Oskaloosa Drive-In

2060 Old Highway 163,
Oskaloosa, IA 52577

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Central States Theatres Corp, Paramount-Publix, Tri-State Theaters

Styles: Rustic

Nearby Theaters

1952 photo courtesy of Connie Thompson Lanphier.

The Oskaloosa Drive-In was opened on August 26, 1949 with Glenn Ford in “The Return of October”. Besides other owners this drive-in was with A.H. Theatres(contolled by Paramount-Publix) and from 1964-1980 by Central States Theatres Corporation of Des Moines. It closed in 1985. The drive-in was located west of Oskaloosa and as far as I can tell south of old and new Iowa 163 at Kirby Avenue.

Contributed by Bob Jensen

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

LivininIowa
LivininIowa on October 26, 2006 at 3:24 pm

This theater was located right off of old Hwy. 163 just west of Oskaloosa. It was a single screen theater with a capacity of about 100 cars. The theater was demolished in the late 80’s and the site is now the current home of the Mahaska county road maintenance garage.

Kenmore
Kenmore on June 13, 2016 at 2:20 pm

A more accurate address (at least for Google) is 2046 Old Highway 163, Oskaloosa, IA. Today, there is no trace of the old drive-in remaining. http://tinyurl.com/jply76k

jwmovies
jwmovies on March 1, 2019 at 2:06 am

An even more accurate address for this theater is 2060 Old Hwy 163, Oskaloosa, IA 52577. This points directly to the entrance road which was next to what is now Pella Citcle. The address above is where the theater stood but the drive in had a very long driveway.

Please update.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on June 14, 2019 at 11:25 am

From the Sept. 3, 1949 issue of BoxOffice:

OSKALOOSA, IOWA – An overflow crowd of 700 autos turned out for the opening of Oskaloosa’s new open-air theatre on the Pella road near here. Mayor Carl E. Johnson and G. Ralph Branton, general manager for Tri-States, were the speakers at the formal ceremony. Dick Wilson, former assistant manager of the Tri-States drive-in at Des Moines, in manager. There is space for 500 autos. Traffic control is in charge of John Norris, retired police captain from Miami, Fla.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on October 30, 2023 at 10:58 am

The Oskaloosa Drive-In opened its gates on August 26, 1949 with Glenn Ford in “The Return Of October” (unknown if any short subjects were added). The theater closed after the 1986 season.

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