NW Hi-Way Drive-In
3215 NW Expressway,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73106
3215 NW Expressway,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73106
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Gulf States Theaters
Firms: Sorey, Hill and Sorey
Previous Names: North West Hiway Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The NW Hi-Way Drive-In opened on July 2, 1947 with Frances Langford in “Beat the Band”. It was operated by Starlight Amusement. It had a single screen and a 756 car capacity. It closed on September 15, 1979 and was later demolished and a Marriot Hotel now sits on the site.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
I dare say that clipping looks very familiar. Perhaps it came from a listing I posted on another site, contrasting the first and the last ad from the drive in. Notice too, the Altus Drive in ad.
See the posting at: www.driveins.org/aida4.html
The Northwest Highway was Oklahoma City’s first drive in. Opening the same day that the Odom’s drive in opened on S. Shields. (Later to become the Barton’s ‘77 drivein.)
Just for the record, the drive in opened on July 2, 1947, The last showing was on Sept 15, 1979. That clipping is the last ad published.
I got my start as a projectionist at the NW Hiway Drive-In. First day on the job, I dropped the first reel of KLUTE on my foot and broke two toes. When I got back to work, we were showing THE CROSS AND THE SWITCHBLADE. I remember one of the projectors burning out during LITTLE BIG MAN and I had to stop the film for about five minutes between each reel to let the one remaining projector cool down and reload it with the next reel. Good times. Now I act in movies. Almost as much fun!
Used to set on the hill behind the drive-in at the grade school with my buddies wathing what ever was showing. If we got bored, we would walk over to the Baptist hospital emergency room to see what was happening.
1948 Pic of N.W. Hi-Way Drive-In, Oklahoma City, added to Photo Section.
The Odom and Northwest Drive-ins both opened on July 2nd, 1947 becoming the first drive-ins in the area.
Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Motion Picture Herald, Aug. 9, 1952: “The Barton Theatres have bought the N W Hi-Way drive-in theatre from the Sullivan Theatres of Wichita, Kan. The drive-in is the 12th theatre in the Barton chain.”
This drive-in’s ownership got complicated in its final decade or so. By 1968, Gulf States Theatres had taken over all of Barton’s Oklahoma drive-ins on a lease-purchase agreement. The NW Hi-Way appears to have been closed in 1973, then Galaxy Theatres ran it in 1974. Caporal Theatres, which also had the Riviera, bought it and reopened in spring 1975. For some reason, Boxoffice then (May 12, 1975) referred to the drive-in as “the long-shuttered Northwest Highway”.