South Drive-In
3050 S. High Street,
Columbus,
OH
43207
3050 S. High Street,
Columbus,
OH
43207
6 people
favorited this theater
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South Drive-In (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Academy Operating Co.
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
614.491.6771
Nearby Theaters
The South Drive-In was opened on May 11, 1950 with Roy Rogers in “Down Dakota Way” and Donald O' Connor in “Francis”. It was operated by Milton Yassenoff. By 1959 it was operated by the Academy Operating Co. chain. The last surviving drive-in in Columbus. Located on S. High Street, it’s not in an area that’s desirable for developers with a lot of empty lots and buildings around, so it may survive a few more years.
I was there this past Memorial Day 2004 to see “Shrek 2” and the place was nearly sold out. Great stereo sound through your car radio or boom box, better take one along as most of the post mounted speakers don’t work very well.
Contributed by
Dave
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Recent comments (view all 22 comments)
Yup, it’s posted on their facebook page about the speaker vandalism:
https://www.facebook.com/Southdrivein
When I was doing drive-in speaker repair, I used 6 feet of 18-2 stranded outdoor wire per speaker. I bought the wire in bulk rolls from Home Depot.
Wow, thieves steal nearly 1,100 speakers from the theater:
http://www.nbc4i.com/story/22833761/1060-speakers-stolen-from-drive-in-theater
According to the Columbus Dispatch, 1500 of the 1800 speaker wires (from pole to speaker) were cut, apparently for the copper. 3 people were seen on security cameras at about 4:30 in the morning. The wire would be worth about $300. The theatre will restore the speaker wire.
A bit misleading, nearly 1100 speakers were NOT stolen, just the wire for them. Sounds like a good opportunity to install some sort of burglar alarm system in that place.
This is their website but it is not much to speak of. Their facebook page is much better.
The South’s history page says it opened in 1950. Then again, it says it was twinned in 1987, but the 1984 Motion Picture Almanac already showed it with two screens. Here’s the data dump from my Theatre Catalogs and Motion Picture Almanacs:
1949-50 TC: not listed
1952 TC: Milton Yassenoff, capacity 550.
1953-54 MPA: Milton Yassenoff, 700.
1955-56 TC: Milton Yassenoff, 750.
1959-63 MPA: Milton Yassenoff, 700.
1969-76 MPA: not listed (but I saw a 1969 newspaper that still showed the South)
1982 MPA: Rainbow Ent., 750.
1984-88 MPA: Rainbow Ent., two screens.
Looks like the South was right about its opening date. The May 13, 1950 issue of BoxOffice reported, “The South Drive-In, Columbus, owned by Milton Yassenoff, will be ready for opening soon. It is a new operation and accommodates approximately 500 cars.”
The first day of 2-screen operation at the South Drive-In was April 6, 1979.
Launched May 11, 1950 with Roy Rogers in “Down Dakota Way” and Francis, the Talking Mule in “Francis.”