Denison Drive-In
2583 Chamberlin Drive,
Denison,
IA
51442
2583 Chamberlin Drive,
Denison,
IA
51442
1 person
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Located on Highway 59, the Dennison Drive-In opened in 1950 when it was operated by Ted Krogh & Cecil Crouse. By 1961 it was operated by Fred Ballantine & Co-Op Theatre Services. It had closed in the late-1970’s and had been demolished by 1982. A road runs through the theater now where the screen was. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining and the site is used as a RV park.
Contributed by
daniel
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
A closer address is 2583 Chamberlin Drive, Denison, IA. The address is right next to the old entrance to the drive-in. A 1950 aerial shows the drive-in under construction.
Today, an RV park sits on the property with only a faint outline of the old drive-in.
https://tinyurl.com/ycnur69g
Opened in 1951, closed in the late-1970s.
A 1982 aerial view shows the theater completely demolished, so it appears that it may’ve demolished in the early-1980s.
Boxoffice’s Feb. 17, 1951 roundup of drive-in projects indicated that a 306-car drive-in in Denison was already operating. Unless it showed movies during an Iowa winter, the Denison probably opened in 1950. Owners were listed as Ted Krogh and Cecil Crouse. That pair had sold the Carroll (IA) Drive-In in the summer of 1949.
Independent Film Journal, June 12, 1954: “An explosion at the Denison Drive-In occurred recently while Ted Krogh was in process of cleaning the film projectors. Theatre is owned by Cecil Crouse.
Boxoffice, Aug. 7, 1961: “Fred Ballantyne is contemplating a complete remodeling job for his drive-in theatre at Denison, Iowa.”
Carroll (IA) Times Herald, June 22, 1974: “Damages were scattered as last night’s storm passed through Denison. A large section of the screen at the Denison drive-in theater was disengaged”