Rig Drive-In

Route 66 and Oil Company Road,
Davenport, OK 74026

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Rig Drive-In

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Rig Drive-In

Named to reflect nearby oil fields that brought great wealth to the region, the Rig Drive-In had a 200 car capacity, a large screen, and was located along prosperous Route 66. It was opened in July, 1953 and closed in 1962 when it was demolished.

Contributed by Cactus Jack

Recent comments (view all 9 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 20, 2009 at 8:25 am

The Rig Drive-in was dismantled in 1962, according to Boxoffice Magazine of August 13 that year. The owner, Joe Stribling, cited a decline in business, as well as a lack of time to look after the theaters, for his decision to close the Rig Drive-In and Davenport’s only other theater, the Gem.

Silicon Sam
Silicon Sam on December 20, 2009 at 3:40 pm

Yep, still barely visible……..

H E R E

seymourcox
seymourcox on July 25, 2010 at 8:58 pm

This links showss that nothing remains of the former Rig Drive-In Theatre.
Property is once again a ranch.
http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/66

whorton
whorton on July 13, 2012 at 7:44 pm

Excellent find Joe Vogel and SiliconSam… This one was unknown to me. .

Wesley Horton AIDA

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on February 24, 2019 at 6:49 pm

The Motion Picture Almanac series whiffed completely on the Rig. Another reason to believe that there were more drive-ins than any single source ever listed.

I could find a few hints elsewhere. It was listed in the 1955 Film Daily Year Book and the 1955-56 Theatre Catalog (capacity 200, owner J. E. Stribling).

An ad in the May 5, 1957 Daily Oklahoman included the Rig as one of the theatres to show The Buster Keaton Story.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on March 19, 2019 at 8:17 pm

Thanks to Joe Vogel for the citation. Here’s the full one-paragraph story from Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1962, under the Oklahoma City column:

Another little town, Davenport, a few miles east of Chandler, has lost its theatres. Joe E. Stribling and wife, who have operated the Gem Theatre and Rig Drive-In there for years, called it quits and closed both. The drive-in is being dismantled and the equipment stored in the Gem. They have a fine set of CinemaScope lenses and about 50 Simplex speakers, all for sale at a very reasonable price. Stribling was a manager for Griffith Amusement Co. and its successor, Video Independent, for many years, then entered exhibition on his own at the Ritz in Stroud, also in the Chandler area. For several years he has had a job with the telephone company which keeps him out of town during the week, while his wife is busy teaching piano. They admit they have not had time to look after the theatres properly. That and a decline in business caused them to call it quits.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on May 31, 2019 at 7:37 pm

I just uploaded a grainy third-generation image of the Rig’s screen tower. If it was originally taken in March 1955 as its source described, then it’s possible that the Rig opened earlier.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on July 17, 2019 at 3:02 pm

From the August 12, 1953 issue of The Exhibitor: “J. E. Stribling, Gem, Davenport, Okla., opened his new Rig Drive-In, Davenport.”

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