The Observer of Red Hook printed a nice history of the Hyde Park in Sept. 2014. It included a copy of the July 28, 1950 Grand Opening ad for the Hyde Park Auto Vision Theatre. The article said it was opened by Sidney Cohen and has been in the family ever since.
The Poughkeepsie Journal’s history (printed Aug. 3, 2011) added that Cohen’s brother-in-law Phil Eisenberg also helped establish the drive-in. “In 1977, we won county rights to show ‘Star Wars’ and it became one our biggest successes,” Fred Cohen recalled. “We ran it for 32 weeks and it grossed as much the first week it showed than we made our entire first year in business.”
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed it as the Auto-Vision, owners P. Eisenberg and S. F. Cohen.
Its listing in the 1951-52 International Motion Picture Almanac called it the “Hyde Park Auto Vision”, capacity 480, owners P. Eisenberg and S. F. Cohen. It stayed that way through the 1966 edition. The IMPA changed the listing to just “Hyde Park” by the 1969 edition. The 1978-88 IMPAs listed only S. F. Cohen as the owner.
Somebody at the Fair Oaks, possibly Mege, got misinformed about the opening date. A 2001 article in the Times Herald-Record said “Then in 1990, (Ron Mege) took on the ruins of Fair Oaks. Built in 1967, it closed in 1981. Mege started with nothing but bare walls. He built the projection equipment, rewired the place, even built one of the screens himself.”
And an Oct. 14, 2017 post on the drive-in’s official Facebook page accompanied photos of replacing its marquee sign. “Sign was put up in 1967 new sign being put up but first old one needed to come down”.
The trouble with that is the 1968 photo of the location on Historic Aerials showing no trace of a drive-in at the time. So it looks like we can trust New York Drive-Ins‘ newspaper ads for the Gala Opening of the All New Fair Oaks in May 1970.
Multiple sources online say the Fair Oaks opened in 1970 as a single screen. The first newspaper ad I could find that mentioned it was in 1972.
In August 1976, owner E.J. Taylor became an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church and planned to seek a tax exemption “as soon as I can do it.”
I don’t think the Fair Oaks ever made it into the International Motion Picture Almanacs' lists. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the Middletown Drive-In, also owned by Taylor.
The Fair Oaks was still open and advertising in September 1981. The story is that it closed after that season.
A May 2000 article in The New York Post said that Ron Mege had “operated the Fair Oaks since 1991”. The Times Herald-Record of Middletown wrote in May 2016 that “Ron Mege, who ran the theater from 1990 to 2013” was returning to restore and reopen the Fair Oaks again.
Between the Mege administrations, there was a year or two of some shenanigans and legal issues. The drive-in was closed in 2014. It reopened in May 2015 thanks to another couple who apparently brought a digital projector with them from a Vermont drive-in. That couple was later sued by the Vermont Attorney General’s office for allegedly “making deceptive representations in connection with a fundraiser.” They denied wrongdoing, and I don’t know the status of that lawsuit.
Mege had apparently added a second screen during his first tour of duty, but the Fair Oaks operated recently with just one active screen. They added a second digital projector in June 2017, and both screens are active again.
One last clue from the MPAs, the owner changed from A. Sacco (1952-59) to T. Sacco (1961-66), back to A. Sacco (1978), then to F. Sacco (1980-88). My guess is that the Laurel’s co-owner in the 1960s became known as Tony, then Frank (the current owner?) took over around 1980.
A Coming Soon ad in The Plain Speaker of Hazleton (June 8, 1950) drew a parallel to horse races at the Mount Laurel Race Track 50 years earlier. (Turns out it was built on the race track site.) Maybe some of these names will help some future researcher. The ad read: The final lap of the race to completion at Laurel Drive-In was in full swing on this warm, summer day. (Tuesday to be exact). Pete Yannes, general contractor and designer is well out in front of the field and setting the pace. Screen Erector Hospidor is lagging behind a little. Plasterman Frank Landro is moving up fast pushing Al Yannes and Ray Marchetti riding two carpenter horses. Plumber Louis Uvino sees an opening and with a gust of speed plugs up the leak, fast chasing Clewell and Vogt who are trailing in 7 and 8 positions because they stopped to admire a roof of huge concession stand. Fedulla is electrifying the crowd of curious well wishers and tradesmen by generating more speed and brightening up the way for Sacco and O'Donnell to see the light of day across the first line painted by Krohn Bros.
The associated miniature golf course opened Sunday, June 11. The associated restaurant opened Friday, June 16. The Laurel itself opened (with a soft opening?) Saturday, June 24, showing Mother Wore Tights.
The Laurel’s official grand opening was Friday, July 14 with The Adventures of Robin Hood. The Plain Speaker wrote that the “500-car outdoor theatre (was) owned by Charles V. O'Donnell and Anthony D. Sacco”. It offered RCA in-car speakers and “an all-metal screen over 60 feet high.”
The 1952 Theatre Catalog said the Laurel was owned by Anthony Sacco. According to its Facebook page, the Laurel has been owned by the Sacco family ever since.
In July 1956, owners O'Donnell and Sacco announced a new sound system, extra speakers, and free mini-golf for drive-in patrons. In October 1959, O'Donnell and Sacco, “trading as Laurel Drive-In Theater” were in court about a theater in Tamaqua. A July 1967 article in the Hazleton Standard-Speaker said the drive-in was still owned by Sacco and O'Donnell.
A windstorm blew the roof off the concession stand and damaged the screen on Sept. 10, 1968, and about 50 speaker posts “were torn from the ground”. Sacco and O'Donnell were mentioned as joint owners. So whatever happened to O'Donnell?
A 2014 photo caption said that Frank “Chic” Sacco opened the Laurel in 1950 and his son, just plain Frank Sacco, is the current owner. But a 1952 article in The Plain Speaker mentioned John “Chic” Sacco who chaired a charity drive. How are these folks related to Anthony?
For the 2017 season, the Laurel still hadn’t converted to digital projection. Based on its Facebook posts, it opened in mid-May, closed in mid-September, and except for two classic horror weekends showed only three movies all season – Baywatch, Wonder Woman, and Transformers: The Last Knight.
As NYozoner implied, the June 21, 1952 issue of Billboard wrote “Harold E. Bell opened his new 250-car Arrow Drive-In near Danville, Pa.” So the true opening date was probably at least a week or two earlier. On Sept. 13, 1952, Billboard noted “New high-intensity lamps were installed at the Arrow Drive-In, Danville, Pa.” so maybe they were needed to expand the viewing field?
The first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1955 edition as the Arrow in Danville, capacity 400, owner “Bell & Kipp Bros.” It stayed that way through 1957. The 1959 edition listed it as the Point. For 1961-66, the capacity was 600 and the owner was Harold Bell.
In the 1980-88 MPAs, the Point was listed in Northumberland, owned by Sports Serv, apparently Farruggio’s company.
An October 1, 1957 ad (Hazleton Standard-Sentinel) for the cinematic masterpiece Walk Into Hell mentioned the Point Drive-In in Danville.
An April 2000 article in that paper said Renn was opening a Sunday flea market at the Motor-Vu Drive-In at Nescopeck. “Renn also operates the Point Drive-In, Danville, and features a flea market every Sunday.”
Great history info, Tine263! Thanks for sharing that and the photos! You all should go read the post, which includes info from David Renn, who “is the current owner and has been for the past 27 years” as of September 2015. Which would put his start at 1988 or 1989, which is just a little off from an article I found.
From the Winter 2005-2006 issue of Spectrum magazine, hosted at Archive.org:
The Point Drive-In, on Route 11 near Danville, was one theater to screen adult films.
“There was very low overhead,” says Dave Renn, manager (sic) of the Point. “They needed only one person to run the projector and one for the concession stand – people rarely got out of their cars.”
After about 15 years of screening adult films, the theater abandoned the practice following the 1987 season. “Figures were really good for it [pornographic films],” says Mike Danchak, who managed the Point when the change was made. “The problem was video was taking over,” he says.
… After the “X”-rated era ended, Danchak and owner Joe Farruggio transformed the Point from single to triple screen and added FM stereophonic sound. Danchak says (garbled) to return to a family-friendly environment, something Renn has maintained since taking over in 1990.
… “We tried a flea market a couple of years ago,” Renn says, “but it didn’t work out because the summers were so hot and dry.”
Strange that he wasn’t listed in the 1952 newspaper article, but Billboard magazine reported on April 18, 1953, “Charles Collins and his partners are about ready to open the Pike Drive-In near Montgomery, Pa.” A month later, Billboard wrote that the “600-car Pike” was in operation.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the owner of the Pike as Charles Collins. In its first listings in the Motion Picture Almanac series, the Pike’s owner in 1955-57 was C. Collins. The owner in 1961 was John Shade.
The Pike fell off the MPA list in 1963-69 but returned by 1972. Listed owners for other MPA editions:
1978-82: Sports Svce.
1984: G. Tomka
1986-88: J. Farruggio
That was probably Joe Farruggio, who owned the nearby Point Drive-In.
Joe McDade is the current owner of the Pike. His LinkedIn page indicates he bought it in March 2006.
The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reported on Oct. 30, 1952, “Three city men have started construction of a modern, 800-car theater on the Montgomery Pike. They are Harry J. Miele, Harry L. Nixon and Benjamin Pulizzi. Mr. Miele said the theater being built at an estimated cost of $135,000, will open about April 1. Clearing work on the land, about 12 acres, started last week.” It opened on April 16, 1953, showing Son of Paleface.
The Progress of Clearfield PA shows ads of the Super 322’s grand opening on May 26, 1950, so that definitely checks out.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Super 322 under Clearfield, capacity 600, Exec: Theodore Grance and Bert Stearn.
Strangely, the 1952-53 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac listed the Super 322 as under construction, owned by F & S Corp., T. Grances, pres. It stayed “Under Construction” in the next edition, then the 1955 edition had it with capacity 600, owner Outdoor Theatre. By 1966, the owner was back to Theo. Grance.
The Super 322 fell off the 1978 MPA list. In the 1980 edition, the owner was Favuzza, which was how it stayed through the final MPA list in 1988.
The Super 322 Drive-in Theatre was opened on May 26, 1950. Built by the Theodore Grance Outdoor Theatre Co., ownership changed hands a few times until being bought in the 1970s by Royer and Favuzza from the Bellefonte area. They made improvements including AM radio; the Super 322 was Pennsylvania’s second drive-in to add am AM radio sound system. The removal of external speakers increased capacity to about 650 cars. In the 1980s, FM stereo sound capabilities were added.
After working for over 20 years at the theatre, Bill Frankhouser, together with his wife Barb, purchased the Super 322. They have also made improvements including a new marquee complete with a colorful neon sign. In 2001, the Super 322 Drive-in Theatre was granted eligibility to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania Museum Commission. In 2005, one the original neon signs was back in use after being restored. It features pink neon. The entrance lights have been replaced as has been the entire fence at the back of the field. The ramps have all been graded and re-shaped so you can enjoy the best view of the big screen. The ticket booth was replaced in 2010. The Super 322 opened for the 2014 season in digital, having the projector holding the record for the brightest light on the planet!!
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Moonlight (sic) in Brookville, capacity 300, owner O. A. Holobough.
Its first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanacs was 1955 in Brooksville (sic), the Moonlight (sic) had owner or booker as Harner Theatres. In typical MPA fashion, this information stayed the same, uncorrected through at least the 1972 edition.
By the 1976 edition, the town had been fixed as Brookville, but the inaccurate drive-in spelling persisted. In the 1978-84 editions, the owner was listed as R. Neff. The drive-in was gone by the 1986 edition.
ExploreClarion.com wrote that Jim Lipuma “purchased the Moonlite in Brookville after the flood in 1996 and opened it on May 2, 1997.” That flood was on July 19, 1996 when heavy rains caused a Brookville impoundment to give way.
I uploaded clippings from the Brookville Jeffersonian Democrat that show that this Moonlite opened on July 2, 1952, showing Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. More from that newspaper:
In January 1953, the Rose township board of supervisors sued the Moon-Light (sic) over a hastily added tax. J. E. Hollobaugh, described as the drive-in’s owner and operator, had refused to pay. In August 1955, the drive-in won the lawsuit.
In November 1954, “Cinemascope has been displayed successfully at the Moonlite Drive-In”.
In April 1955, strong winds or lightning (?) knocked over the screen for “the second time in less than a month”. The concrete screen supports had just been repaired from the first collapse. “The Moon-Lite (sic) Drive-In will begin showings tomorrow night with a temporary screen, but plans are to erect an entire new structure of three walls to provide additional supports.”
In Sean T. Posey’s book Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, he writes that the Elm Road was built by Stephen Hreno, who had thought to build a roller skating rink before visiting Rainbow Gardens in Pennsylvania. “The town had a skating rink and a drive-in theater,” his son Robert recalled. “We went to look at the parking lots on a Saturday night and there were a lot more cars at the drive-in than there were at the skating rink.”
The drive-in has stayed in the family ever since. Stephen passed away in 1960, then Robert and his mother ran the business. They added a second screen in 1979 and switched to radio sound in 1983. The Elm Road’s third screen went up in May 2005.
Robert and his family installed digital projection in May 2013. By that point, his daughter and son-in-law, Sheri and Mark Hocevar, were running the Elm Road.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Skyway as capacity 300, owner Ohio Th. Service and H. Horstemeier. The 1955-56 edition added R.H. Hanley.
The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs showed the owner or booker as Ohio Theatre Service Corp. The 1978-88 editions listed S. Doane as the owner.
Other records suggest that Stanley Doane, president of the Doane Theater Corporation, owns the Skyway.
According to Vindy.com, on May 9, 1977: Trumbull County deputy sheriffs raid the Skyway Drive-In theater in Warren Township, confiscate an X-rated movie, Russ Meyer’s “Up,” and arrest the theater’s owner, Steve Doane. Sheriff Richard Jakmas said the theater has been under investigation since January, when a complaint was filed.
The May 6, 2005 Daily Kent Stater said the Midway was built in 1949 by Jack Vogel, then Knepp bought the theater from Vogel in 1990. I’m not so sure about those dates.
That Wikipedia entry said Knepp was the one who added the second screen. The first time the Akron Beacon Journal called it the Midway Twin was in a June 1989 traffic accident article. HistoricAerials.com shows a second screen in place by 1994.
The Akron Beacon Journal of Aug. 6, 1997 said the two-screened Midway’s owner was “held in trust by Larry Koerber, leased to John Knepp”. As of 2017, Knepp still owns the Midway.
The Wikipedia entry for the Midway says (as I type) that it was built in 1955. That’s wrong. It probably opened on July 21, 1950, and was definitely open a week later.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the Midway as owned by Paul Vogel, capacity 525.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac showed the “Mid City Drive-In” in Ravenna, capacity 400, “owner or booker” Ohio Theatre Service Corp. The 1953-63 MPAs changed only the “owner or booker”, to Co-operative.
The 1966 MPA listed two drive-ins for Ravenna, the Mid City and the (newer?) Midway, capacity 600, owner Vogel Theatres. By the 1969 edition, there was only the Midway. Vogel was listed as the owner through the last MPA list in 1988.
In the Theatre Circuits section of the MPAs, Vogel Theatres is shown as owning the Midway in Ravenna in the 1952-86 editions. Makes a guy wonder why whoever was in charge of that section didn’t tell whoever was in charge of the drive-in list.
The first reference to the Midway in the Akron Beacon Journal that I could find was when it (apparently) first advertised on July 27, 1950, saying it was “now open”. An October 1951 classified ad said to report to “back of Midway Drive-in theater” on Kent-Ravenna Rd. On July 21, 1952, the Midway ad said “tonight only” was “Our Anniversary” and promised a giant fireworks display.
That Maisano who owned the Mayfield Road in the 1980s (at least) is probably at least related to Peter Maisano, its manager in 1972 who was named in that unsuccessful lawsuit.
The Geauga County Maple Leaf wrote in 2016 that John Knepp had owned the drive-in since 1993. “Previous to Knepp, it was owned by the Maisano family.”
Also, in 1993, the original screen was lost to a wind storm. Before or after the sale, I wonder.
Finally, even though everyone says the Mayfield Road opened in 1945, nobody says what day or even that it was the Hazelwood back then. On the other hand, I’ve got no independent verification that it existed before 1950 or so, and the typically accurate Theatre Catalogs don’t have it any earlier. Just sayin'.
A commenter on the Mayfield Road web site says that it used to be known as the Hazelwood. That checks out.
The 1948-50 Theatre Catalog drive-in lists did not include anything from Chardon nor any Hazelwood in the Cleveland territory. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed Chardon’s Hazelwood, Exec: R. H. Manley and H. Horstemeier. (That’s Herbert H. Horstemeier of H.H.H. Enterprises, who bought Coshocton’s Tri-Vale Drive-In in early 1956 just a few months after it opened.) The 1955-56 edition changed the Hazelwood Exec to C. Brinkman and Cooperative Ths. of Ohio.
The Motion Picture Almanac lists in 1952-54 included two drive-ins in Chardon, the Chardon Skyway and the Hazelwood, both owned or booked by the Ohio Theatre Service. In the 1955-61 editions, only the Hazelwood was left, run by V. A. Nelson, then in the 1963-66 editions by Carl Brinkman.
The 1969 MPA still had it as the Hazelwood, but the 1972-76 MPAs listed it as the Mayfield Road, same capacity of 275. It fell off the MPA list in 1978 but was back in 1980-88, owned by Maisano.
It was definitely known as the Mayfield Road in 1972 when it was sued over a carbon monoxide mishap the year before. In 1976, a jury in Cleveland cleared the drive-in of responsibility for the incident.
As of 2017, the Mayfield Road is owned by John Knepp.
Dale R. Morrison’s obituary (Nov. 26, 1997) said that he built the Blue Sky in 1947 and owned it for five years.
The July 7, 1952 Akron Beacon Journal had an article about John Wohler, who ran the Blue Sky at the time. “The nine-acre lot is large enough for 430 cars and provides a large picnic area for those who care to take their supper out.” Earl V. Seitz of Sandusky bought the drive-in “the first of this year from Dale Morrison, who lives next door”.
Seitz still owned the Blue Sky in a Jan. 3, 1961 Beacon Journal article about his indoor Strand, which had shut down a few days earlier.
Gary Grieve owned the Blue Sky in a September 1989 article.
From the Magic City’s About Us page: The Magic City Drive-In was built and opened by Vince Lauter (West Theatre) and Lou Ratener (Montrose Drive-In) in 1953 as a single screen drive-in. It was sold just a few years after opening to Selected Theaters who added a second screen in the mid seventies. Gary Greive purchased it in 1980. Capacity 700 cars. Two screens which both face west. There is a special projection booth at the back of the lot to handle screen 2. Radio sound.
I’m always surprised when a drive-in’s current owners can get its history so wrong. Rivest266’s grand opening ad proves the real date. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it, capacity 400, owned Vincent Lauter.
Could it be that everything in the official history is off by two years? The Daily Times wrote on Feb. 20, 1950, “The sale of the Boyer Drive-In Theatre near Strasburg to Ray McCombs of Jewett and Ward B. Franklin of Cadiz was announced today by the former owner, Rollin Boyer.”
It was still being advertised as Boyer’s Auto Theater for the whole 1950 season. On May 18, 1951, it advertised “Lynn Auto Theatre (Formerly Boyer’s) … Will Open Sat., May 19 With Many Improvements, Including in-a-car Speakers and Ramped Ground.”
I wonder why the current owners of the Lynn keep saying it was open in 1937. Also, it looks like we need to add another name to that official history.
The Daily Times of New Philadelphia OH wrote on May 26, 1939, “Boyer’s Auto Theater, the first of its kind south of Cleveland, will be opened to the public tomorrow evening … by Roland and Karl Boyer”.
On May 4, 1941, The Daily Times wrote, “Rollin Boyer of Strasburg purchased the interest of his brother, Karl Boyer of Navarre, in the Boyer Auto Theatre … and became sole owner of the business. The purchase was part of a settlement … which dismissed Karl Boyer’s suit asking for dissolution of the partnership”.
Kerry Segrave’s indispensable book Drive-In Theaters includes a list of the drive-ins with the earliest start dates he could find (through 1939), while cautioning that it doesn’t prove that number 7 on his list was the 7th drive-in to open. It did not include Boyer’s although it did include a Lynn from 1937 – the Lynn Open Air in Lynn MA.
Segrave’s book also has the earliest known list of drive-ins (from the 1942 Film Daily Year Book) and it includes Boyer’s in Navarre OH. The Theatre Catalog’s first list (1948-49) has “Boyers” in Strausburg (sic), capacity 400, owner Roland Boyer.
The Observer of Red Hook printed a nice history of the Hyde Park in Sept. 2014. It included a copy of the July 28, 1950 Grand Opening ad for the Hyde Park Auto Vision Theatre. The article said it was opened by Sidney Cohen and has been in the family ever since.
The Poughkeepsie Journal’s history (printed Aug. 3, 2011) added that Cohen’s brother-in-law Phil Eisenberg also helped establish the drive-in. “In 1977, we won county rights to show ‘Star Wars’ and it became one our biggest successes,” Fred Cohen recalled. “We ran it for 32 weeks and it grossed as much the first week it showed than we made our entire first year in business.”
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed it as the Auto-Vision, owners P. Eisenberg and S. F. Cohen.
Its listing in the 1951-52 International Motion Picture Almanac called it the “Hyde Park Auto Vision”, capacity 480, owners P. Eisenberg and S. F. Cohen. It stayed that way through the 1966 edition. The IMPA changed the listing to just “Hyde Park” by the 1969 edition. The 1978-88 IMPAs listed only S. F. Cohen as the owner.
Somebody at the Fair Oaks, possibly Mege, got misinformed about the opening date. A 2001 article in the Times Herald-Record said “Then in 1990, (Ron Mege) took on the ruins of Fair Oaks. Built in 1967, it closed in 1981. Mege started with nothing but bare walls. He built the projection equipment, rewired the place, even built one of the screens himself.”
And an Oct. 14, 2017 post on the drive-in’s official Facebook page accompanied photos of replacing its marquee sign. “Sign was put up in 1967 new sign being put up but first old one needed to come down”.
The trouble with that is the 1968 photo of the location on Historic Aerials showing no trace of a drive-in at the time. So it looks like we can trust New York Drive-Ins‘ newspaper ads for the Gala Opening of the All New Fair Oaks in May 1970.
Multiple sources online say the Fair Oaks opened in 1970 as a single screen. The first newspaper ad I could find that mentioned it was in 1972.
In August 1976, owner E.J. Taylor became an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church and planned to seek a tax exemption “as soon as I can do it.”
I don’t think the Fair Oaks ever made it into the International Motion Picture Almanacs' lists. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the Middletown Drive-In, also owned by Taylor.
The Fair Oaks was still open and advertising in September 1981. The story is that it closed after that season.
A May 2000 article in The New York Post said that Ron Mege had “operated the Fair Oaks since 1991”. The Times Herald-Record of Middletown wrote in May 2016 that “Ron Mege, who ran the theater from 1990 to 2013” was returning to restore and reopen the Fair Oaks again.
Between the Mege administrations, there was a year or two of some shenanigans and legal issues. The drive-in was closed in 2014. It reopened in May 2015 thanks to another couple who apparently brought a digital projector with them from a Vermont drive-in. That couple was later sued by the Vermont Attorney General’s office for allegedly “making deceptive representations in connection with a fundraiser.” They denied wrongdoing, and I don’t know the status of that lawsuit.
Mege had apparently added a second screen during his first tour of duty, but the Fair Oaks operated recently with just one active screen. They added a second digital projector in June 2017, and both screens are active again.
One last clue from the MPAs, the owner changed from A. Sacco (1952-59) to T. Sacco (1961-66), back to A. Sacco (1978), then to F. Sacco (1980-88). My guess is that the Laurel’s co-owner in the 1960s became known as Tony, then Frank (the current owner?) took over around 1980.
A Coming Soon ad in The Plain Speaker of Hazleton (June 8, 1950) drew a parallel to horse races at the Mount Laurel Race Track 50 years earlier. (Turns out it was built on the race track site.) Maybe some of these names will help some future researcher. The ad read: The final lap of the race to completion at Laurel Drive-In was in full swing on this warm, summer day. (Tuesday to be exact). Pete Yannes, general contractor and designer is well out in front of the field and setting the pace. Screen Erector Hospidor is lagging behind a little. Plasterman Frank Landro is moving up fast pushing Al Yannes and Ray Marchetti riding two carpenter horses. Plumber Louis Uvino sees an opening and with a gust of speed plugs up the leak, fast chasing Clewell and Vogt who are trailing in 7 and 8 positions because they stopped to admire a roof of huge concession stand. Fedulla is electrifying the crowd of curious well wishers and tradesmen by generating more speed and brightening up the way for Sacco and O'Donnell to see the light of day across the first line painted by Krohn Bros.
The associated miniature golf course opened Sunday, June 11. The associated restaurant opened Friday, June 16. The Laurel itself opened (with a soft opening?) Saturday, June 24, showing Mother Wore Tights.
The Laurel’s official grand opening was Friday, July 14 with The Adventures of Robin Hood. The Plain Speaker wrote that the “500-car outdoor theatre (was) owned by Charles V. O'Donnell and Anthony D. Sacco”. It offered RCA in-car speakers and “an all-metal screen over 60 feet high.”
The 1952 Theatre Catalog said the Laurel was owned by Anthony Sacco. According to its Facebook page, the Laurel has been owned by the Sacco family ever since.
In July 1956, owners O'Donnell and Sacco announced a new sound system, extra speakers, and free mini-golf for drive-in patrons. In October 1959, O'Donnell and Sacco, “trading as Laurel Drive-In Theater” were in court about a theater in Tamaqua. A July 1967 article in the Hazleton Standard-Speaker said the drive-in was still owned by Sacco and O'Donnell.
A windstorm blew the roof off the concession stand and damaged the screen on Sept. 10, 1968, and about 50 speaker posts “were torn from the ground”. Sacco and O'Donnell were mentioned as joint owners. So whatever happened to O'Donnell?
A 2014 photo caption said that Frank “Chic” Sacco opened the Laurel in 1950 and his son, just plain Frank Sacco, is the current owner. But a 1952 article in The Plain Speaker mentioned John “Chic” Sacco who chaired a charity drive. How are these folks related to Anthony?
For the 2017 season, the Laurel still hadn’t converted to digital projection. Based on its Facebook posts, it opened in mid-May, closed in mid-September, and except for two classic horror weekends showed only three movies all season – Baywatch, Wonder Woman, and Transformers: The Last Knight.
As NYozoner implied, the June 21, 1952 issue of Billboard wrote “Harold E. Bell opened his new 250-car Arrow Drive-In near Danville, Pa.” So the true opening date was probably at least a week or two earlier. On Sept. 13, 1952, Billboard noted “New high-intensity lamps were installed at the Arrow Drive-In, Danville, Pa.” so maybe they were needed to expand the viewing field?
The first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanac was the 1955 edition as the Arrow in Danville, capacity 400, owner “Bell & Kipp Bros.” It stayed that way through 1957. The 1959 edition listed it as the Point. For 1961-66, the capacity was 600 and the owner was Harold Bell.
In the 1980-88 MPAs, the Point was listed in Northumberland, owned by Sports Serv, apparently Farruggio’s company.
An October 1, 1957 ad (Hazleton Standard-Sentinel) for the cinematic masterpiece Walk Into Hell mentioned the Point Drive-In in Danville.
An April 2000 article in that paper said Renn was opening a Sunday flea market at the Motor-Vu Drive-In at Nescopeck. “Renn also operates the Point Drive-In, Danville, and features a flea market every Sunday.”
Great history info, Tine263! Thanks for sharing that and the photos! You all should go read the post, which includes info from David Renn, who “is the current owner and has been for the past 27 years” as of September 2015. Which would put his start at 1988 or 1989, which is just a little off from an article I found.
From the Winter 2005-2006 issue of Spectrum magazine, hosted at Archive.org:
The Point Drive-In, on Route 11 near Danville, was one theater to screen adult films.
“There was very low overhead,” says Dave Renn, manager (sic) of the Point. “They needed only one person to run the projector and one for the concession stand – people rarely got out of their cars.”
After about 15 years of screening adult films, the theater abandoned the practice following the 1987 season. “Figures were really good for it [pornographic films],” says Mike Danchak, who managed the Point when the change was made. “The problem was video was taking over,” he says.
… After the “X”-rated era ended, Danchak and owner Joe Farruggio transformed the Point from single to triple screen and added FM stereophonic sound. Danchak says (garbled) to return to a family-friendly environment, something Renn has maintained since taking over in 1990.
… “We tried a flea market a couple of years ago,” Renn says, “but it didn’t work out because the summers were so hot and dry.”
Strange that he wasn’t listed in the 1952 newspaper article, but Billboard magazine reported on April 18, 1953, “Charles Collins and his partners are about ready to open the Pike Drive-In near Montgomery, Pa.” A month later, Billboard wrote that the “600-car Pike” was in operation.
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the owner of the Pike as Charles Collins. In its first listings in the Motion Picture Almanac series, the Pike’s owner in 1955-57 was C. Collins. The owner in 1961 was John Shade.
The Pike fell off the MPA list in 1963-69 but returned by 1972. Listed owners for other MPA editions:
1978-82: Sports Svce.
1984: G. Tomka
1986-88: J. Farruggio
That was probably Joe Farruggio, who owned the nearby Point Drive-In.
Joe McDade is the current owner of the Pike. His LinkedIn page indicates he bought it in March 2006.
The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reported on Oct. 30, 1952, “Three city men have started construction of a modern, 800-car theater on the Montgomery Pike. They are Harry J. Miele, Harry L. Nixon and Benjamin Pulizzi. Mr. Miele said the theater being built at an estimated cost of $135,000, will open about April 1. Clearing work on the land, about 12 acres, started last week.” It opened on April 16, 1953, showing Son of Paleface.
The Progress of Clearfield PA shows ads of the Super 322’s grand opening on May 26, 1950, so that definitely checks out.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Super 322 under Clearfield, capacity 600, Exec: Theodore Grance and Bert Stearn.
Strangely, the 1952-53 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac listed the Super 322 as under construction, owned by F & S Corp., T. Grances, pres. It stayed “Under Construction” in the next edition, then the 1955 edition had it with capacity 600, owner Outdoor Theatre. By 1966, the owner was back to Theo. Grance.
The Super 322 fell off the 1978 MPA list. In the 1980 edition, the owner was Favuzza, which was how it stayed through the final MPA list in 1988.
From the Super 322 history page:
The Super 322 Drive-in Theatre was opened on May 26, 1950. Built by the Theodore Grance Outdoor Theatre Co., ownership changed hands a few times until being bought in the 1970s by Royer and Favuzza from the Bellefonte area. They made improvements including AM radio; the Super 322 was Pennsylvania’s second drive-in to add am AM radio sound system. The removal of external speakers increased capacity to about 650 cars. In the 1980s, FM stereo sound capabilities were added.
After working for over 20 years at the theatre, Bill Frankhouser, together with his wife Barb, purchased the Super 322. They have also made improvements including a new marquee complete with a colorful neon sign. In 2001, the Super 322 Drive-in Theatre was granted eligibility to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania Museum Commission. In 2005, one the original neon signs was back in use after being restored. It features pink neon. The entrance lights have been replaced as has been the entire fence at the back of the field. The ramps have all been graded and re-shaped so you can enjoy the best view of the big screen. The ticket booth was replaced in 2010. The Super 322 opened for the 2014 season in digital, having the projector holding the record for the brightest light on the planet!!
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Moonlight (sic) in Brookville, capacity 300, owner O. A. Holobough.
Its first appearance in the Motion Picture Almanacs was 1955 in Brooksville (sic), the Moonlight (sic) had owner or booker as Harner Theatres. In typical MPA fashion, this information stayed the same, uncorrected through at least the 1972 edition.
By the 1976 edition, the town had been fixed as Brookville, but the inaccurate drive-in spelling persisted. In the 1978-84 editions, the owner was listed as R. Neff. The drive-in was gone by the 1986 edition.
ExploreClarion.com wrote that Jim Lipuma “purchased the Moonlite in Brookville after the flood in 1996 and opened it on May 2, 1997.” That flood was on July 19, 1996 when heavy rains caused a Brookville impoundment to give way.
I uploaded clippings from the Brookville Jeffersonian Democrat that show that this Moonlite opened on July 2, 1952, showing Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. More from that newspaper:
In January 1953, the Rose township board of supervisors sued the Moon-Light (sic) over a hastily added tax. J. E. Hollobaugh, described as the drive-in’s owner and operator, had refused to pay. In August 1955, the drive-in won the lawsuit.
In November 1954, “Cinemascope has been displayed successfully at the Moonlite Drive-In”.
In April 1955, strong winds or lightning (?) knocked over the screen for “the second time in less than a month”. The concrete screen supports had just been repaired from the first collapse. “The Moon-Lite (sic) Drive-In will begin showings tomorrow night with a temporary screen, but plans are to erect an entire new structure of three walls to provide additional supports.”
im Lipuma purchased and reopened the Moonlite in 1996. He eventually converted to digital projection in November 2015.
There’s a great short called The Man Behind the Screen, shot in 2015. It’s all about the Moonlite and Lipuma in particular.
In Sean T. Posey’s book Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, he writes that the Elm Road was built by Stephen Hreno, who had thought to build a roller skating rink before visiting Rainbow Gardens in Pennsylvania. “The town had a skating rink and a drive-in theater,” his son Robert recalled. “We went to look at the parking lots on a Saturday night and there were a lot more cars at the drive-in than there were at the skating rink.”
The drive-in has stayed in the family ever since. Stephen passed away in 1960, then Robert and his mother ran the business. They added a second screen in 1979 and switched to radio sound in 1983. The Elm Road’s third screen went up in May 2005.
Robert and his family installed digital projection in May 2013. By that point, his daughter and son-in-law, Sheri and Mark Hocevar, were running the Elm Road.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Skyway as capacity 300, owner Ohio Th. Service and H. Horstemeier. The 1955-56 edition added R.H. Hanley.
The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs showed the owner or booker as Ohio Theatre Service Corp. The 1978-88 editions listed S. Doane as the owner.
Other records suggest that Stanley Doane, president of the Doane Theater Corporation, owns the Skyway.
According to Vindy.com, on May 9, 1977: Trumbull County deputy sheriffs raid the Skyway Drive-In theater in Warren Township, confiscate an X-rated movie, Russ Meyer’s “Up,” and arrest the theater’s owner, Steve Doane. Sheriff Richard Jakmas said the theater has been under investigation since January, when a complaint was filed.
The May 6, 2005 Daily Kent Stater said the Midway was built in 1949 by Jack Vogel, then Knepp bought the theater from Vogel in 1990. I’m not so sure about those dates.
That Wikipedia entry said Knepp was the one who added the second screen. The first time the Akron Beacon Journal called it the Midway Twin was in a June 1989 traffic accident article. HistoricAerials.com shows a second screen in place by 1994.
The Akron Beacon Journal of Aug. 6, 1997 said the two-screened Midway’s owner was “held in trust by Larry Koerber, leased to John Knepp”. As of 2017, Knepp still owns the Midway.
The Wikipedia entry for the Midway says (as I type) that it was built in 1955. That’s wrong. It probably opened on July 21, 1950, and was definitely open a week later.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the Midway as owned by Paul Vogel, capacity 525.
The 1952-53 Motion Picture Almanac showed the “Mid City Drive-In” in Ravenna, capacity 400, “owner or booker” Ohio Theatre Service Corp. The 1953-63 MPAs changed only the “owner or booker”, to Co-operative.
The 1966 MPA listed two drive-ins for Ravenna, the Mid City and the (newer?) Midway, capacity 600, owner Vogel Theatres. By the 1969 edition, there was only the Midway. Vogel was listed as the owner through the last MPA list in 1988.
In the Theatre Circuits section of the MPAs, Vogel Theatres is shown as owning the Midway in Ravenna in the 1952-86 editions. Makes a guy wonder why whoever was in charge of that section didn’t tell whoever was in charge of the drive-in list.
The first reference to the Midway in the Akron Beacon Journal that I could find was when it (apparently) first advertised on July 27, 1950, saying it was “now open”. An October 1951 classified ad said to report to “back of Midway Drive-in theater” on Kent-Ravenna Rd. On July 21, 1952, the Midway ad said “tonight only” was “Our Anniversary” and promised a giant fireworks display.
That Maisano who owned the Mayfield Road in the 1980s (at least) is probably at least related to Peter Maisano, its manager in 1972 who was named in that unsuccessful lawsuit.
The Geauga County Maple Leaf wrote in 2016 that John Knepp had owned the drive-in since 1993. “Previous to Knepp, it was owned by the Maisano family.”
Also, in 1993, the original screen was lost to a wind storm. Before or after the sale, I wonder.
Finally, even though everyone says the Mayfield Road opened in 1945, nobody says what day or even that it was the Hazelwood back then. On the other hand, I’ve got no independent verification that it existed before 1950 or so, and the typically accurate Theatre Catalogs don’t have it any earlier. Just sayin'.
A commenter on the Mayfield Road web site says that it used to be known as the Hazelwood. That checks out.
The 1948-50 Theatre Catalog drive-in lists did not include anything from Chardon nor any Hazelwood in the Cleveland territory. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed Chardon’s Hazelwood, Exec: R. H. Manley and H. Horstemeier. (That’s Herbert H. Horstemeier of H.H.H. Enterprises, who bought Coshocton’s Tri-Vale Drive-In in early 1956 just a few months after it opened.) The 1955-56 edition changed the Hazelwood Exec to C. Brinkman and Cooperative Ths. of Ohio.
The Motion Picture Almanac lists in 1952-54 included two drive-ins in Chardon, the Chardon Skyway and the Hazelwood, both owned or booked by the Ohio Theatre Service. In the 1955-61 editions, only the Hazelwood was left, run by V. A. Nelson, then in the 1963-66 editions by Carl Brinkman.
The 1969 MPA still had it as the Hazelwood, but the 1972-76 MPAs listed it as the Mayfield Road, same capacity of 275. It fell off the MPA list in 1978 but was back in 1980-88, owned by Maisano.
It was definitely known as the Mayfield Road in 1972 when it was sued over a carbon monoxide mishap the year before. In 1976, a jury in Cleveland cleared the drive-in of responsibility for the incident.
As of 2017, the Mayfield Road is owned by John Knepp.
Dale R. Morrison’s obituary (Nov. 26, 1997) said that he built the Blue Sky in 1947 and owned it for five years.
The July 7, 1952 Akron Beacon Journal had an article about John Wohler, who ran the Blue Sky at the time. “The nine-acre lot is large enough for 430 cars and provides a large picnic area for those who care to take their supper out.” Earl V. Seitz of Sandusky bought the drive-in “the first of this year from Dale Morrison, who lives next door”.
Seitz still owned the Blue Sky in a Jan. 3, 1961 Beacon Journal article about his indoor Strand, which had shut down a few days earlier.
Gary Grieve owned the Blue Sky in a September 1989 article.
From the Magic City’s About Us page: The Magic City Drive-In was built and opened by Vince Lauter (West Theatre) and Lou Ratener (Montrose Drive-In) in 1953 as a single screen drive-in. It was sold just a few years after opening to Selected Theaters who added a second screen in the mid seventies. Gary Greive purchased it in 1980. Capacity 700 cars. Two screens which both face west. There is a special projection booth at the back of the lot to handle screen 2. Radio sound.
I’m always surprised when a drive-in’s current owners can get its history so wrong. Rivest266’s grand opening ad proves the real date. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it, capacity 400, owned Vincent Lauter.
Could it be that everything in the official history is off by two years? The Daily Times wrote on Feb. 20, 1950, “The sale of the Boyer Drive-In Theatre near Strasburg to Ray McCombs of Jewett and Ward B. Franklin of Cadiz was announced today by the former owner, Rollin Boyer.”
It was still being advertised as Boyer’s Auto Theater for the whole 1950 season. On May 18, 1951, it advertised “Lynn Auto Theatre (Formerly Boyer’s) … Will Open Sat., May 19 With Many Improvements, Including in-a-car Speakers and Ramped Ground.”
I wonder why the current owners of the Lynn keep saying it was open in 1937. Also, it looks like we need to add another name to that official history.
The Daily Times of New Philadelphia OH wrote on May 26, 1939, “Boyer’s Auto Theater, the first of its kind south of Cleveland, will be opened to the public tomorrow evening … by Roland and Karl Boyer”.
On May 4, 1941, The Daily Times wrote, “Rollin Boyer of Strasburg purchased the interest of his brother, Karl Boyer of Navarre, in the Boyer Auto Theatre … and became sole owner of the business. The purchase was part of a settlement … which dismissed Karl Boyer’s suit asking for dissolution of the partnership”.
Kerry Segrave’s indispensable book Drive-In Theaters includes a list of the drive-ins with the earliest start dates he could find (through 1939), while cautioning that it doesn’t prove that number 7 on his list was the 7th drive-in to open. It did not include Boyer’s although it did include a Lynn from 1937 – the Lynn Open Air in Lynn MA.
Segrave’s book also has the earliest known list of drive-ins (from the 1942 Film Daily Year Book) and it includes Boyer’s in Navarre OH. The Theatre Catalog’s first list (1948-49) has “Boyers” in Strausburg (sic), capacity 400, owner Roland Boyer.