Decatur Drive-In
3838 N. Salem Road,
Decatur,
IN
46733
3838 N. Salem Road,
Decatur,
IN
46733
2 people
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The Decatur Drive-In opened in the mid-1960’s with a car capacity of 500 cars. It was part of the DeWitt Theatres. The Decatur Drive-In closed in 1992 with the animated feature “Rock-A- Doodle”. Only the screen still stands in 2023.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Approx. address for this drive-in was 3838 North Salem Road.
As of Google Street View October 2015 the screen is still standing. There is a building in the exact spot that the projection building was in, but I’m not sure if it’s the same building or one that was built on the old foundation.
The screen is still standing and looking in really good shape, so someone is definitely maintaining it.
However, the projection booth/concession stand is no more. It is just the foundation with some picnic tables on it.
could they the church be showing movies on the drive-in screen? that would explain the picnic tables a place to sit while the film’s go.
they do show movies about jesus. we need to find out if they still do this because if they do still show movies about good on the screen then i think we should label it as open since it really is!
http://www.pentecostdecatur.com/
it also appears the marquee still stands!
You might want to check the link again as the movies being advertised for viewing occurred in the summer of 2016 which is over two years ago.
The question is whether this is an active drive-in which shows movies regularly to the public or an organization that occasionally shows movies primarily to its congregation. It certainly seems to be the latter. Plus, they haven’t shown movies recently at least according to their own website.
still there showing films on the screen as long as films are shown on the screen i’m happy!
A closer address is 3928 N Salem Rd, Decatur, IN.
A June 2023 Google Street View shows the screen still standing. Has their been demolition work in the past month?
https://tinyurl.com/y858xsck
Two data points suggest that the Decatur opened in 1950 or 1951.
Exhibitor, May 17, 1950: “Open-air theatres under construction in Indiana are: … Decatur Drive-In, Decatur, Ind., by Decatur Drive-In, Inc.”
The Joe Bob Report, May 31, 1993: “Bureaucrat Alert! The Decatur Drive-In, on U.S. 33 at Salem Road, about a mile outside Decatur, Indiana, never opened this year, ending forty-one years of continuous operation. We reported that it might happen, and it did happen. The State of Indiana confiscated 2 ¼ acres of the drive-in to build a new highway cloverleaf. That land once housed the marquee, the ticket booth, the fence, 120 of the 400 speaker posts, the electrical system, and the septic system. Here’s the worst of it - it would cost $100,000 to replace all that stuff and keep the drive-in running, but the state refuses to pay, says all it’s good for is farmland. Owner Alan J. Kalver vows to fight, but he’s not optimistic."