Little River Drive-In
E2020 and Old State Highway 98,
Valliant,
OK
74764
E2020 and Old State Highway 98,
Valliant,
OK
74764
2 people
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Little River Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Located to the west of Wright City, OK and north-east of Valliant, OK. With only a 100 car capacity the Little River Drive-In was a quite small outdoor cinema. It opened on February 12, 1954 with Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds”. Surrounding terrain was most lovely, and it has been said that this theatre reflected this fact by maintaining "wild growth" landscaping. It was closed at the end of the 1958 season,
It reopened under new owners on March 24, 1959 as the Little River Theatre. It was still open in 1993.
Contributed by
Jeff Chapman
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
It was called the Little River Drive-In, as it was situated on the east side of the Little River on Highway 98 (Now Old Highway 98)
34.070060, -95.044480 +34° 4' 12.22", -95° 2' 40.13" https://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34.070060,+-95.044480&aq=&sll=34.070116,-95.044817&sspn=0.003137,0.005681&vpsrc=0&t=h&ie=UTF8&ll=34.070045,-95.044484&spn=0.000784,0.00142&z=20&iwloc=A
It appears the land is now private property with a house located where the projection booth would have been and a barn or stable where the screen once stood. However, you can still clearly see the ramps and entrance of the drive-in to the property itself. http://tinyurl.com/pj8o9gk
Boxoffice of March 30, 1959, said that the Little River Drive-In had opened on Friday, March 20. Owner Bill Crosby was also the operator of Wright City’s indoor house, the Choctaw Theatre.
A closer address is E2020 & Old State Hwy 98 Valliant, OK 74764.
That puts it about as close as you can with Google.
http://tinyurl.com/pj8o9gk
A note in the May 30, 1966 BoxOffice said, “Bill Crosby and Harve Wooden operate the Little River Drive-In at Wright City.”
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Freed launched the drive-in in Valliant after their hardtop downtown theatre burned down. It opened as the Valliant Drive-In Theatre on Feb. 12, 1954 with “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” It closed for the season in 1958. New operators refreshed the venue reopening as the Little River Theatre on March 24, 1959 with a double feature of Randolph Scott in “Ride Lonesome” and Walt Disney’s “White Wilderness.”
The theater features original installations of Simplex projectors, a Translite screen, and RCA sound. It originally accommodate 100 cars but it appears that it may’ve expanded to 175.
It was still open in the 1980s, but its closing date remains unknown. A 1995 aerial view shows the theater still standing but its traces were faded, while a 1993 topo still shows that the property is still a drive-in theater.