Teepee Drive-In
13166 W. Ozark Trail,
Sapulpa,
OK
74066
13166 W. Ozark Trail,
Sapulpa,
OK
74066
4 people
favorited this theater
The Teepee Drive-In was built on the outskirts of Tulsa, opening on May 5, 1950 with a capacity of 400 cars.
Over its 50 years it has passed through numerous owners. The current owner tried to make a go of it in 1998 and 1999 but didn’t succeed. It did not re-open for the 2000 season.
The current owner is looking for a person to take over the operations and re-open the drive-in. Renovations began in March 2021.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 37 comments)
Currently listed for a mere $290,000. Some places you can’t buy a house at that price.
Then again, it is a fixer-upper.
Fixing the bridge will take considerably more.
“Bob Getter said he is putting on a gravel and blacktop surface at the Tee-Pee Drive-In, and is making ready for an early spring opening.” — BoxOffice, Feb. 4, 1956
The Tee Pee was mentioned in the May 16, 1960 issue of Boxoffice as one of three Oklahoma drive-ins whose screen towers “were destroyed and other damage sustained” by storms on May 4 & 5 that year.
Grand opening ad posted.
The Kante Group, part of the family of organizations by local entrepreneur Joni Rogers-Kante, has purchased the TeePee, as reported by the Sapulpa Times. Heavy equipment has already begun clearing the overgrown viewing field - photos in the article.
The Times wrote, “It’s unknown at this time exactly in what way the property will be used, but unnamed sources have told Sapulpa Times that they expect to have the theater operating again by the summer of 2021.” Unnamed sources? I wonder whether this was a spokesperson who didn’t want to talk on the record or just some local rumor.
Left unspoken is how patrons would drive to a reborn TeePee. If the Rock Creek Bridge is still closed, that would mean a fairly long drive on a narrow, albeit historic, stretch of old Route 66.
Either the bridge will have to be fixed or an access road cut behind the bridge. Coming from the other direction would create a substantial mess.
Unless they cut a deal with the VFW to allow access through their parking area. It would help with the overflow of traffic, but the VFW would have to be convinced to do it.
A January 2022 Google Street View shows the property has been mowed, the screen has been repainted, and the ticket booth has been torn down and in the process of being rebuilt.
The projector booth/concession stand was also torn down and as of the date of the Google Street View yet to be rebuilt.
However, the bridge leading to the drive-in has yet to be improved. It still has a weight limit of four tons. That’s about five vehicles maximum.
It’s possible that the new management might cut a deal with the VFW which would allow traffic to flow into its substantial parking area instead of sitting on the bridge.
An April 2022 Google Street View shows the ticket booth complete and work being done on building a new projection booth where the old one stood.
The ramps have been cleaned and rebuilt as well with work being done on the entrance road.
And, it appears that something may be constructed on the back of the lot. This may be where the concession stand will go.
It looks like part of the drive-in will be an AirBnB.
https://tinyurl.com/mwwc3w7a