Waverly Drive-In

2909 E. Bremer Avenue,
Waverly, IA 50677

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Waverly Auto-Vue

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The Waverly Drive-In was opened in 1953 when it was operated by Ernie Thiess. It had 188 speaker posts with two speakers each, a full service concession stand with great food and a playground behind the concession stand with a slide, swing set, merry go round and teeter totters. It had an all gravel lot.

Located east of Waverly on Highway 3, the Waverley Drive-In was closed in 1985.

Contributed by Lon Peterson

Recent comments (view all 7 comments)

Benny
Benny on January 22, 2008 at 6:26 pm

I was the projectionist at the Waverly DI during my high school years, 1962,1963 and 1964. One of my favorite memories was the early spring opening we did in 1964. Dorothy Theis was owner and she booked “Jason and the Argonauts” to open that spring. On opening night there was a big snow storm and I clearly remember how pretty that light beam traveling from the projector to that huge drivein screen through the snow appeared. Simply magnificient.
Pretty nice projection room with Simplex XL projectors and sound heads, Peerless Magnarc carbon arc lamps burning 8mm negative and 9mm positive carbons at 90 amps D.C. Consumed lots of carbon for a twenty minute reel; about 8.5 inches of positive for a twenty minute reel. The Hertner generator for the lamps was located right in the projection room which made for a hot and noisy environment but when your sixteen years old and doing just exactly what you want to do, the heat and noise are insignificant. Dorothy was a very nice employer and I enjoyed my few years at both the Waverly Drivein and the Waverly Theatre during the winter months.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ben Kehe
Motion Picture Projection Services, Inc.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
918 906 3715

rivest266
rivest266 on July 24, 2012 at 3:40 pm

1958 USGS photo uploaded here.

jwmovies
jwmovies on December 31, 2012 at 12:18 am

Approx. address for this drive-in was 2909 East Bremer Avenue.

Chris1982
Chris1982 on December 10, 2014 at 10:55 pm

The address given by jwmovies is the correct address for this drive-in. The Waverly Drive-in opened in 1953 and closed in 1985.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on May 30, 2018 at 4:45 am

There a business there now(possibly self storage?).

Kenmore
Kenmore on May 30, 2018 at 5:07 am

Most of the property is home to Iowa Transportation-Highway, which would indicate a government installation that maintains roads and highways.

kennerado
kennerado on July 19, 2021 at 10:53 pm

Gerald Peterson was the last owner through his company Peterson Theatres. It was sold in 1989 after being on the market for 5 years to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

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