Tower Drive-In
15100 Old Morris Road,
Okmulgee,
OK
74447
15100 Old Morris Road,
Okmulgee,
OK
74447
1 person
favorited this theater
Okmulgee’s Tower Drive-In was located east of town, near the Oklahoma State Tech campus. It was a nondescript operation with a gray sheet metal screen tower, plain white box-office, and a gray sheet metal concession stand. A small patio out front had a few gray lawn chairs. There was no landscaping to speak of.
The Tower Drive-In was opened on June 10, 1949 with Yvonne DeCarlo in “Frontier Gal”. It was owned by Video Independent Theaters Inc. (subsidiary to RKO). It was closed on September 2, 1984.
Contributed by
Catus Jack
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Okmulgee resident John Smith told me that nature gave the Tower Drive-In a lovely bonus, during warm months lightning bugs were plentiful after nightfall and gave a twinkling glow to the grounds.
Projectors, concession fixtures, and boxoffice devices for the Tower Drive-In were recycled equipment from the old Rex Theatre.
1956 Motion picture Almanac has it parking 400 cars!
Thanks Mike.
The Tower Drive-In was located at 430 E0960 Road. https://goo.gl/maps/PG0p8
You can still make out the ramps and the foundation of the projector booth/concession stand.
Thanks to the newspaper clippings posted by jamestx234, we now know that the Tower opened on June 10, 1949. The first program was “Frontier Gal” starring Yvonne DeCarlo, two “big” cartoons, and my favorite, “The Twilight Serenade - one-half hour of restful, inspiring recorded music for your listening pleasure every evening before the picture starts.”
The Tower Drive-In opened its gates on June 10, 1949 with Yvonne DeCarlo in “Frontier Gal” along with two cartoons and the half-hour intermission track “The Twilight Serenade”.
The Tower Drive-In closed on September 2, 1984.
A closer address is 15100 Old Morris Hwy, Okmulgee, OK.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property.
Today, it is private property with only traces of the old drive-in remaining. Including a faint outline and ramps along with the foundation of the projector booth/concession stand.
https://tinyurl.com/8te4kjah