Roundup Drive-In
Theater Road and SE 56th Street,
Gopher Flats,
OR
97801
Theater Road and SE 56th Street,
Gopher Flats,
OR
97801
1 person
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Named after the annual Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo, the Roundup Drive-In opened in 1960 in an area just outside of Pendleton called Gopher Flats, and could be seen off of Highway I-84, or the Old Oregon Trail Highway. Once you drove down the Pendleton Highway, you would go down Portland Theater Road to find the entrance.
The drive-in was closed by Spiess Theatres at the end of the 1985 season and cleared out in 1993, although the marquee, showing age with a bit of rust, still remained until the 2010’s, but had gone by 2012.
Contributed by
John Book
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
Theater Rd at SE 56th St Gopher Flats, OR 97801
Ramps and screen foundation are still visible. Please update.
The marquee, which was present in 2012, is now gone and no trace of it is left.
This NEVER opened in 1940, and it also did not appear in the 1957 aerial view. Its most likely that the Roundup Drive-In opened in the early-1960s, with newspaper mention dating back to 1962.
The Roundup closed after the 1985 season and was last owned by Spiess Theatres, the same ownership that owned the Pendleton Cinema before being purchased by Tom Moyer Luxury Cinemas the following year.
Boxoffice, Aug. 10, 1957: “Construction of a second drive-in theatre for Pendleton has been started by John Matlock. The outdoor theatre, which will open next March 1, is being built two miles east of town on a county road just off Highway 30. Matlock, who owns Pendleton’s other outdoor theatre and has interest in two downtown Pendleton theatres, said parking spaces for 500 automobiles will be provided. Julian Hart Construction Co., Vancouver, Wash., is building the screen tower and Francis McGee Construction Co., Pendleton, is building the snack bar building and boxoffice. Matlock said the screen tower will be 100 feet long and 75 feet high.”
The Round-up Drive-In’s first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was in the 1960 edition. It was listed with a capacity of 385 cars, owned by John Matlock-Adamson Circuit.