Shop City Drive-In

5050 Summit Avenue,
East St. Louis, IL 62205

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Additional Info

Architects: Joe G. Harms, Gerhardt Kramer

Firms: Kramer & Harms

Nearby Theaters

Shop City Drive-In

The Shop City Drive-In opened on March 16, 1956 with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in “Money from Home” & Randolph Scott in “Ten Wanted Men”. It was operated by Mid-America Theatres with a car capacity of 600. It was located behind the shopping plaza on Summit Avenue. It closed on September 1, 1980.

Contributed by Chuck Van Bibber

Recent comments (view all 12 comments)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 14, 2007 at 5:58 pm

The Shop City is listed in the 1981 motion picture almanac. It was still operated by Mid-America at that time.

JAlex
JAlex on October 8, 2008 at 1:07 pm

Closing date was Labor Day (September 1), 1980.

bbrown1
bbrown1 on December 3, 2008 at 6:24 pm

At the link below is a recent photo of all that is left of the Shop City shopping center taken from State Street:

View link

For quite a few years after the Shop City Drive In closed, the screen remained, and if I remember correctly, it was towards the rear of the photo, where the trees are. The shopping center was virtually abandoned by the mid 80’s. The last open business I remember being there was a Red Fox Supermarket, but by the early 90’s, it was also closed and demolished, and at some point the drive in screen was either torn down or fell down. I drove down State Street last month, and the Shop City sign in the photo still remains. Near the site of the Shop City Drive In, but not actually on the drive in property, is the new East St Louis High School football stadium

Kenmore
Kenmore on November 22, 2015 at 1:47 pm

It appears in the most recent Google Maps that the screen is still standing. http://tinyurl.com/qgbpahg

jwmovies
jwmovies on September 14, 2016 at 9:48 am

The address given is incorrect.

This drive in (and yes the screen is still up in the overgrowth) was located at approximately 5050 Summit Ave, East St Louis, IL 62205. Most of the field is the Nathan Health Care Center. Please update.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on July 26, 2019 at 9:36 am

The June 5, 1955 St. Louis Globe-Democrat wrote that the 648-car Shop City was being developed by St. Louis investors and would be managed by Jablonow-Komm Theaters.

JAlex
JAlex on July 26, 2019 at 9:46 am

Opened March 16, 1956.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on September 19, 2020 at 5:37 am

Opening films w ere “Money from Home” and “10 Wanted Men” on March 16, 1956. Closed at the end of a 25-year lease with “Octagon,” “Street Fighters” and “Butch and Sundance.” The architects were Gerhardt Kramer and Joe G.Harms. Screen size was 70’ by 102’.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 27, 2021 at 12:46 pm

Grand opening ad posted.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on June 21, 2024 at 7:52 am

Boxoffice, July 27, 1970: “The screen at the Shop City Drive-In at East St. Louis … was toppled early Sunday morning (19), apparently caught by a severe wind gust or a tornado … The 78-foot-high screen was reduced to a mass of jumbled bits and pieces.”

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