Caprock Drive-In
615 Industrial Drive,
Slaton,
TX
79364
615 Industrial Drive,
Slaton,
TX
79364
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Located on what was once named Lubbock Highway (today Industrial Drive/Highway 84). The Caprock Drive-In was opened by 1952 when it was operated by R.I. Payne Theatre Entertainments of Dallas, TX. By 1955 it was operated by Howard Stribling.
The Caprock Drive-In was still open in 1957.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Found It!
The drive-in was located at what is now the intersection of Railroad Ave and West Woodrow Road, Slaton, TX.
Today, the west side of the property is a cemetery while the east side is Lubbock County Precinct #2 where they keep some of their vehicles.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
http://tinyurl.com/ya5yflul
Looks like it was closed by 1962, an aerial photo from that year shows the ramps being overgrown.
Why the name Caprock?
Billboard, July 5, 1952: “Capacity of the Caprock Drive-In, Slaton, Tes., has been increased to 224 by Joe Dennis.”
Dan Pritchett launched the Caprock Drive-In Theatre on June 30, 1951 with “Winchester ‘73.”
A slightly closer address is 615 Industrial Dr, Slaton, TX.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property. The original entrance road connected to Industrial Drive, but close to the intersection.
As noted before, the drive-in appeared closed in 1962. By 1984, it had been completely demolished.
Today, you can barely see some hints of ramps towards the western edge of property.
https://tinyurl.com/4ps5f62t
A bit late and I’m no expert but the question about the ozoner’s name of “Caprock” finds it based in geological and geographical roots near Slaton and within the Panhandle of Texas. The Caprock Escarpment is a transition point in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico from the High Plains of the Llano Estacado and the surrounding rolling terrain.
The ozoner sits just west of the Caprock Escarpment placing it atop Llano Estacado, at a higher elevation. Locals will say that they live just above the Caprock with they - and the Caprock Drive-In - just ahead of where the land drops off to the lower plains. The Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway is about 90 minutes north of the ozoner.
When folks built the drive-in, it had a close proximity to the Slaton Gravel Pit. That pit was created by punching holes in the Caprock layer (likely, hardened calcium carbonate). Below that layer were useful discoveries including gravel, sand, and clay. With the drive-in built near or even on such formations, it was christened the Caprock Drive-In Theatre…
Or the operators simply had two Bichon Frisés named Cappy and Rocky and just went for the fusion of “Caprock.” It’s your pick.
I bet people are dieing to go to that site now that it is a cemetery. 😁