St. Ann 4-Screen Drive-In

10425 Saint Charles Rock Road,
St. Ann, MO 63074

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Arthur Enterprises Inc., Wehrenberg Theatres

Architects: Lewis Eugene Wilson

Previous Names: St. Ann Drive-In

Nearby Theaters

St. Ann 4-Screen Drive-In

The St. Ann Drive-In opened in June 2, 1951 as a four-screen theatre, and was operated by Arthur Enterprises Inc. It opened with Richard Widmark in “Halls of Montezuma” and had a capacity of 1,000 cars. It was located a few blocks from the Airway Drive-In. The drive-in itself was located in a valley behind retail stores that lined the Rock Road. The only thing visible from the Rock Road was the large marquee and the entrance that led to the theatre. This was the first big multi-screen in the St. Louis area.

When Arthur Enterprises Inc. went bankrupt, Wehrenberg Theatres took over operations of the St. Ann Drive-In, putting it in direct competition with its own Airway Drive-In. The St. Ann Drive-In usually played the same double bill program on two screens leaving you with a choice of two programs.

The drive-in was closed on September 16, 1984 and was later demolished to make way for the St. Ann Square Shopping Center.

Contributed by Chuck Van Bibber

Recent comments (view all 20 comments)

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on June 7, 2010 at 4:43 pm

The header says a shopping center.

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on June 7, 2010 at 5:48 pm

To be specific, I meant “What stores within the currently standing shopping center is occupying the space now?”

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on April 23, 2011 at 3:47 pm

Had to fly all the way home to St. Louis to answer my own question. LOL! It’s a Big Lots and some other stores as well.

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on June 17, 2011 at 6:32 pm

Pics (including a spectacular shot of all 4 fields) and ads for this drive-in here: St. Louis Flashback Movie & Drive-In Theatres

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on January 20, 2016 at 10:23 am

1951 photo added courtesy of the Fiftiesville Facebook page. I believe it to be of this theater.

rivest266
rivest266 on February 26, 2016 at 5:40 pm

June 1st, 1951 grand opening ad in photo section.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on October 27, 2018 at 3:10 am

Opened with “Halls of Montezuma”. The shopping center is St. Ann Square Shopping Center.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on December 18, 2019 at 1:52 pm

The Oct. 6, 1951 issue of Boxoffice ran a two-page article on the St. Ann, including a rare two-page panorama photo of three of the four screens.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on June 5, 2020 at 6:05 pm

The June 9, 1951 issue of Boxoffice had a lengthy article stating that the St. Ann had opened on June 2. It cost $300,000 and had been under construction for nine months. Lewis Eugene Wilson of Los Angeles was the architect. Two sets of projectors with mirrored lenses served the four screens. The playgrounds included a coal-burning steam train that ran over 1600 feet of track.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on July 28, 2021 at 10:46 pm

The 1984 ads for the “St. Ann Drive-In” were independent of Wehrenberg and everybody else. Its final night was Sunday, Sept. 16, 1984. For $2 per person or $5 a carload, patrons could watch, on screens 1 & 2, “Sheena” and “Against All Odds.” On screens 3 & 4, the St. Ann advertised “Dark Forces” and “Monstoids.”

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