Sylva Drive-In
3781 Skyland Drive,
Sylva,
NC
28779
3781 Skyland Drive,
Sylva,
NC
28779
1 person
favorited this theater
The Sylva Drive-In opened in August 27, 1949 with Edward G. Robinson in “The Sea Wolf”. It was owned by “Mr. E.Y. Neal,” and sat “adjacent to the Sylva airport”. The Sylva Drive-In held 300 cars on its gravelled field and featured a 40x50-foot asbestos screen.
The original screen blew down in 1956 and was replaced with a wider screen. The drive-in closed around 1966.
Motion Picture Almanacs listed the theater as “Drive-In,” capacity 250. In 1952-57, the owner was E. Neal. The Sylva Drive-In was off the MPA drive-in list for 1958-59; it returned in 1960-61 with owner Max Reinhardt Ent. For 1962-66, the owner was Boyd Sossoman.
The Wikipedia entry on the Jackson County Airport says that a dirt airstrip in the Addie community east of Sylva was used as an airport until the 1960’s. The listed address is where Addie Cemetery Road meets the highway.
Contributed by
Michael Kilgore
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Topo maps that date back to 1935 show no indication of an airstrip paved or otherwise at that location. Plus, the area itself is not only hilly, but seems to have been developed with a school, cemetery, and some housing from at least the 1930s.
Most grass airstrips tend to be isolated, but I recognize that is not always the case.
It’s always possible that topo maps are mistaken, but it’s also possible that Wikipedia is mistaken as well. In any event, I suggest further investigation to ensure that the address is accurate because there is evidence that it is not.
I’ve found the opening ad for this drive-in and it simply said “At Sylva Airport”. It opened on August 27th 1949 with “The Sea Wolf” and two cartoons. All the following newspaper ads simply said “at the airport”. The search for the location continues…
According to this article: http://www.thesylvaherald.com/history/article_448db73e-cbc9-11ec-86b1-bb2a0d52ecd3.html It was located near the Budweiser plant. There is a bit of open land in the area where it could’ve been but its still too hard to tell, certainly no signs of an airstrip.