Fort Drive-In
16994 Santa Fe Trail,
Leavenworth,
KS
66048
16994 Santa Fe Trail,
Leavenworth,
KS
66048
1 person
favorited this theater
The Fort Drive-In was located to the northwest of Leavenworth. It was opened July 10, 1949 with Dennis Morgan in “The Time, the Place and the Girl”. By 1955 it was operated by Beverley Miller. It was closed in either 1973 or 1974 when a storm blew the screen down.
Today, there is nothing left but the faintest of outlines as the land is now private property.
Contributed by
Ken McElhaney
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The rustic and western-themed Fort Drive-In opened July 10, 1949 with “The Time, the Place and the Girl.” The tribute to Fort Leavenworth was eye-opening for locals and tourists, alike. Four twenty-foot creosoted wood poles and two wood posts under the center supported the Fort’s entry way sign. The drive-in could handle 375 vehicles but hit a high-water mark on its 5th Anniversary as it celebrated “Nickel Night.” The price was right as 550 cars jammed the Fort. The drive-in was operated by Beverly “Bev” Miller who also operated the Bev Theater in downtown Leavenworth. The Bev generally was open in the cool months and the Fort was open in the warm months.
On September 28, 1952, Bev sublet the theater to new operator Jack Campbell though she retained the ownership of the drive-in for a lengthy time. Her wild animal pavilion didn’t go too well for the theater. Bosco, the Fort’s the 300-pound Bear, escaped forcing the drive-in to take out ads imploring residents not to shoot the bear. Bev ended up taking the remainder of the animals to the St. Joseph Zoo. Bosco was missing nearly a month before being found and ended up at the Cowtown Drive-In in St. Joseph. The Fort would simply host occasional “circus” nights in which wild animals were brought in for a show or two. In March of 1963, the cresoted wood poles supporting the entry sign were no match for a powerful storm which toppled the signpost.
I was born and raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, and would like to offer some information about the Fort Drive In. The Fort Drive-In shut down for good after a severe storm demolished the huge screen, which was made out of brick and was several stories high. After the storm, the marquee displayed the following message instead of a movie title: “Sorry, no screen, no show!” I was caught in that storm on highway 73 just a few miles from the drive in. We were pulled over on the side of the highway in a Dodge van in order to ride out the storm. An 18-wheeler semi was doing the same thing just a few yards in front of us. A large gust of wind lifted us up on two wheels and blew the semi over on its side! We were lucky to survive this storm. This was either the summer of 1973 or 1974.
Frank Ireland
Bosco’s story wasn’t unique. The June 9, 1951 issue of Boxoffice had a six-paragraph story about the escape and recapture of Gorgeous George, a three-foot, 60-pound monkey. George, who “may be a baboon,” was finally cornered in a barn about a mile from the drive-in.