Trail Drive-In
Texas 31 Business and Slagle Street,
Athens,
TX
75751
Texas 31 Business and Slagle Street,
Athens,
TX
75751
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The Trail Drive-In was opened in April 1957, operated by Cliff Turner & B.L. Hagle. Turner operated the drive-in until the late-1970’s until he sold it and it continued to operate until it was closed in 1985. It became a go-kart racing area for a while. The screen tower and concession building remained standing for quite a few years after it closed. The property was sold to a scrap metal company in 1986. The used the concession building as their office.
Contributed by
Rick Cohen
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Open ~1964-~1975? Can anyone verify the exact dates?
Go to the Map and you can sure still see the Drive-In. Go to the Photo and you can see the Skeleton of the Screen with the TRAIL Sign STILL ON IT!
More info and photos are always welcome.
Last time I was in Athens, The Trail Drive In Screen was still standing as well as the snack bar. Altho, the land was being used for Scrap metal. This a few years back. I plan on going back there soon, if at all possible, for some updated photos..
RAC Photography
Went back this past Weekend! The Screen and Concessions stand is still there. Still used as a Metal scrap place too. Not much has changed at all.. Seen Here:. View link .. Enjoy!
RAC Photography
Randy A Carlisle
Historical Photography
I remember my mom and dad letting me and my sister sit on the roof of our old LTD to watch a movie here but I was so young and it closed not long after that I’m not sure what I watched I think it was Arthur. But I had to be 1 or 2 at the time and all I remember was getting to sit on the roof of the car.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 912 West Corsicana St.
In March 2013 the skeleton screen tower was still standing but by August 2013 the tower was gone. The concession building was still there. Went by the location in 2014 and the pipe business that had been on the property was gone.
In my notes I have that the Trail drive in opened in 1957 and closed in 1985.
The concession building was still there as of December 2018 but in poor shape, looks like the roof has collapsed.
BTW, the Trail was different from the Athens / Star Vue. A 1954 aerial photo of the future Trail site (TX-31 BUS & Slagle St) showed empty land. South of town along then-Texas 19, a 1955 aerial photo showed another drive-in, presumably the Star Vue. A good address is 1220 S Palestine St, where Fresenius Kidney Care is today. The office building had replaced the drive-in by a 1983 aerial photo.
BoxwellBrothers.com obituary, Oct. 25, 2016: “Lucille Turner was born on July 29, 1920 in Hunt County, Texas … in Dawson, Texas … she met her future husband, Clifton C. Turner Jr. … In 1957, they moved to Athens, Texas where they built and operated the Trail Drive-In Theater."
Boxoffice, April 6, 1957: “A new drive-in, the Trail, will be opened this month on the Corsicana highway near Athens. Owners, Cliff Turner jr. and B. L. Hagle, also have two film houses in Corsicana”