Route 66 Drive-In
950 N. Airport Road,
Williams,
AZ
86046
950 N. Airport Road,
Williams,
AZ
86046
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Operated for 1 season in 2003.
Contributed by
Sarah Boucher
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
This appears to have stood on the NE corner of Airport Road and Ellen Way. At least based on the address and the photo.
Today, a residence sits on the north side of the property and an electrical substation has been built on the south side of Ellen Way. There is no trace left of the drive-in that I can discern.
A Feb. 26, 2003 article in the Williams-Grand Canyon News (paywall) said that Marv Mason and business partner, Margaret Hodgkins, wanted to build the Route 66 Drive-In Theater at 950 N. Airport Road. In an edtitorial in that issue, the News objected to Mason’s request to waive over $30,000 in fees to improve the adjoining road and hook up to city water.
Kenmore, I can’t see what you’re seeing. The NE corner of Airport & Ellen looks the same in 1992 and 2005 aerials. That would put it at about 950 Airport, if something’s there. OTOH, that News article specifically mentioned N Airport Road, an address that Google Maps says is just south of the airport. Again, I see no obvious change between ‘92 and ‘05.
All I have found so far is the request to build and a “Coming Soon” photo, plus the precise car count from Rainbow Angels Ensemble. So, dear RAE and original poster, can you share the source of your information? Without that, I have no evidence that this drive-in ever opened.
I already shared the source of information
An old Google Earth image from September 2003 also shows NOTHING at this reported location, I’m also doubting it ever opened.
MichaelKilgore, My mistake, I should’ve stated NW corner, not NE corner of the intersection. I managed to line up the mountains in the photo with the Google Street View from that location.
Now, whether the drive-in actually existed is another matter. It clearly was never built as a proper drive-in. But it could’ve been a temporary one and if so it is entirely possible that no trace of it would remain.
And since I can’t prove or disprove a negative, I’m not going to say that it existed or didn’t exist. I’m only saying that according to the address and photo, that is the location indicated.
Kenmore, nice work with the mountains lining up. I love doing that.
I’m an optimistic kind of guy, but when it comes to whether something existed or not, my default is that it didn’t. I’ve read too many “under construction” or “about to open” notices in Boxoffice that never amounted to anything. I love discovering new drive-ins after I’ve exhausted all my sources (see the Julesburg Drive-In I added even though it’ll make me add pages to my Colorado Drive-In book), but some just never were.
MichaelKilgore, it is up to the admin of this site to determine whether an entry should or should not be added.
I rely on physical evidence. But I also understand that temporary drive-ins often leave nothing behind, especially if they only operated for a few months.
“Sources” may also be off or misinterpreted, but aerial photos which are dated and have yet to be wrong as far as I’ve seen I consider to be more reliable.
There was no structures built on that location, the 2003/2005 aerial photos confirm that. But was it temporary? I cannot rule that out. And whether it is on this site is not my decision to make.
Please don’t think that I was criticizing anyone with my remarks. I was just stating my background philosophy that nothing should be assumed to have existed without evidence.
In particular, I respect CT for erring on the side of believing in borderline possibilities. That provides a location for additional information if anyone has some to offer, even as it shows cautionary notes from such skeptical users as me.