Bond's Drive-In
152 Ellie Drive,
Bennettsville,
SC
29512
152 Ellie Drive,
Bennettsville,
SC
29512
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A closer address is 152 Ellie Dr, Bennettsville, SC.
This puts it next to where the drive-in once stood. Because the road which directly connected the drive-in to Ellie Drive no longer exists, this may be as close as it gets.
https://tinyurl.com/3u35sbbt
The drive-in made a nice recovery from being badly damaged or destroyed in November of 1954. By 1957, the aerial shows the screen intact along with the projection booth/snack bar, ticket booth, and fencing.
It seems the drive-in and plant did share Ellie Drive as their respective entrance road. The ticket booth is located right at the junction, so it appears that the spur road was an exit for the drive-in. That is perhaps why it was demolished after the drive-in closed.
Film Daily, May 3, 1948: (under Theaters Opened) “Bonds, drive-in, Bennettsville, S. C., by Walter H. Bonds.”
The Nov. 3, 1954 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor reported that “Hurricane Hazel was the greatest calamity ever suffered by drive-ins in the Carolinas.” The “Bonds Drive-In” was one of dozens listed as “destroyed or badly damaged”.
A 1957 aerial shows the drive-in intact and looking operational. By 1971, the drive-in had been demolished.
Today, the outline and ramps are all that remain. What’s interesting is that the road which connected the drive-in to the highway was removed sometime after 1971 and before 1983.
Perhaps being a spur of Ellie Road, which is now the entrance to Lewis/Mola PH2000 plant, made it unnecessary and perhaps dangerous given how it was connected. You can still see part of the road on the south side of the drive-in.