Hi-Way Drive-In
US-77 and Farm to Market 1355,
Kingsville,
TX
78363
US-77 and Farm to Market 1355,
Kingsville,
TX
78363
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Operated by Carl T Nall and L E Harvey from Aug 1948 to Jul 1950. Sold to Joseph and Kyle in Jul 1950. Closed Mar 1952 around the time that Joseph and Kyle opened the newer Brahma Drive-In.
New info June 2021…. Operator L.E. Harvey opened this drive-in in 1948 after his Cuddihy Drive-In in Corpus Chrusti closed in 1947 when activity at Cuddihy Field was on the decline. A Dec 15, 1947 Corpus Christi Caller Times article refers to the Cuddihy Drive-In as the Harvey Drive-In Theatre.
The Kingsville Record article of Aug 11, 1948 about Hi-Way Drive-In grand opening says that Harvey has operated Cuddihy “for several years”. Several years??
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DSvVTFGvMZNFHAri8
Boxoffice, Sept. 25, 1948: “L. E. Harvey and Carl T. Nall have opened their new Hi-Way Drive-In between Kingsville and Bishop. Both men are new to the industry and are regularly employed at Corpus Christi, a few miles away. They drive out in the evening to operate the ozoner.”
The presence of the nearby King’s Drive-In combined with being on the wrong side of the railroad tracks which must’ve created quite the traffic jam when the trains passed probably contributed to the demise of the drive-in.
This drive-in didn’t last very long!!
A closer address (at least for Google) is U.S. 77 & Market Road 1355, Kingsville, TX. as first indicated by Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois in the first post.
Today, it is private property with no trace of the drive-in remaining save perhaps for faint hints of the ramps in the pasture. http://tinyurl.com/gr9c99l
Approx. address for this drive-in was 1850 North 14th Street.
hispeed, don’t give up! STICK AROUND! LOL! Truthfully, there may be no pix of the HiWay extant except, possibly, in some collection physically at or near Kingsville (I’m thinking Kingsville Record archives, or possibly some collection based at Texas A&M Kingsville). There was a commercial photographer in Kingsville named Jimmie Dodd whom my family knew well and who donated his collection of large-format B&W plates, negatives, and prints to the University of Texas at Austin (the Jimmy Dodd Collection – here is the URL: http://www.cah.utexas.edu/exhibits/dodd/biography.html). He has some good images of Kingsville’s two major walk-ins, the Texas and the Rialto, so he may also have taken pix of tHe drive-ins. Haven’t had time to visit the collection physically.
hispeed, the new pic is the King’s!
As Yakima1 stated, the HiWay opened in 1948 and closed in 1952, so Sam’s intro data stating it opened in the late 50’s and closed in the early 60’s needs to be corrected. Also, the photo is an aerial of the Rancho, NOT the HiWay.
The old address, FM1355 and N.14th Street didn’t Map very well, it showed the Southern United States and Central America. The new address will Map properly.
PLEASE CHANGE ADDRESS TO:
U.S. 77 & MARKET ROAD 1355
Anyone have more info or more photos?
Pictures and newspaper ads seen here……..
View link
“Cannot get Google to map properly.”
It’s about 3,000 miles due east of the North Pacific Ocean.
Some websites confuse the King’s Drive-in postcard photo as The Hiway Drive-in.
The Hi-Way or Hiway (both spellings used in ads) just north of town was opened by Joseph and Kyle on Saturday August 14, 1948 with it’s first feature being “Red Stallion” with Robert Paige. They stopped operations on March 31, 1952 when they were about to open The Brahma just south of town on May 2, 1952. The last features were “Tarnished” and “Prisoners in Pettcoats”. It may have continued operations later under L.E. Harvey, but after interviewing many long-time Kingsville residents, almost nobody remembers this first of four drive-ins. Everyone remembers the King’s, The Brahma and El Rancho, and they are quite surprised to be told of The Hiway.
Dribe-Ins website calls the Kings Drive-In the Hi-Way. I got my information from postings here.
“…Looks pretty small. Located at Hwy 77 and FM1355. You have to go to Google Earth, and 1956 Historical to see it. It disappears in the 1961 shot however.”
View link
SiliconSam, posted Oct 5, 2010 on Carpo Teatro (Kingsville) page
There are pictures of the Hi-Way on its entry page at Drive-ins.com: http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/txtwayd
Located just a few blocks North of the The Kings Drive In. In this field where the equipment is parked.
H E R E