East Bend Drive-In
1012 Speedway Drive,
East Bend,
NC
27018
1012 Speedway Drive,
East Bend,
NC
27018
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The towns folk of East Bend, North Carolina loved the old East Bend Drive-In. It was the only show in town where families could gather, play bingo, catch a cartoon and a almost new release.
Opened prior to 1955, when an explosion of drive-ins opened in the Tar Heel state, locals could always expect a good Western. According to Bill Kline, Carolina film Booker, westerns were pretty much the demand for pictures. The small East Bend Drive-In held 150 cars, but often more would be packed in. Owned and run by local resident D.W. Holder.
Contributed by
Mike Rogers
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
Goggle Earth View 2009
Approx. location around 9299 North Carolina 67. Note: Speedway Dr. was to the LEFT of the drive-in next to the entrance; now to the RIGHT (rear) of where the drive-in is located.
Closed in 1982.
Property sold this Saturday at absolute auction for $31,000. 6.3 acres, concession stand, ticket booth, dilapidated screen. Land is still nicely graded.
So what are the new owners going to do with? It’s to bad that it could not be reopened.
I’m not sure. I actually was going to buy it, but I had promised myself to not go over $30k. I had a pre-qual drawn up to $35k just to have a little overhead. This bid was in and they wanted $33k and I stuck to my guns. I was planning on re-opening if I bought, but the ROI was suspect. I had quotes on screen ($85k), digital projector ($70k), building upfit ($100k) and new appliances in the concession stand (roughly $45k). So, roughly a $330k investment. Unfortunately, I’m not sure with a loan of nearly $3k a month, the location, the seasonal nature of drive-ins, etc. I could have really done that well. I probably could have made a living, and kind of hate I didn’t go a little higher just to have the land and see where it goes, but I am happy I stuck to my guns too. Easy to get auction fever and keep throwing the hand up.
October 2016 Street View still shows what’s left of the screen, the base of the marquee is still there and the ticket booth is still intact.
Street view shows it mostly all gone now. Screen is down, ticket booth is gone. The concession building looks like it might still be standing, but pretty overgrown and in much worse shape than last I was there a decade ago.
A closer address is 1012 Speedway Dr, East Bend, NC.
As mentioned before, it appears to be gone.
https://tinyurl.com/ys8dym5d
This closed in 1982, but the screen and traces remained intact for years afterward.