Teepee Drive-In
13166 W. Ozark Trail,
Sapulpa,
OK
74066
13166 W. Ozark Trail,
Sapulpa,
OK
74066
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 39 comments
The grand reopening was last night, April 15th, 2023. https://tinyurl.com/3cttdcth
Reopened on 28th October 2022 with “Halloween ends”.
Opened on 5th May 1950 with “Tycoon”.
The drive-in, now spelled Tee Pee, is scheduled to hold its Grand Opening on April 15. See https://www.teepeedrivein.com/tickets
(According to the Tulsa World, the then-unfinished Tee Pee actually showed some movies in October 2022.)
Google Street View now shows the Rock Creek Bridge as reopened but weight-restricted and single-lane.
Aha! There’s a new side-street that Google Earth/Maps hasn’t noticed yet but Street View has: https://goo.gl/maps/kc5EgSTSneqpVLHdA It continues Highway 117 a block north to Ozark Trail, looping around the back of the Tee Pee.
It looks like part of the drive-in will be an AirBnB.
https://tinyurl.com/mwwc3w7a
An April 2022 Google Street View shows the ticket booth complete and work being done on building a new projection booth where the old one stood.
The ramps have been cleaned and rebuilt as well with work being done on the entrance road.
And, it appears that something may be constructed on the back of the lot. This may be where the concession stand will go.
A January 2022 Google Street View shows the property has been mowed, the screen has been repainted, and the ticket booth has been torn down and in the process of being rebuilt.
The projector booth/concession stand was also torn down and as of the date of the Google Street View yet to be rebuilt.
However, the bridge leading to the drive-in has yet to be improved. It still has a weight limit of four tons. That’s about five vehicles maximum.
It’s possible that the new management might cut a deal with the VFW which would allow traffic to flow into its substantial parking area instead of sitting on the bridge.
Either the bridge will have to be fixed or an access road cut behind the bridge. Coming from the other direction would create a substantial mess.
Unless they cut a deal with the VFW to allow access through their parking area. It would help with the overflow of traffic, but the VFW would have to be convinced to do it.
The Kante Group, part of the family of organizations by local entrepreneur Joni Rogers-Kante, has purchased the TeePee, as reported by the Sapulpa Times. Heavy equipment has already begun clearing the overgrown viewing field - photos in the article.
The Times wrote, “It’s unknown at this time exactly in what way the property will be used, but unnamed sources have told Sapulpa Times that they expect to have the theater operating again by the summer of 2021.” Unnamed sources? I wonder whether this was a spokesperson who didn’t want to talk on the record or just some local rumor.
Left unspoken is how patrons would drive to a reborn TeePee. If the Rock Creek Bridge is still closed, that would mean a fairly long drive on a narrow, albeit historic, stretch of old Route 66.
Grand opening ad posted.
The Tee Pee was mentioned in the May 16, 1960 issue of Boxoffice as one of three Oklahoma drive-ins whose screen towers “were destroyed and other damage sustained” by storms on May 4 & 5 that year.
“Bob Getter said he is putting on a gravel and blacktop surface at the Tee-Pee Drive-In, and is making ready for an early spring opening.” — BoxOffice, Feb. 4, 1956
Fixing the bridge will take considerably more.
Currently listed for a mere $290,000. Some places you can’t buy a house at that price.
Then again, it is a fixer-upper.
If the bridge is not going to be repaired, then the city or county can establish an access as it is their responsibility. In fact, they would have to if the bridge is deemed unsafe which its not far away from that.
Plus, there is plenty of room between the VFW and the glass company to create a two-lane access road with no need to cut into the drive-in.
Despite that, I think that they will have to repair the bridge even with all the cost involved.
It would be nice to see this theater open again.
Kenmore, I thought the same thing. I would think whomever maintains the road (city, county, state) would want to divert around the bridge for the people who live down that road. But then that would more than likely end the drive-in as they would take part of the field more than likely. I don’t think it would make much economic sense for a potential owner to have to pay off the VFW for some of their land just to enter the drive-in. But that bridge is definitely rough.
Unless the bridge is restored, I’m not seeing why anyone would reopen the drive-in.
One possible solution which would be far less expensive compared to fixing the bridge, although it may be harder to accomplish, is creating a public access road on the west side of the VFW parking lot. It bypasses the bridge and allows direct access to the road leading to the drive-in.
Whatever solution is chosen, it’s going to take a long time to accomplish. Which means that the fate of the drive-in will still be in limbo.
I would love to not only see the drive-in restored but the historic Route 66 bridge leading to it restored as well.
The May 20, 1950 issue of BoxOffice reported that Video Theatres “and partner James Zarataludes” had opened the Teepee on May 5.
Countryarbor, if the letter you posted on this link is true;
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/11864
Then you or those who are making the investment might want to read the posts in this thread concerning the last investor to show interest in the Tee-Pee Drive-In back in 2012.
This is not to say that the current interest in restoring the drive-in is somehow invalid, but there were a lot of hurt feelings and dashed expectations that may color the view of the many who hoped the drive-in would be restored back then. So, don’t count on any help until after the drive-in is fully restored and operational.
Plus, there is the issue of the bridge which leads to the drive-in being in poor shape.
Peacheyeball is correct, 13166 West Ozark Trail, Sapulpa, OK is far better for Google. http://tinyurl.com/zgf63bu
I went by their last weekend. The real issue may be the bridge that leads to the land. It’s old, creaky, has a 4 ton limit, single lane, and no vehicle over 7' 2" can cross lest the top gets removed.
This address tracks better using Google Earth: 13166 West Ozark Trail, Sapulpa, OK 74066
Concerns growing over Sapulpa drive-in developer Concerns raised over drive-in developer by: Ian Silver Published: 6/21 5:52 pm
Last month FOX23 News reported on a Florida businessman’s plans to restore Sapulpa’s TeePee Drive-In Theater to its old Route 66 glory days, but now that businessman’s plans and motives have come into question.
During the month since the announcement the drive-in site has gone through some major changes, thanks to more than 50 volunteers. Those changes include significant clearing of overgrown brush and general cleaning up of the site.
But a lot of questions and concerns over the legitimacy of the developer, Russell Glen, who also uses the last name Brannan, have also popped up over the past month.
Volunteers say the clean-up project has been great for the community, but they say it’s been hard to see through all the smoke and mirrors Brannan has put up.
“He has sworn three or four different times he’s going to show up, and he hasn’t,” volunteer Keith Holder said. “That was my first flag right there.”
Holder has spent countless hours working at the site and leading a small army of volunteers. He was also one of two local volunteers who set up a bank account for the drive-in on Glen/Brannan’s request. The other volunteer even put $2,000 in the account. Glen/Brannan claimed he put $10,000 in the account.
“There is no record at the bank whatsoever of anything of any nature like that,” Holder said. “He did not put one red cent in there.”
Fortunately, Glen/Brannan was not a signer on the account, so the other volunteer was able to get most of his money back before closing out the account.
But Holder said Glen/Brannan continued to push him to collect more donations.
“Until he proves to me that he is upright, that he is straight and honest, I’m not going to ask anybody for money. I’m not going to do it.”
FOX23 News tried four times to reach Glen/Brannan by phone Thursday to ask why he hasn’t spent a cent on the site and why he’s now trying to lease the property, despite claiming he was going to buy it a few weeks ago. None of the calls were answered or returned.
“Somebody don’t tell the truth, I don’t trust them very far,” Holder said. “And that’s what this boils down to.”
On the TeePee Drive-In’s Facebook page Thursday, Glen/Brannan said all of the proper paperwork for a lease had been filled out, and that work on the theater would continue next week. FOX23 stopped by the Creek County records department to see the lease agreement, but found no records mentioning Glen/Brannan or any lease agreements on the property.
Creek County District Attorney Max Cook told FOX23 that no formal investigation into Russell Glen/Brannan had been launched. But he did say that he was informally looking into the situation.
Holder and other volunteers have kept detailed records of everyone who has donated time, money or materials to the effort. He said if Brannan’s plans fall apart he will return everything that was donated.
Rebuild those tube amplifiers and you can run some in-car speakers again!