Yucca Drive-In
11 County Road 3261,
Spencerville,
NM
87410
11 County Road 3261,
Spencerville,
NM
87410
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Only the foundation for the concession stand/projector booth and one ramp remains.
350 cars, huh?
Well, in comparing the aerials to the cars currently seen in the Google overhead, 200 seems more accurate. And the “room for expansion” means going up the hill that’s right behind the drive-in. But never let the truth get in the way of good advertising. ;)
Did the Yucca last only two seasons? Its grand opening was definitely May 1, 1958, and the last movie ad I could find in the Farmington Daily Times was on Sept. 25, 1959, for shows through Saturday the 26th. Sunday’s Times had no Yucca ad, and the Oct. 4 issue’s ad said “Closed for the season / See you next spring!” Maybe it continued under the radar with Spanish-language movies, or maybe Allen Theatres saw it had built one drive-in too many.
Evidence of that last theory comes from the Oasis Drive-In, which was apparently never opened, so it doesn’t get a separate entry here on CT. Boxoffice said in January 1958 that the Allen group was starting the 986-car Oasis. An Academy Awards-themed ad on March 27, 1958 in the Times said that San Juan County patrons could watch the Oscar winners that summer at the Yucca, Rincon, Apache and Valley drive-ins, plus the Oasis Drive-In “soon”. Oasis Drive-In, Inc., incorporated in late April 1958. And that was the last Oasis Drive-In mention I could find until July 1978, when Oasis Drive-In passed along a warranty deed to Valley Drive-In Inc., which passed it to Larry Allen et al, which passed it to the City of Farmington.
I believe this belongs here.
Boxoffice, Oct. 19, 1957: “Porter Smith, owner of a drive-in at Aztec, N. M., and his manager, Paul Campbell, are building another drive-in. This one is between Aztec and Farmington, N. M., and will open in the spring”
Boxoffice, May 12, 1958: “Paul Campbell and Porter Smith have opened their new 350-car (with room for expansion) drive-in at Aztec, N. M. Campbell will manage”
The Yucca had its grand opening on May 1, 1958. It’s shown in the 1958 and 1962 photos at Historic Aerials.
American Storage Complex is now where the Yucca was.
Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Yucca under Aztec NM. Its last MPA mention was the 1976 edition, though it may have closed years earlier.