Jesse James Family Drive-In
521 S. Reynolds Road,
Toledo,
OH
43615
521 S. Reynolds Road,
Toledo,
OH
43615
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Is Henry James who opened this drive-in, related to Jesse James?
I see the strip mall also has a strip club. Very appropriate.
The premiere Toledo-area drive-in at one time. Always clean, and oriented towards families. Very good concession stand and the projection was the best in town. Unfortunately…one of the ugliest strip malls you’ve ever seen and a massive, crappy trailer park now squat on the site. A shame.
Thanks Joe Vogel for the link!!! I just added the pictures.
Maybe somebody who saw Mutiny on the Bounty at the Jesse James Drive-In will recognize their car in the nocturnal photo that appears on this page of the October, 1963, issue of International Projectionist. (Click on the + sign in the toolbar at the lower right of the page to enlarge the image.)
Just update the overview and added few new pictures/ads.
Thanks for the comment dlender…Do you have any pictures to share?
I worked at the Jesse James concession stand for 3 years in the ‘70s. We wore black jeans, red western shirts and bolo ties. We definitely went with the western theme. We had great fireworks for the 3rd and 4th of July. The drive in was always filled to capacity for that holiday. We had to turn cars away. Lots of great memories from working there for sure.
Saw many a movie there as a kid…always thought that they had the best kiddie playground. Remember…“the show will start in five minutes…!
Enjoy the new pictures!!
My Mom worked at the Jesse James, what wonderful memories :)
The Jesse James theater was not named after the outlaw. It was named after Harold Arthur (Jesse)James, an attorney from Toledo. He owned the theater along with his two associates, Jack Armstrong and Ernest Walter.
Toledo had other drive ins named after Western movie characters…the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid drive-ins come to mind. I think the Sundance Kid is still open.
The address for the Jesse James Drive-In was 521 S. Reynolds Rd, Toledo, OH 43615-6311. It was on the east side of Reynolds Rd., there is a strip mall and a subdivision on the site now. The Jesse James Shopping Center is actually across the street, on the west side of Reynolds.
I know Jesse James did “VISIT” as far East as West Virginia. He could have also “VISITED” Toledo and this is in memory? of him??
Geez, couldn’t they have called it the Lone Ranger or some other good guy.lol.
No, it was actually named for the historical Jesse James, and this was reflected in the western style theater marquee that can be seen in a picture in this theater’s gallery page at Drive-ins.com: http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/ohtjess I imagine that the decision to name a theater after him was more related to the portrayal of him more as simply a character in movie westerns that as a criminal.