Oak Drive-In

Boxoffice, April 15, 1974: “Officials of the Oak Drive-In in Royal Oak, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, were overwhelmed at the response to their early bird 7 a.m. showing recently. Even with a temperature of 11 degrees and heavy snowdrifts, it was reported that very few cars left before the movie was over … The owner of the drive-in, A. W. Smith, expressed the hope that none of the 350 cars that had to be turned away would hold any ill will … Smith was protesting DST, which he feels most drive-in managers oppose.”

Late `50s photo added. Oak Drive-In Theater sign above the Big Boy roof line.

Opened October 18, 1949 with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame. The ozoner was by Joseph Miskinis and Alden Smith. The theater drew so many to its 1,000 plus lot that a Manley Stadium Popcorn popper was purchased and the corn popped in the afternoon to better handle hungry patrons. Because it was two blocks from busy Woodward Avenue, two attraction signs were constructed. The first was in front of the theater on Normandy Road and the other on Woodward announcing features with a permanent sign indicating that the drive-in was two short blocks away. One of many drive-in theatres advertising the “World’s Largest Screen” and at 35,000 square feet, it was no slouch.