Twin Drive-In
4215 Canyon Drive,
Amarillo,
TX
79110
4215 Canyon Drive,
Amarillo,
TX
79110
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Filling in a few more details from dallasmovietheaters' 2015 note, the Twin opened on July 18, 1952 with “The Lion and the Horse” on the first screen and “Flight to Mars” on the second, along with two cartoons.
Joseph Dydzak, who was part of that Canadian drive-in chain, passed away in Dallas in 1983. I tracked down his son, who sent me this email earlier this year: “My father, a Canadian who loved Texas, owned it for a brief period. It was acquired from Cinemark and legendary theatre owner Lee Roy Mitchel who lives in Plano. After my father passed away, the drive in theatre was eventually sold to Walmart.”
Johnny Fagan, at that point the Twin’s manager and possibly part of its Weisenberg ownership group, died on Jan. 29, 1973. By May 1974, the Amarillo Globe-Times said that Paul McDonald was the owner of the Twin.
The Motion Picture Almanac finally switched the Twin’s owner from Weisenberg to McDonald in its 1980 edition, another example of how slow the MPA could be to notice changes.
Then the MPA switched again, for the 1983 edition, to “J. Dydzak,” who was also listed as the owner of the 121 Twin in Lewisville TX and the Bruton Road in Mesquite TX. That’s a very unusual name, so I’ve got to think it’s related to the Dydzak Drive-In Theatres Ltd. of Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada. That operation was started by brothers Joe and John Dydzak, and John Jr. and Judy also worked in the movie business, so that first J could have been any of them.
The MPA carried that same Twin listing through its final drive-in list in the 1988 edition. A 1991 aerial photo showed the screens gone and a few bushes growing in the south field ramps, so I’d guess that the Twin closed around 1989.
I can’t find anything online linking the Dydzaks to anything in Texas. Anyone else know of their Lone Star presence, or when the Twin closed?
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Oct. 24, 1962: “The Twin Drive-In, Amarillo, Tex., has constructed a well lighted fence separating the two screen areas with a two lane exit. With different programs now showing on each screen, another marquee has been constructed above the box office, denoting the choice the patron must make on entering the drive-in, according to Kenneth Lane, manager.”
Billboard, Sept. 6, 1952: “The Twin Drive-In, said the be the largest in the State, has been opened by Charles Weisenberg, Harold B. Wilson and John L. Fagan at Amarillo. Located on a 17-acre tract, it has a capacity of 1,008 cars.”
Launched with “The Lion and the Horse” in 1952 to become Amarillo’s fifth drive-in theater behind the Trail (‘48), Palo Duro (‘48), Sunset ('49), Skyway ('50), and Twin ('52). It would be followed by the long-running Tascosa ('53) which survived into the 21st Century.
The Walmart Super Center on Georgia is now located where the Twin Drive-in once stood. The Palo Duro Drive-in was on the other side of the Canyon E-way from it. My first movie there was “WILD ANGELS” September 12, 1966, the one starring Nancy Sinatra. The last was “COLD TURKEY” October 28, 1972. It was a very nice drive-in and stayed in business all the way into 1985. Then suddenly the front screen, the classic one seen in the photo, burned down. I think they showed a few more movies on the back screen before giving up. The land stayed vacant for almost 20 years until Walmart bought it ‘04. Walmart’s huge parking lot could hold a 3 screener.
FYI: The entrance was further east @ approx. 4153.
4215 Canyon Dr, Amarillo, TX 79110
This address will map to the location of the drive-in. The drive-in is visible using Google Earth up until 2002.