Joy Drive-In

1209 N. Loop Drive,
Waco, TX 76705

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Kenmore
Kenmore on August 5, 2026 at 6:45 am

For a short time in the 1950s, the Joy, Oaklawn, and Sky drive-ins were all open and operating within a mile of each other.

Today, the properties for the Joy and Sky have yet to be developed decades after their closings, along with about half the property for the Oaklawn.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on August 3, 2025 at 6:37 pm

Closed after the 1985 season.

Kenmore
Kenmore on April 15, 2022 at 12:03 pm

The drive-in was demolished sometime between 1981 and 1995. Today, it is a big, empty, and overgrown field. You can still make out the ramps.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on April 15, 2022 at 11:29 am

Eugene Houck’s obituary (July 27, 1932 - Jan. 22, 2019) in the Waco Tribune Herald made it seem as though he didn’t stay in the business very long: “Eugene started working in the theater business. He owned the Joy Drive-In Theater and the Joy Theater downtown that was destroyed in the 1953 Waco tornado. He then went into the nursery and landscaping business with his father, Corbin Houck, starting up Westview Nursery, which has been around for over six decades.”