Panther Drive-In

1203 S. Third Street,
Jal, NM 88252

250 cars

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Frontier Theatres, Theater Enterprises Inc.

Nearby Theaters

1966

The Panther Drive-In was opened in the summer of 1952 when it was operated by R.I. Payne & Theatre Enterprises. From 1955 it was operated by Frontier Theatres. Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook’s of 1956, 1964 & 1968. It was closed in 1975.

Contributed by A.L. Vazquez-Hernandez

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Kenmore
Kenmore on November 4, 2017 at 2:48 pm

Found It!

The address (according to Google) is 1203 South 3rd Street, Jal, NM. Today, the property holds a private residence and what appears to be a business.

You can still see the ramps, entrance/exit road, and the ticket booth is still standing.

http://tinyurl.com/ycznldfy

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on April 9, 2022 at 11:05 pm

The Hobbs News-Sun had a lengthy story about the Panther, picked by the AP and printed in the March 26, 1984 Carlsbad Current-Angus. It said that the Panther opened “more than 30 years ago,” and was purchased by Larry Stapler in 1977 “on the spur of the moment.” Stapler jerry-rigged an AM radio broadcasting system and took down the speaker poles. The drive-in’s only real problem was caused “about 15 years ago by a tornado that blew down the screen and knocked out the concession windows.”

robboehm
robboehm on April 10, 2022 at 8:05 pm

Probably named for the High School athletic team.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on April 11, 2022 at 2:36 am

The front page of the July 30, 1953 Jal Record had a short story on the Panther (yes, the same name as the local high school mascot). “Emilu Betty has announced special prices at the Panther Drive-In will be offered through the month of August … She stated the feature price is … to express … deep appreciation for the splendid patronage enjoyed since the Panther Drive-In was opened in the summer of ‘52.”

What’s weird about that is that I never found any mention of the Panther Drive-In in 1952 issues of the Record, which ran weekly ads for the indoor Rex and noted the opening of the Lariat Drive-In in Kermit TX during that period. The Panther was advertising in 1953.

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