Del-Air Drive-In
Dupont Boulevard and Quarter Mile Road,
Dagsboro,
DE
19939
Dupont Boulevard and Quarter Mile Road,
Dagsboro,
DE
19939
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The Del-Air Drive-In was opened in April 1953. It was owned by Independent Theater Service Inc. in the early-1960’s.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
This was on US 113 south of town
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8.54652588780133E-05&lat=38.5371411629512&lon=-75.2524677272626&year=1954
I live on on the property next to where the Del-Air Drive-In was originally locted and would love to have a picture of this drive in. Any information or pictures is greatly appreciated.
Approx. location for this drive-in was Dupont Blvd. and Quarter Mile Rd. The theatre was just SE of this location.
From the June 19, 1954 issue of Billboard: “In Dagsboro, Del., Alfred W. Goodyear, owner of the Dagsboro Drive-In, was held under $500 bail on each of two charges of exhibiting indecent pictures. State police said they visited the drive-in after receiving complaints about the show. After looking for a time at what they termed burlesque-style motion pictures, they stopped the show and confiscated the film. Goodyear was arraigned in Sussex County Court and held for further hearing.”
It appears this drive-in did not last long. A 1954 aerial shows it intact, but a 1963 aerial shows the screen down and the ramps starting to fade. Although the concession stand/projection booth is still in place.
By 1981, the concession stand/projection booth is gone along with all traces of the drive-in. Today, it is an empty field with no indication that a drive-in ever existed on the site.
The screen was gone by 1960, looks like it didn’t last very long at all.
A closer address is 32595 Dupont Blvd, Dagsboro, DE.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this one puts it on a house where the entrance road once existed.
https://tinyurl.com/33k5dyfz
Opening day hints.
The Exhibitor, Dec. 24, 1952: “Delaware / Dogsboro - Al Goodyear, well-known in the industry and formerly with Motion Picture Advertising Service, is now building the Del-Air Drive-In.”
The Exhibitor, Feb. 18, 1953: “Delaware / Dogsboro - Alfred W. Goodyear announced that the buying and booking for his new Del-Air Drive-In, now in the process of being completed, will be handled by Independent Theatres Service, Inc., Washington, D. C.”
The Exhibitor, April 29, 1953: “Harley Davidson’s Independent Theatre Service is booking and buying for the new Del-Air Drive-In, Dagsboro, Del.”
Mr. Goodyear and the Del-Air were mentioned in a May 22, 1954 note in the Wilmington News Journal, so we know it was operating by then.