Franklin Drive-In
1499 Russellville Road,
Franklin,
KY
42134
1499 Russellville Road,
Franklin,
KY
42134
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The Franklin Drive-In was opened in September 1949 and was operated by G.C. Jones. It is on a rural road, and not a very good location. However it has got to be the drive-in that was in the worst shape I’ve ever seen. It was still open in 1952.
It is not recognizable, but is still crumbling away, its block screen and projection booth, hidden in the brush. I would love to hear any information about this, on my quest to make known the lesser known southern Kentucky theaters.
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Russellville Rd, .25 mile west of Allen Rd
Franklin, KY 42134
The above address will map to the correct location of the drive-in, which is on the north side of Russllville Rd, and is clearly visible on Google Earth using historical imagery.
would love to see some photos
A closer address (at least for Google) is 1499 Russellville Rd, Franklin, KY.
Today, there is nothing left save for the fading outline, ramps, and remnants of the screen foundation, entrance and exit roads. http://tinyurl.com/ja6lxpz
In my incomplete set of reference books, the Franklin is listed only once. The 1982 IMPA has it with “Holiday Amu.” above “31 West, J. C. Rhoton”. It’s not in the 1976 or 1984 IMPA, which are my two closest to ‘82.
This week’s Franklin Favorite includes a blurb that says “The original Franklin Drive-In opened on Russellville Road in 1960.”
This sure sounds like the same drive-in.
Russellville News-Democrat, June 9, 1949: “Construction of a 700-car drive-in theatre, located on the Russellville Road about 1ΒΌ miles west of Franklin, began a week ago. Mr. G. C. Jones and Mr. T. H. Jones, owners and operators of the Liberty Theatre and partners in the new enterprize, have announced. The drive-in theatre is expected to be in operation by early fall.”
This is the Franklin Drive-In that opened in September 1949. The 31 West nearby wasn’t constructed until almost 20 years later.