Sunset Drive-In
7495 Texas 222,
Munday,
TX
76371
7495 Texas 222,
Munday,
TX
76371
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The Sunset Drive-In was opened on October 12, 1950 with Frank Sinatra in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”. It was operated by R.V. Williams & C.E. Williams. In 1963, Elmo Hooser owned the Sunset Drive-In. Capacity was for 300 cars. It was closed at the end of the 1967 season.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
From Boxoffice, June 24, 1950: “P.V. Williams of Munday and Clyde Williams of Knox City have broken ground on a new drive-in theatre between Munday and Knox City.” That was probably the Sunset.
Elmo Hooser was probably related to T.J. Hooser, business partner of P.V. Williams. Williams managed the pair’s theaters in Munday while Hooser managed the Ritz and Texas in Seymour. The pair were also partners in a drive-in at Brazos.
The drive-in is located on TX-222 about 4 miles west of Munday, and is surrounded by farmland. As you are heading west out of town on 222, the drive-in would have been on your left, after the road bends to the south. It appears to be completely demolished in the present-day aerial photos.
Here is a 1966 aerial photo for the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS:
http://flic.kr/p/95evcu
In 1956, P.J.Williams owned this Drive-in.
Approx. location for this drive-in was north of County Road 4208 and Texas 222.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 7, 1962: “Mrs. Bill Petty has taken over the operation of the Roxy and Rex, indoor, and the 55 Drive-In, Munday, Tex. Her husband spends most of his time on a ranch near Munday recuperating from a heart ailment. They have a son who looks after the operation of the theatres.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 20, 1955: “The Sunset Drive-In has been reopened at Munday, Tex., by owners P. V. and Clyde Williams after widening of its screen.”
October 12, 1950 grand opening ad in photos w/ “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
A closer address is 7495 TX-222, Munday TX.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it on private property just north of where the drive-in once stood.
A 1966 aerial shows the drive-in intact and possibly operational. By 1983, it had been demolished.
Today, it is totally gone. Just a whisper of the outline and ramps remain.
https://tinyurl.com/4mes984b
Advertising stopped after the 1967 season.