Gloria Drive-In

The Gloria Drive-In was opened on May 24, 1946, featuring the comedy/musical “Show Business” with Eddie Cantor and Joan Davies. It was the second drive-in theatre opened by Horace & Eunice Shock. Shock hired Richard M. Peterson, an architect from Cleveland, OH, to design the Gloria Drive-In. The drive-in was named after the owner’s daughter, ‘Gloria’ Shock. It had a 40ft x 30ft screen with a capacity for 576 cars. It featured the RCA in-a-car speakers with individual volume controls. In 1948 they were replaced with speakers from Shocks Lima Speaker Inc. Co-Operative Theatres of Ohio were the booking and buying agency. In 1953 a new 70ft x 40ft screen was installed at the Gloria Drive-In so the “The Robe” could be screened in the new Cinema-Scope format in June 1954. I believe the new screen was mounted in front of the old flat screen.

In November of 1954, Shock signed a ten year lease for the operating of the Lima Drive-In, Sharon Drive-In and Gloria Drive-In to Sam and Nate Schultz’s Selected Theatres Inc. from Cleveland, OH. Shock wanted to devote more time to his real estate business, developing shopping centers and residential housing. On October 12, 1959, the wooden screen tower was destroyed by high winds. The theatre closed for the winter. The screen tower was rebuilt in the spring of 1960 for the summer movie season. Horace Shock passed away on May 2, 1975, and Eunice Shock continued operating Shock Enterprises. Selected Theatres Inc. operated the Gloria Drive-In until 1982. In 1978, Selected Theatres Inc. had come under fire after it began showing R-Rated movies at the Gloria Drive-In and the Sharon Drive-In. With changes in people, culture and times, the Gloria Drive-In was closed in 1988, and only the Sharon Drive-In remained open. The Gloria Drive-In was demolished and is now a truck & trailer repair business.

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