Del-Air Drive-In

Dupont Boulevard and Quarter Mile Road,
Dagsboro, DE 19939

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Independent Theater Service Inc.

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The Del-Air Drive-In was opened in April 1953. It was owned by Independent Theater Service Inc. in the early-1960’s.

Contributed by Ken McIntyre

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on September 18, 2011 at 1:40 pm

This was on US 113 south of town

http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8.54652588780133E-05&lat=38.5371411629512&lon=-75.2524677272626&year=1954

riverrox
riverrox on July 24, 2012 at 3:43 pm

I live on on the property next to where the Del-Air Drive-In was originally locted and would love to have a picture of this drive in. Any information or pictures is greatly appreciated.

jwmovies
jwmovies on September 25, 2012 at 10:07 pm

Approx. location for this drive-in was Dupont Blvd. and Quarter Mile Rd. The theatre was just SE of this location.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on November 11, 2019 at 7:58 pm

From the June 19, 1954 issue of Billboard: “In Dagsboro, Del., Alfred W. Goodyear, owner of the Dagsboro Drive-In, was held under $500 bail on each of two charges of exhibiting indecent pictures. State police said they visited the drive-in after receiving complaints about the show. After looking for a time at what they termed burlesque-style motion pictures, they stopped the show and confiscated the film. Goodyear was arraigned in Sussex County Court and held for further hearing.”

Kenmore
Kenmore on November 11, 2019 at 8:33 pm

It appears this drive-in did not last long. A 1954 aerial shows it intact, but a 1963 aerial shows the screen down and the ramps starting to fade. Although the concession stand/projection booth is still in place.

By 1981, the concession stand/projection booth is gone along with all traces of the drive-in. Today, it is an empty field with no indication that a drive-in ever existed on the site.

kennerado
kennerado on June 25, 2023 at 4:26 pm

The screen was gone by 1960, looks like it didn’t last very long at all.

Kenmore
Kenmore on June 25, 2023 at 6:23 pm

A closer address is 32595 Dupont Blvd, Dagsboro, DE.

Google Maps has updated their addresses and this one puts it on a house where the entrance road once existed.

https://tinyurl.com/33k5dyfz

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on June 25, 2023 at 7:57 pm

Opening day hints.

The Exhibitor, Dec. 24, 1952: “Delaware / Dogsboro - Al Goodyear, well-known in the industry and formerly with Motion Picture Advertising Service, is now building the Del-Air Drive-In.”

The Exhibitor, Feb. 18, 1953: “Delaware / Dogsboro - Alfred W. Goodyear announced that the buying and booking for his new Del-Air Drive-In, now in the process of being completed, will be handled by Independent Theatres Service, Inc., Washington, D. C.”

The Exhibitor, April 29, 1953: “Harley Davidson’s Independent Theatre Service is booking and buying for the new Del-Air Drive-In, Dagsboro, Del.”

Mr. Goodyear and the Del-Air were mentioned in a May 22, 1954 note in the Wilmington News Journal, so we know it was operating by then.

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