Commerce Drive-In
5174 FM2874,
Commerce,
TX
75428
5174 FM2874,
Commerce,
TX
75428
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Rowley United Theatres Inc.
Previous Names: Lilly's Drive-In, New Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The Lilly’s Drive-In was opened on July 29, 1952 with John Lund in “Steel Town”. It was operated by Jack Lilly. It was taken over by Rowley United Theatres Inc. by 1953 and renamed New Drive-In. There were parking spaces for 330 automobiles. It was renamed Commerce Drive-in on June 11, 1965 following an extensive remodel. It was closed on January 2, 1977 with Jeff Bridges in “King Kong”.
As of March 2010 the theatre area was very overgrown and the screen was the only visible reminder of the High View Drive-In. It was demolished by late-2013.
Contributed by
Don Lewis / Billy Smith / Billy Holcomb
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Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
It appears that the screen was removed in late 2013.
The screen wasn’t fully removed. A December 2021 Google Street View shows part of the base is still present under the trees.
It wouldn’t surprise me if it had fallen over given its poor condition and they hauled off the debris while leaving the rest of it in place.
Unless you knew a drive in was ever at this location, you would not know from driving by the location today. The property had been shredded and cleaned up.
A June 2022 Google Street View does show a mostly cleaned-up property. Although the base of the screen can still be see. But if you didn’t know what it was, you wouldn’t know by looking at what’s left of it.
The Commerce Drive-In opened its gates on July 29, 1952 with John Lund in “Steel Town” with no extra short subjects featuring original installations of Simplex projectors and a 32x45ft Johns-Manville Flexboard screen covered with a special cement type paint.
The Lilly’s who operated both the Palace and the Commerce Drive-In sold their theaters to Rowley United Theatres in 1965. Rowley then sold both theaters to the Texas Cinema Corporation in 1972.
The Commerce Drive-In closed for the final time on January 2, 1977 with the 1976 version of “King Kong” due to the theater failing to attract a suitable turnout.
This left Commerce without a movie house until Plitt Theatres launched the Cinema 3 almost three years later.
A closer address is 5174 FM2874, Commerce, TX.
Google Maps has updated their addresses. This puts it right on the property about where the entrance road used to be.
You can still see the outline, ramps, and foundation of the projection booth/concession stand. What’s left of the screen is a crumpled mess underneath the trees as of June 2022.
http://tinyurl.com/55b2ytxr
The drive-in in Commerce had rather typical scheduling–always double-features and always second runs after they had been shown in indoor theaters. The draws were: 1) Two films per visit, 2) Often carload pricing rather than per-person pricing, 3) Playground in front of the screen for children so the adults could enjoy the film in peace, and 4) The universally recognized “privacy” to be intimate inside the car (similar to but better than the feature the back rows of indoor theaters provided). Several factors led to the end of this and other drive-ins–poor sound quality, the first feature having to start before it was truly dark (because it was only open during the summer months which worsened when Daylight Savings Time became the law), and the increasing popularity of TV meaning that it wasn’t needed as an entertainment venue by most people. The comments about “High View” do not apply to this drive-in. There was a drive-in on the same highway down the road as drivers entered the edge of Greenville. It’s name was “Hi View” I believe, so people who went to it probably got their memories mixed up with the drive-in on the same highway just about 10 miles away.
Dansktex - There is a drive-in on the outskirts of Greenville that is on a highway which connects with FM2874 that the Commerce Drive-In is on and is roughly 10 miles away.
It’s name is the Trail Drive-In and I’m not seeing anything that says it was once known as the High View. Although demolished, you can still see the ramps.
Given that the name “High View Drive-In” only appears in the description and after “Commerce Drive-In” was previously used, I believe it is more likely that either the original author or someone updating the information made a mistake.
However, newspaper articles confirmed that the Commerce Drive-In was originally named “Lilly’s Drive-In” named after Jack Lilly who also operated the Palace Theatre there as well. It was renamed the Commerce Drive-In on June 11, 1965 after an extensive remodel.
It did had the name New Drive-In after Rowley United took over, but retained its original Lilly’s name through newspaper advertisements and showtimes.