Dubuque Drive-In

From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:

DUBUQUE, IOWA – The Dubuque Drive-In, just opened here, claims it will be the first open-air theatre to contain a balcony. The topography of the land at the theatre, on John Deere road north of Highway 52, makes it possible to have a “balcony,” according to Manager Robert Shelton. The theatre has space for more than 600 cars. Shelton began his career in Council Bluffs and later went to Des Moines and Sioux City. John Rigdon of Dubuque is assistant manager of the theatre.

The site is now Dubuque Diesel Injection Services.

The screen tower of this drive-in theater was my summer home when I was a kid in the mid fifties. My Dad managed the theater and our family lived in an apartment inside the screen tower. You can see the windows in the picture. The two darker windows on the right were the office and the rest were our apartment. We had no toilet in the apartment however there were several toilets available in the concession stand. Of course there were no windows on the back side of the apartment, just a black door. The black door was almost invisible because the bottom of the screen tower was painted black.

I had two younger brothers and lots of friends from the trailer court next door. We would all gather each night on the playground before the movie started. Once the movie started many of us would climb into the disabled car Dad had parked on the third row to watch the movie. Who else had their own car at the drive-in when they were only nine years old? The floor of the car was covered with spilled popcorn which we of course got for free.

Also the 1954 aerial has been uploaded here. It was on John Deere Road.

Ken,I have it a TRI STATES THEATRE.