Cave Tangi Drive-In

On October 1, 1938, Dallas Sim Wood launched an ambitious nightclub / restaurant called Cave Tangi just north of Ponchatoula and four miles south of Hammond on Highway 51. A little more than ten years later, Wood used the vacant land across the street to build the Cave Tangi Drive-In.

The Cave Tangi Drive-In boasted of having the second largest screen of any Drive-In. The theatre opened July 21, 1949 with Lois Butler in “Mickey” presented in Cinecolor. For its seventh season, Woods sold the Cave Tangi Drive-In to Eric A. Pittman and Associates. For the 1957 season, the theatre was operated by William C. Feske. Wood moves to Baton Rouge to open his Cave Tangi restaurant there which likely ends to Cave Tangi Drive-In. The last advertised show is “Unconquered” with Gary Cooper on September 22, 1957. It does not appear to have reopened and is demolished in the 1960’s.

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Kenmore on June 28, 2024 at 3:45 pm

Found It!

The address is 1330 US-51, Ponchatoula, LA.

The drive-in shows up in a 1959 aerial on the west side of the highway. By 1965, it had been demolished.

Today, the property is home to the Ponchatoula Fitness Center with no trace of the drive-in remaining.

https://tinyurl.com/5xu75ddu

Kenmore on June 28, 2024 at 3:46 pm

I’ll add that while the drive-in is intact in the 1959 aerial, it does not look open. There are some trails running through it which is normally a sign that a drive-in has been closed for some time.

However, the screen and projection booth/concession stand were still intact at that point.

50sSNIPES on June 28, 2024 at 4:05 pm

It actually opened on July 21, 1949, not July 28. The opening attraction is correct though alongside an unknown cartoon and newsreel. Judging from my researches, the Cave Tangi Drive-In opened several days after the Mitchell Drive-In in Hammond had its opening.