In addition to the faint indication of ramps to the south of the building, you can also see the remains of the original entrance road and the foundation of the ticket booth.
However, a 1983 aerial shows something quite unusual in the SE corner of the drive-in. It looks like an autoscope was installed. Given it’s location, it appears that the autoscope operated at the same time the main drive-in did which would make it most unusual.
By 1994, the drive-in had been demolished and a go-kart track installed. Today, there is no evidence of the autoscope remaining.
A slightly closer address is 3387 S Mississippi Ave, Atoka, OK.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this one places it right on top of the Kenco Mfg building which is right in the middle of where the drive-in once stood.
A closer address is 4100 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL. This appears to be the main entrance to the drive-in.
To confirm what Nick DiMaggio states, a 1957 aerial shows the drive-in intact and appearing operational.
By 1969, it had clearly been demolished for years. The concession stand/projection booth and outline were still present. But today there is basically nothing left of the drive-in.
However, the sign for the Penn Tanks Lines, the business that now sits on part of the drive-in property, is in virtually the exact same spot as the marquee in the 1957 aerial. Although it’s not the same sign.
A topo map from 1966 shows the drive-in. By 1982 it had been completely demolished with the building that is now the One Child Center for Autism having been built.
What’s interesting is the 1971 topo map still shows the drive-in, but it also shows a building on the site that was not there in the 1966 aerial. It is still present in the 1982 aerial and could have been a larger concession stand with a projection booth on top.
The One Child Center building shows up in the 1979 topo map which would indicate to me that the drive-in had closed by that time despite it still being present.
This is the address of the water treatment plant located about 700 feet north of the screen.
As of April 2022, the screen still appears to be in excellent condition with no trace of the rest of the drive-in remaining. Even the ramps and outline have been plowed away.
Rather remarkable that after 50 years the screen is in such good shape, so it obviously has been maintained.
rivest266, was it east/west of the North 11?
Did it make it until 1960 when it would’ve appeared on the aerial?
I’m more than happy to take down my post since I appear to have the wrong drive-in. I’m not finding the North 11 listed on this site, at least in Roanoke. So, that was the cause for my error.
But it would help to know more than simply the “Airport Road” as topo maps from that time show the roads were considerably different compared to today.
A March 2022 Google Street View shows all the houses still present. About the only real change is the size and number of trees has grown in the neighborhood. There is now a large tree in the neighbor’s yard that might block the view of the drive-in screen.
Plus, the small hedge that you see behind the actress on the left is still there as well.
A closer address is 4321 Sherwood Way, San Angelo, TX.
This puts it right on the original entrance road, parts of which can still be seen just on the west side of the Tractor Supply Co.
The drive-in was operational in a 1972 aerial, but by 1984 it had been demolished and stores appear on much of the property. It’s pretty clear that the drive-in had been demolished at least a year before given the completion of the stores, although some of the property was still under development.
So, it did not make it much past a decade, if that.
Today, most of the property is occupied by retail stores. However, you can still see much of the ramps for the south screen.
A closer address is 2025 Old Baton Rouge Hwy, Hammond, LA.
The address is just a few feet from the entrance road of the drive-in. You can see the drive-in in a 1954 aerial looking operational.
However, by 1965 the drive-in may have closed. While still intact, there is a structure behind the screen that appears to partially block the entrance.
By 1974, the drive-in had been partitioned with trailers occupying the east end. By 1998 the entire drive-in had been demolished.
Today, the only remnants of the drive-in is part of the entrance road. A June 2022 Google street view shows the property as empty.
The Burrow Apartments are being built on the site, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining. Although the area immediately surrounding what was the second screen appears to be untouched by the construction.
A closer address is 159 Vine Ln Oak Hill, West Virginia.
I understand that it’s right next to Glen Jean and that works, too. But it does appear that Oak Hill is the proper town for the address.
I also understand that Vine Ln didn’t exist when the drive-in did, but it was the entrance road to the drive-in and the only way I could pin down the address.
The drive-in shows up quite nicely in a 1957 aerial, but is gone by 1970. Today, the property is a trailer park with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The article cited by driveinfan lists the address as 7059 Ramona Blvd, Jacksonville, FL.
In the same article, the owners talked about how the drive-in had been moving over several places within the city until they settled on the Romana Flea Market.
Could the Willow Branch address be an old one? If they hadn’t updated their website, then it could be wrong.
Google has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property.
The original entrance road is still present and being used as the entrance. Only a portion of the exit road still exists which is next to 32nd Street SE.
The projection booth/concession stand also seems to still exist, although it clearly has a new roof.
A February 2022 Google Street View shows the concession stand/projection booth along with the structure behind them as gone. You can see them in a 2021 street view, but it’s clear that they were removed between then and February 2022.
It also seems that the bottom part of the marquee is still standing. The sign on top as seen in photos is gone.
4229 Cusseta Rd, Columbus, GA is the address of the Columbus Complete Car Care Center.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but it is difficult to tell which road is the entrance and exit since no ticket booth can be seen. However, the marquee is next to where the center stands today.
The 1965 aerial shows only the foundations of the concession stand/projection booth along with the screen.
Amazingly enough, the trees may have preserved the ramps as you can see their semi-circular pattern in the latest Google overhead.
In addition to the faint indication of ramps to the south of the building, you can also see the remains of the original entrance road and the foundation of the ticket booth.
However, a 1983 aerial shows something quite unusual in the SE corner of the drive-in. It looks like an autoscope was installed. Given it’s location, it appears that the autoscope operated at the same time the main drive-in did which would make it most unusual.
By 1994, the drive-in had been demolished and a go-kart track installed. Today, there is no evidence of the autoscope remaining.
Screen is still standing as of August 2022.
A slightly closer address is 3387 S Mississippi Ave, Atoka, OK.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this one places it right on top of the Kenco Mfg building which is right in the middle of where the drive-in once stood.
https://tinyurl.com/yyy8aw3n
A closer address is 4100 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL. This appears to be the main entrance to the drive-in.
To confirm what Nick DiMaggio states, a 1957 aerial shows the drive-in intact and appearing operational.
By 1969, it had clearly been demolished for years. The concession stand/projection booth and outline were still present. But today there is basically nothing left of the drive-in.
However, the sign for the Penn Tanks Lines, the business that now sits on part of the drive-in property, is in virtually the exact same spot as the marquee in the 1957 aerial. Although it’s not the same sign.
https://tinyurl.com/p7nv8bfe
The Terrace Drive-In sat at a different angle compared to its predecessor.
While the North 21 Drive-In had its screen facing to the southwest, the Terrace had its screen facing to the northwest.
The screen was still standing in a 2013 aerial photo, but was gone by 2015.
A topo map from 1966 shows the drive-in. By 1982 it had been completely demolished with the building that is now the One Child Center for Autism having been built.
What’s interesting is the 1971 topo map still shows the drive-in, but it also shows a building on the site that was not there in the 1966 aerial. It is still present in the 1982 aerial and could have been a larger concession stand with a projection booth on top.
The One Child Center building shows up in the 1979 topo map which would indicate to me that the drive-in had closed by that time despite it still being present.
The only remaining trace of the drive-in is the foundation for the screen posts.
A closer address is 2186 Hwy 183, La Crosse, KS.
This is the address of the water treatment plant located about 700 feet north of the screen.
As of April 2022, the screen still appears to be in excellent condition with no trace of the rest of the drive-in remaining. Even the ramps and outline have been plowed away.
Rather remarkable that after 50 years the screen is in such good shape, so it obviously has been maintained.
https://tinyurl.com/mvbwmubb
A closer address is 8775 Commercial Blvd, Pevely, MO.
This puts it right on the projection booth/concession stand. For whatever reason, Google Maps has difficulty with the HWY 61/67 address.
https://tinyurl.com/2u34bb4r
The screen wasn’t fully removed. A December 2021 Google Street View shows part of the base is still present under the trees.
It wouldn’t surprise me if it had fallen over given its poor condition and they hauled off the debris while leaving the rest of it in place.
rivest266, was it east/west of the North 11? Did it make it until 1960 when it would’ve appeared on the aerial?
I’m more than happy to take down my post since I appear to have the wrong drive-in. I’m not finding the North 11 listed on this site, at least in Roanoke. So, that was the cause for my error.
But it would help to know more than simply the “Airport Road” as topo maps from that time show the roads were considerably different compared to today.
A 1971 aerial shows the screen to be gone, so it doesn’t appear that the drive-in made it to the end of its lease.
Today, the property has not been developed. It appears to be a storage area for gas or propane equipment. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
It has been replaced by a Walmart. But the property does retain the shape of the drive-in and entrance road.
A March 2022 Google Street View shows all the houses still present. About the only real change is the size and number of trees has grown in the neighborhood. There is now a large tree in the neighbor’s yard that might block the view of the drive-in screen.
Plus, the small hedge that you see behind the actress on the left is still there as well.
A closer address is 4321 Sherwood Way, San Angelo, TX.
This puts it right on the original entrance road, parts of which can still be seen just on the west side of the Tractor Supply Co.
The drive-in was operational in a 1972 aerial, but by 1984 it had been demolished and stores appear on much of the property. It’s pretty clear that the drive-in had been demolished at least a year before given the completion of the stores, although some of the property was still under development.
So, it did not make it much past a decade, if that.
Today, most of the property is occupied by retail stores. However, you can still see much of the ramps for the south screen.
https://tinyurl.com/2d7vcnw9
A closer address is 2025 Old Baton Rouge Hwy, Hammond, LA.
The address is just a few feet from the entrance road of the drive-in. You can see the drive-in in a 1954 aerial looking operational.
However, by 1965 the drive-in may have closed. While still intact, there is a structure behind the screen that appears to partially block the entrance.
By 1974, the drive-in had been partitioned with trailers occupying the east end. By 1998 the entire drive-in had been demolished.
Today, the only remnants of the drive-in is part of the entrance road. A June 2022 Google street view shows the property as empty.
https://tinyurl.com/4z7cp4wz
A closer address is 325 Natchez St, Hammond, LA.
The Burrow Apartments are being built on the site, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining. Although the area immediately surrounding what was the second screen appears to be untouched by the construction.
https://tinyurl.com/vpyhvtmc
A closer address is 159 Vine Ln Oak Hill, West Virginia.
I understand that it’s right next to Glen Jean and that works, too. But it does appear that Oak Hill is the proper town for the address.
I also understand that Vine Ln didn’t exist when the drive-in did, but it was the entrance road to the drive-in and the only way I could pin down the address.
The drive-in shows up quite nicely in a 1957 aerial, but is gone by 1970. Today, the property is a trailer park with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/5c9knnv2
The article cited by driveinfan lists the address as 7059 Ramona Blvd, Jacksonville, FL.
In the same article, the owners talked about how the drive-in had been moving over several places within the city until they settled on the Romana Flea Market.
Could the Willow Branch address be an old one? If they hadn’t updated their website, then it could be wrong.
Also, is it “Sun Rays” or “Sun Ray”?
A closer address is 3183 ND-20, Jamestown, ND.
Google has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property.
The original entrance road is still present and being used as the entrance. Only a portion of the exit road still exists which is next to 32nd Street SE.
The projection booth/concession stand also seems to still exist, although it clearly has a new roof.
A February 2022 Google Street View shows the concession stand/projection booth along with the structure behind them as gone. You can see them in a 2021 street view, but it’s clear that they were removed between then and February 2022.
It also seems that the bottom part of the marquee is still standing. The sign on top as seen in photos is gone.
Drive-in was still intact in a 1984 aerial, but gone by 1994.
4229 Cusseta Rd, Columbus, GA is the address of the Columbus Complete Car Care Center.
A 1955 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but it is difficult to tell which road is the entrance and exit since no ticket booth can be seen. However, the marquee is next to where the center stands today.
https://tinyurl.com/yckfzzys