Starlite Drive-In

MichaelKilgore on March 19, 2021 at 1:45 am

Boxoffice, Oct. 10, 1953: “CHIPLEY, FLA. - Hurricane "Florence,” which hit the northwestern Florida section recently, destroyed the screen tower of the Starlight Drive-In here. I. Roche, owner of the drive-in, started building a new concrete block tower in the shape of a pyramid. Estimated damage to the tower was about $1,500. Another $250 damage was done to the blinds. This was the second time this year that the screen had been damaged by storms."

KCB on February 21, 2014 at 6:13 am

I live about eight miles from the property and used to go to that theater as a kid. The theater closed in the late ‘70s then became a junkyard. The property has NOT “been entirely reclaimed by woodland”; whoever stated that is looking at the wrong area on Google Earth.

It was not “on a side street off US 90,” it was about 1.5 miles west of town on US 90 just before Chance Road (which is a county dirt road). I suspect the Chance Road address might have been the mailing address, but the drive-in entrance was directly on US 90.

The photo above of the back of the bigscreen looks like it is from the early ‘80s at which time the property had become a junkyard. The junkyard has since been cleared out. The “STARLITE” sign faced US 90.

The correct coordinates are 30.777018,-85.588246.

You can see an open field and a sort of circular driveway…that driveway cuts through where the theater patron’s cars would park on the south side of the screen. You can see the area where the cars would park in the 1966 aerial photo that rivest266 posted.

Google maps: http://tinyurl.com/m5p7doc

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on October 20, 2010 at 12:04 am

I found it listed as being on Gary Carter Road, but I can’t find that road in Chipley???

I know it was open in 1967.

The Drive-In held 150 cars.

Anyone have more info or photos?