00 and 10:00 pm. plus a color cartoon. same movie was playing right up the road at the SKYVUE DRIVE-in Minus the color cartoon.
I am amazed how many New Orleans movie theatres seem not to be listed on CT. At least I can’t find many.
I remember this well as a kid. I was only 8 years old in 1978 but I do remember my mother taking me to see Grease. I can remember we had M&M’s, Shasta drinks, and of course an Off mosquito incense ring we purchased at Schwegmann’s Supermarket before the show. My mom fell asleep and I watched Grease twice that night. I also remember seeing some swamp monster movie here though I can’t recall the name of that feature. I so miss the old way of life people had and truly despise the new ways people live. Nothing could ever be nice as things were back then.
This is from Boxoffice magazine in July 1949:
George Wiltse’s 500-car drive-in opened approximately five miles from the center of New Orleans, in the parish of St. Bernard. Equipped with in-car speakers, the theater has a 55x40 foot screen against a 42x60 foot tower. Simplex sound heads and super Simplex projectors are in use. Wiltse’s is the second drive-in for New Orleans.
The screen was torn down in late 1993.
Here’s a photo from the newspaper article shortly after the St. Bernard closed. That’s Deacon Bell sitting in the box-office.
View link
Wanna go to the St. Bernard drive-in? Here’s a couple of tickets:
View link
The St. Bernard Drive-In was owned by George Wiltse, a retired sound tech, and Deacon Bell. According to the newspaper article from the Times Picayune when the theatre closed, it had only one manager, Bob Ricourd, from the day it opened in 1949 until it closed in January 1982.
The original screen of this theatre had animated neon on the side facing the street, but it was blown down in 1965 during Hurricane Betsy, and was replaced.
Bob’s wife, Mary, managed the concession of the St. Bernard, and that snack bar was spotless. I recall seeing the staff wiping the painted cinderblock walls down inside of the snack bar after the theatre closed. When you ordered a burger at the St. Bernard, it was cooked fresh no matter how busy the theatre was.
I worked releif projection at this theatre…vacations and an occasional day off for the full time projectionist. The very last time I went to the St. Bernard, I bought a ticket to see “For Your Eyes Only”. I parked near the projection booth to see who was going to be projecting. At showtime, no projectionist had arrived. I saw Mrs. Mary come out of the snack bar, and head toward Mr. Bob’s office. I jumped out of my car and called her. She said “Your’re late!”. I said, “No I bought a ticket, but I’ll get the show going for you”. I ran the first 4 or so reels until the projectionist who was caught in traffic arrived. To this day, I’ve not seen “For Your Eyes Only”, but I had a ball at the drive-in that night!!!!