50 Drive-In
4104 W. Main Street,
Sedalia,
MO
65301
4104 W. Main Street,
Sedalia,
MO
65301
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Commonwealth Amusement Corp.
Architects: Carl Boller, Robert O. Boller
Firms: Boller Brothers
Previous Names: 50 Highway Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The 50 Highway Drive-In was operated by Commonwealth Amusement, opening on April 29, 1949 with Dennis Morgan in “Two Guys from Texas”. They were still operating it in 1955, with the name shortened to 50 Drive-In. It was closed on May 12, 1980 when it was hit by a tornado.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
starzz was opened in last in 1998 located at 20212 whitfield rd Sedalia this was about 2 miles west Sedalia you can find it google satellite
Tp is correct. The drive-in at 4104 W. Main Street closed as the Sedalia Drive-In. According to Drive-Ins.com, it opened in 1949 as the 50 Hi-Way Drive-In, became simply the 50 Drive-In in 1955, was closed following a destruction tornado in 1976, and was reopened in 1990 as the Sedalia Drive-In. It has since been demolished and its site is now the location of the indoor Galaxy 10 Cinema, which was built as an 8-screen house in 1998.
CinemaTour lists the Starzz Drive-In on Whitfield Road as the Diamond Drive-In, with Starzz as an aka. Adam Martin posted photos of it.
joe I was stationed at whiteman afb mo 1985-95 so I know Sedalia had no DI went S Korea came back to whiteman in 1998 the Starzz DI was advertising in the whiteman afb weekly newspaper as being on whitfield rd know this was not opened during the 1st time I was there this must been black out and reopened sometime 1995-98
if you put in 20212 whitfield rd in goggle earth you can see it shaped like diamond
Yes, I now think Drive-Ins.com got the dates wrong. I’ve found reliable sources saying that the tornado which destroyed the Sedalia Drive-In happened in 1980, not 1976. My guess would be that the theater reopened as the Sedalia Drive-In in 1976, the year Drive-Ins.com mistakenly said it was destroyed by the tornado.
Web sites recording major weather events in the area don’t list any tornadoes at Sedalia in 1976, but they do list the one in 1980. The site of the Sedalia Drive-In was probably vacant from 1980 until the Galaxy 8 was built on it in 1998.
Joe I know there was nothing there in 1985 just an empty lot
It looks there are some remains of the entrance and exit roads still there(behind Galaxy 8) in the above photo.
Correction – Galaxy 10 Cinema.
I don’t think this drive-in was ever called anything except the 50 Highway or some variant.
The “50 Drive-In” advertised in the Sedalia Democrat in July 1979 and early May 1980. News reports of the May 12, 1980 tornado said it obliterated the “Highway 50 Drive-In Theater”. (Commonwealth Theaters reopened the indoor Fox in June while promising to have the “New 50” ready for the 1981 season.)
Opened On April 29, 1949 With “Two Guys From Texas” Along With 2 Unnamed Bugs Bunny And Tom And Jerry Cartoons.