The construction of the Theatre started in the summer of 1935. In the spring of 1937 the Theatre opened as BOYER’S AUTO THEATRE. The Theatre was built by Andy Thompson and Roland Boyer. A Restaurant, Gas Station, Golf Driving Range and Arcade were also located on the Theatre grounds prior to the Theatre’s opening. The complex was owned and operated by Roland Boyer during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
In the spring of 1948, Ward Franklin and his son-in-law Ray McCombs purchased the Theatre. Changing the name, in honor of McCombs daughter, Judy LYNN, to the Lynn Auto Theatre. In the mid 50’s, the Restaurant, Gas Station, Arcade, and Golf Range were closed.
In the fall of 1957 Richard R. Reding and his son Richard W.“Dick” and his wife Eunice “Abby” purchased the Theatre. In 1970 Rick joined his Mom and Dad in the family owned business. During the 70’s and 80’s Dick, Abby and Rick owned and operated twelve Theatre’s in NE Ohio. The Drive-In Theatre’s are now operated each season by Rick’s two sons Rich and Jamie, making it a four generation business!
In 1967 a second screen was added along with the traditional Speaker Post Sound System to make the Theatre a Twin Drive-In. Most resent in 1996, new Stereo Audio Soundheads, two Digital Dolby FM Stereo Transmitters and Audio Boards were installed in both Theatres allowing patrons to enjoy First Run Movies, in HD Stereo, from their vehicles radio. In 2001 both Theatre’s Projection Systems were overhauled and refurbished. For the 2002 season both screen towers were painted and new counters were installed in the Concession Stand and in 2005 a “Classic Mammoth Retro Neon Marquee” was installed!
In 2012 we installed a new digital projector, server and sound processor in screen 1 projector room. In 2013 we completed our digital conversion with an identical digital projector, server and sound installed in screen 2 projection room.
The Steubenville Herald Star, Feb. 28, 1969: The Steubenville-Wintersville area is getting a new drive-in theater. Work has been started on the outdoor movie center … the theater is being planned and constructed by the Skirball Investment Co., a Cleveland based operation … the theater will be named “the Winter Drive-In”.
Its Facebook page said the Winter opened August 29, 1969.
The Winter didn’t appear in the International Motion Picture Almanacs through 1976. The 1978 IMPA had it, capacity 1000, owned by Skirball, who stayed the owner through the final list in 1988. The IMPAs showed it with two screens by 1980.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it owned by Charles Pittinger and Louis Hanna.
The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed it only with with Hanna Theatre Service. In the 1978-82 editions, after ownership info returned, it was Anas Weir. The Hilltop was gone by the 1984 MPA.
In Brian Butko’s book Greetings from the Lincoln Highway, he wrote of the Hilltop (just a short detour away), “The one-screener opened in 1950 and was closed from 1984 to 1989.”
The Weirton Daily Times wrote last year that “the Hilltop Drive-In has been under the same family ownership since Joe Danko bought it in 1988. Danko passed the ownership on to his daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Harry Beaver, of Rogers in 2014.” Danko was the long-time projectionist, and he kept a ledger of every film shown there since 1951.
After being closed for most of 2016, Katie found a 35mm distributor so she could reopen for a few weekends. Then somehow during the off-season, it found a digital projector.
Although it was mentioned in a February 1959 newspaper ad, The Pioneer wasn’t listed in the 1959 edition of the International Motion Picture Almanac. It was there in 1961, capacity 600, owner Chester Demarsh.
The Butler Eagle wrote in August 2014 that the estate of Chester Demarsh still owned the land, and it had quotes from Clint DeMarsh, vice president of Epic Theaters, the Florida-based company that owned the Pioneer. Chester’s obituary (he died Christmas 2012) said that Clint was one of his sons. It also said that “After the war in 1947, (Chester) helped his dad convert part of the (family) farm into a drive-in movie theater.” Don’t know how that fits into a circa-1958 opening timeline for the Pioneer.
I guess this was part of a chain. John Ridilla, described elsewhere as a real estate guy from Latrobe, opened the Hi-Way Drive-In in Latrobe in 1950. In February 1951, Billboard magazine noted the incorporation of Hi-Way Theaters, Inc. in Florida (!), with principals Bruno Ferrari Sr., Bruno Ferrari Jr., John Slate, and John M. Ridilla. Ferrari (Sr?) and Ridilla had built at least two apartment complexes by then.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog shows the Hi-Way, capacity 300, Exec: Thomas Woods, and John M. Ridilla. Ditto for the 1955-56 edition.
THe 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Hi-Way with Owner or Booker as Hanna Theatre Service. For the 1961-66 editions, that changed to J. M. Ridilla. It was missing from the 1978 MPA, then the 1980-82 editions listed it as owned by Cinemette, capacity 500.
For the 1984-88 MPAs, the spell-checker just didn’t care. The Hiway was listed on Roud 1 in Carrolton, owner R. Glaus. Was that a young Rick Glaus, since owner of the Twin Hi-Way in Robinson and the Dependable in Moon?
The Hi-Way is currently owned by Donald Gawel, who also owns the Bar-Ann Drive-In in Portage. The 2007 obituary of Diane Radwanski Gawel, his late wife, said she was “Co-owner of Hi-Way Drive In Theater in Carrolltown and the Bar-Ann Drive In Theater in Portage and previous operator of the Silver Drive In Theater in Johnstown for 12 years.”
From TribLive.com, June 9, 2011, “Nearly three months after the plan was proposed, Unity supervisors on Wednesday gave developers the go-ahead to demolish the landmark Hi-Way Drive-In along Route 30 to make way for a CVS pharmacy. …
“Lee and Kathy Zimmerman, who operated the 730-car drive-in until its final showing last fall also operated a popular flea market at the location every Sunday, … The drive-in was owned by Latrobe-based Dill Construction Co. and leased on a year-to-year basis by the Zimmermans.
“In May, P. Richard Ridilla, owner of the drive-in and the property it has sat on since 1950, wrote a letter to township officials indicating … that the Zimmermans said the drive-in and flea market have not been profitable for some time.”
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Bar-Ann, capacity 300, Exec: George Wasko, and Stearn-Hanna Co-Operative Th Serv.
Its first appearance in the International Motion Picture Almanac was the 1956 edition when it was listed as simply “Drive-In”. In 1957-66, it was the Bar An (sic), Geo. Wasko, Hanna Theatre Serv., capacity 276.
The IMPA didn’t fix the name until 1978 when the Bar Ann was still owned by G. Wasko. It stayed that way through the final list in 1988.
The drive-in was advertised in 1985-87 in the Altoona Mirror as Wasko’s Bar-Ann. A July 1985 article said that Wasko had owned the drive-in “since its construction in 1955.”
The June 30, 1991 Altoona Mirror, found at NewspaperArchive.com said that the Bar-Ann had recently reopened “after a three-year hiatus”. The article said that George Wasko named the drive-in after his two daughters, Barbara and Peggy Ann. The original idea came to him “in 1955 after a vacation trip”. He had installed radio sound “during the theater’s most recent season”.
The article continued: The Bar-Ann itself was in limbo for three years. “I had a bout with cancer,” said Wasko, who said he has since received a clean bill of health. And with the return of health came pleas from townspeople to restore nighttime entertainment to Portage, according to Wasko’s wife, Peg.
Wasko’s 1995 obituary said that he owned and operated the Bar-Ann from 1954 to 1994, as well as an assortment of other businesses.
When the Bar-Ann had a flap over its sign in early 2014, its owner was Don Gawel, who spoke through the drive-in’s manager Dustin Grush. Once that was cleared up, it converted to digital projection.
As of Labor Day weekend 2017, the Bar-Ann is still going strong.
Aha! The July 8, 1950 Billboard wrote: Maurice Fruhlinger, for many years manager of the Met Theater, Baltimore, for the Schwaber Circuit, will manage the soon-to-be opened Silver Drive-In at Winber (sic), Pa.
A 1948 wedding announcement said that Fruhlinger, already managing the Met, was from Windber but would move to Baltimore. Whatever brought him back home two years later might make an interesting story.
I’m starting to believe the assertion that the Silver opened in 1950, as is painted on a mural on-site. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it under Windber, Exec: Maurice Fruhlinger and Louis Hanna, Hanna Th. Service, capacity 300. The 1952-53 Motion Picture Catalog listed it under Scalp Level, Hanna Theatre Service, 300.
Also, a July 1975 newspaper ad showed that the Silver was already a “CAC” (County Amusement Co.?) theater at that point.
The Silver was listed in the 1961-66 International Motion Picture Almanacs, capacity 300, owner or booker Bud Thomas Cir. It persisted there through at least 1976. The 1978-88 editions listed it in Windber PA, owner County Amus., capacity 400.
A 2008 article in The Tribune-Democrat said that “The reopening of the Silver Drive-In in 2005 fulfilled Rick Rosko’s dream of owning a first-class outdoor theater.” Which means that the Silver was closed for a while? Also, several Trib-Dem articles referenced a 1950 opening for the Silver, but I’d guess they were confusing it with the Westmont, which closed in the early 1960s after the Silver opened.
From The Daily Courier of Connellsville, June 20 1947: The Ruthorn Drive-In Theatre, the first in Westmoreland county, opened Thursday night. Cars came from all points of Westmoreland and Fayette counties to witness and experience the newest type of entertainment.
Owned and operated by Donald J. Ruth of Mount Pleasant and R. M. Thorn of Scottdale, the theater is located midway between Pennsville and Mount Pleasant. … Plenty of ushers were on hand to escort each car to its “seat” and all cars are escorted out after the show to avoid a jam at the exit.
That was Robert M. Thorn, whose March 18 1966 obituary said he was the former partner in the “Everygreen” Drive-In. Which means that the original name is a portmanteau of the two owners' names, and therefore suggests that Ruth might have been by himself when inspired to change the drive-in’s name.
The 1948-50 Theatre Catalogs listed the Ruthorn in Scottdale, owner Donald J. Ruth, capacity 300. The Catalogs later noticed the name change to Evergreen.
The 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs also had the Evergreen in Scottdale, the “owner or booker” was Co-op, capacity 400. By the 1966 edition, the owner had changed to S-Hanna Co-op Thea. Serv. The 1978-84 editions had the owner as H. Michael. The Evergreen fell off the MPA list by 1986, never to return. Considering that one family owned it during that period, I wonder if it was ever closed.
Its web site currently has its account suspended and its official Facebook page didn’t have any posts for four years, but it does appear that the Silver was active in 2017. The Tribune-Democrat mentioned it in May as one place to watch summer blockbusters, and the Silver added a See You In The Spring post to Facebook in October.
From the Connellsville Daily Courier, June 14, 1950: Anna Marie Fasson, 19, of Connellsville, R. D., was the winner of the contest to name the new drive-in theatre at Morrell under sponsorship of the Morrell Amusement Company. The name chosen for which Miss Fasson will receive a price was “The Comet.” It is planned to open the theatre within the next few weeks.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Comet in Morrell, Exec: A. C. DeMichelis, Strand Th., Dunbar, and Louis Hanna, Hanna Th. Service, Pittsburgh, capacity 300. 1955-56 edition listed the Comet in Connellsville, Exec: Ted Laskey and Moore Th. Serv.
The 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Comet in Morrell, owner Hanna Thea. Ser., capacity 300. It was gone from the 1961 edition. For the 1963-66 editions, the owner had changed to Ted Laskey. It stayed in Morrell through 1976, then the 1978-88 editions put it in Connellsville, owner Monessen Amu., capacity 425.
A July 1967 article announcing extensive renovations said it was part of the Manos Theatre chain. Again on July 28, 1971 it held a “grand opening tonight to celebrate its new, bright look.” At that point, it had a panoramic screen an new marquee.
Ficks opened in April 1949. Its ad in the April 22, 1949 Uniontown Morning Herald said to “watch for opening of the district’s newest most modern constructed drive-in”. Its first now showing ad was Tuesday April 26, “One Sunday Afternoon”. For some reason, the current Brownsville site says the original box office was erected in June 1949.
Ficks Drive-In Theatre, Inc. filed public notice of incorporation for February 9, 1950.
The Daily Courier of Connellsville wrote on July 3, 1951: I. J. Ficks and Margaret B. A. Moody were deeded nine and a half acres of ground with buildings along Route 40 by the Ficks Drive-In Theatre, Inc. That would be Isadore J. Ficks.
In March 1954, I. J. Ficks announced purchase of the Moody interests in the Ficks Drive-In theater.
The Brownsville, formerly Ficks, reopened for the season in March 1959, now owned by Louis Stuler and Durward Coe, the pair who started the Sky View a few miles down the road in Carmichaels.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed “Fick’s” in East Brownsville, Exec: Moody and Baker. The 1955-56 Catalog listed “Fick’s” in Brownsville, Exec: Basie and Laskey Entr., and F. D. Moore Th. Serv.
Ficks is listed under Brownsville in the 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs, capacity 400, owned by Moody & Dickinson. For the 1961-66 editions, it became the Brownsville DI, owned by Louis Stuler & Darwin Coe. It fell off the MPA list in 1978, never to return.
The 1993 photo at HistoricAerials.com shows only two screens, so the third must have come after that. The 1969 photo shows that the main screen used to be northwest of the concession stand.
Every anecdotal source says this drive-in opened in 1946, but they’re all wrong. The Jan. 25 1951 Evening Standard of nearby Unionville wrote about a lawsuit against the drive-in’s owners that “when the theater was opened in 1948, reddog and earth was heaped up near the headwaters of a brook”. Which explains what the Theatre Catalog wrote.
The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog listed Carmichaels Drive-In as under construction, Exec: Lou Stuler, Stuler and Coe. Carmichaels was in the regular drive-in list in the 1949-50 edition. By the 1952 edition of the Catalog, its name had changed to the Skyview, still owned by L. Stuler and Duard Coe.
In the newspapers in nearby Unionville, its first mention was in a February 1950 traffic accident report as “the Drive-In theater”. It was advertising in those papers by summer, calling itself the Sky View with a small gap between words. By the 1960s, the ads were running as the Sky-View with a hyphen.
In 1960, the Brownsville Telegraph mentioned that “Lewis Stuler and Durwood Coe” owned the “Skyview”.
The Pittsburgh Press ran an obituary for Louis S. Stuler after he died of a heart attack at the age of 47 on August 10, 1961. “Together with Duard Coe of Waynesburg, Mr. Stuler owned and operated the Sky View and Brownsville Drive-In Theaters”.
The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Skyview Auto (later just the Skyview) as owned by Stuler & Coe. Capacity was originally 225, but doubled to 450 by 1963. When ownership info returned for the 1978-82 editions, capacity was 400 and the owner was Cinemette Corporation of America, based in Pittsburgh. In the 1984-88 editions, the owner changed to G & G Theaters, Inc., which incorporated in 1963 and is now inactive.
There’s another name that’s not mentioned often enough, it appears. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog showed the Central in Blackwood VA, owners H. Kiser and R. Lodge, capacity 150.
The 1953-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Central under Blackwood VA, owner Russell Large, capacity 150. In the 1978-88 editions, after ownership information resumed, the owner was R. Kiser, capacity 100.
Was that co-owner Large or Lodge? Historically the Catalog had fewer errors, so my guess would be Lodge. Update: Except I’m wrong. On Facebook, the reply I received was “the original owners were the Kiser family and the Large family.” It’s the rare case when the MPA was right and the Catalog wasn’t.
The Kingsport Times-News wrote that the Central opened “in 1952 by the Kiser family of Wise County”.
“Buddy and Paula (Herron) bought the Central in 2005 from Jeff Kiser following the death of his mother, Agnes Kiser Lay, the Kiser family’s much loved drive-in darling who operated the Central for many if not most of those years since it opened in 1952.”
Multiple reports say the Central has a very nice arcade. This YouTube video from July 2017 includes a glimpse plus some drone footage with a train passing by across the highway from the screen.
Also, the 25 Drive In Auto Theatre is up to three screens now. A photo copyright 2015 still showed two, and a July 2016 photo showed “Now 3 screens”, so I’d guess it was an early 2016 addition.
On a probably unrelated note, the McCutcheons took a couple of months off at the beginning of this year. They told the Greenwood Index-Journal, “since 2010, we’ve been open 52 weeks out of the year and it’s hard to visit people when you only have two days off.”
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the Monetta as owned by Sam Bogo, capacity 230.
In the 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs, the Monetta was owned by Twin City Amusement Co., capacity 200. It was off the list for 1969-76.
In the 1978 edition, the owner was J. Warren, capacity 210, which is how it stayed through the 1988 edition, again showing that the MPA didn’t always notice change.
Richard and Lisa Boaz added a second screen in 2005, and as noted above, a third screen in 2011.
There was a lightning strike June 18, 2017 that knocked out all three screens. They were all up and running by June 22.
In 2014, some locals were trying to find a way to save the mural. The story was in The Post and Courier of Charleston.
Tex Roberts, whose uncle helped create it, was leading the effort, and “the owner, Keith Kinard, also is willing to work to save the screen, even going so far as to subdivide his land.”
Based on what I see in a May 2106 Google Street View and the 2017 aerial view, I’d guess it was torn down. :(
The 1980-82 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Plaza 21 Drive-in in Beaufort, owned by P. Trask, capacity 300. (There’s a Yelp page that still calls it the Plaza 21. And Google Maps calls the highway in front of the drive-in the Trask Parkway. Hmm.) For the 1984-88 editions, it had the Hiway 21, owned by J. Warren.
The Island News wrote that the drive-in closed in 2002. Bonnie and Joe Barth bought the Highway 21 and reopened it in 2003, per The Post and Courier of Charleston.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs had the Family owned by W. P. Riggins, capacity 300.
The 1952-61 editions of the Motion Picture Almanac listed the Family Drive-In in Jessup (sic) with owner W. P. Reggins (sic), capacity 300. It was off the list in the 1963-66 editions.
The Family was back in Jesup in the 1969-76 MPAs with a capacity of 350. When ownership info returned in the 1978 MPA, its name had changed to the Jesup, the owner was Cockfield, and capacity was 250. In 1980-88, the Jesup Twin was owned by Floyd Theatres of Lakeland FL.
The Florida Times-Union wrote in 1999 that “had been closed for 10 years when (Tim) Cockfield bought it in 1970. In 1975, Cockfield ‘twinned it,’ turning the back two rows around and adding two more.” It also said at the time that “Cockfield, 72, works behind the counter before the movie starts” and “Tim Cockfield Jr. … is poised to take over when the time comes.”
In 2012, the Savannah Morning News quoted Ward P. Riggins III, grandson of the original builder, who said “It’s been here since the 1940s.”
“There was only a short time when it wasn’t operational,” Riggins says. “My dad, who is 87, said they built the Jesup Strand Theatre in 1924 in the center of town. In 1948, they built the Jesup Family Drive-in.” … When Riggins’ grandfather got sick, Ward Jr. continued the business.
Based on the helpful but old slide show linked by Drive-In 54:
Boyer’s Auto Theatre was open in 1937.
Dick and Abby Reding were owners in the 1980s. They were pictured talking with son Rick and grandson Jamie.
A tornado blew down the screen in Spring 1960. It was replaced by a “new Selby Screen”. Abby Reding is pictured with the damaged screen.
The marquee was smashed by a semi in 1992.
Richard Wallace “Dick” Reding / Owner of the Lynn Auto Theatre from 1957 to 2004 / At age 93 he was the oldest Drive-in Theatre owner in the world!
Manager Rick Reding retired in 1999, passing the torch to his two sons.
The Lynn is now operated by Dick’s grandsons, Rich & Jamie, making it a four-generation business.
Another semi hit the marquee in 2004, but the damage looked less severe.
From the Lynn’s History page:
The construction of the Theatre started in the summer of 1935. In the spring of 1937 the Theatre opened as BOYER’S AUTO THEATRE. The Theatre was built by Andy Thompson and Roland Boyer. A Restaurant, Gas Station, Golf Driving Range and Arcade were also located on the Theatre grounds prior to the Theatre’s opening. The complex was owned and operated by Roland Boyer during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
In the spring of 1948, Ward Franklin and his son-in-law Ray McCombs purchased the Theatre. Changing the name, in honor of McCombs daughter, Judy LYNN, to the Lynn Auto Theatre. In the mid 50’s, the Restaurant, Gas Station, Arcade, and Golf Range were closed.
In the fall of 1957 Richard R. Reding and his son Richard W.“Dick” and his wife Eunice “Abby” purchased the Theatre. In 1970 Rick joined his Mom and Dad in the family owned business. During the 70’s and 80’s Dick, Abby and Rick owned and operated twelve Theatre’s in NE Ohio. The Drive-In Theatre’s are now operated each season by Rick’s two sons Rich and Jamie, making it a four generation business!
In 1967 a second screen was added along with the traditional Speaker Post Sound System to make the Theatre a Twin Drive-In. Most resent in 1996, new Stereo Audio Soundheads, two Digital Dolby FM Stereo Transmitters and Audio Boards were installed in both Theatres allowing patrons to enjoy First Run Movies, in HD Stereo, from their vehicles radio. In 2001 both Theatre’s Projection Systems were overhauled and refurbished. For the 2002 season both screen towers were painted and new counters were installed in the Concession Stand and in 2005 a “Classic Mammoth Retro Neon Marquee” was installed!
In 2012 we installed a new digital projector, server and sound processor in screen 1 projector room. In 2013 we completed our digital conversion with an identical digital projector, server and sound installed in screen 2 projection room.
The Steubenville Herald Star, Feb. 28, 1969: The Steubenville-Wintersville area is getting a new drive-in theater. Work has been started on the outdoor movie center … the theater is being planned and constructed by the Skirball Investment Co., a Cleveland based operation … the theater will be named “the Winter Drive-In”.
Its Facebook page said the Winter opened August 29, 1969.
The Winter didn’t appear in the International Motion Picture Almanacs through 1976. The 1978 IMPA had it, capacity 1000, owned by Skirball, who stayed the owner through the final list in 1988. The IMPAs showed it with two screens by 1980.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it owned by Charles Pittinger and Louis Hanna.
The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed it only with with Hanna Theatre Service. In the 1978-82 editions, after ownership info returned, it was Anas Weir. The Hilltop was gone by the 1984 MPA.
In Brian Butko’s book Greetings from the Lincoln Highway, he wrote of the Hilltop (just a short detour away), “The one-screener opened in 1950 and was closed from 1984 to 1989.”
The Weirton Daily Times wrote last year that “the Hilltop Drive-In has been under the same family ownership since Joe Danko bought it in 1988. Danko passed the ownership on to his daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Harry Beaver, of Rogers in 2014.” Danko was the long-time projectionist, and he kept a ledger of every film shown there since 1951.
After being closed for most of 2016, Katie found a 35mm distributor so she could reopen for a few weekends. Then somehow during the off-season, it found a digital projector.
Although it was mentioned in a February 1959 newspaper ad, The Pioneer wasn’t listed in the 1959 edition of the International Motion Picture Almanac. It was there in 1961, capacity 600, owner Chester Demarsh.
The Butler Eagle wrote in August 2014 that the estate of Chester Demarsh still owned the land, and it had quotes from Clint DeMarsh, vice president of Epic Theaters, the Florida-based company that owned the Pioneer. Chester’s obituary (he died Christmas 2012) said that Clint was one of his sons. It also said that “After the war in 1947, (Chester) helped his dad convert part of the (family) farm into a drive-in movie theater.” Don’t know how that fits into a circa-1958 opening timeline for the Pioneer.
The Woodland was advertising itself “between Apollo and Leechburg” in May 1949.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it as Lee’s Woodland, Exec: Harold A. Lee.
I guess this was part of a chain. John Ridilla, described elsewhere as a real estate guy from Latrobe, opened the Hi-Way Drive-In in Latrobe in 1950. In February 1951, Billboard magazine noted the incorporation of Hi-Way Theaters, Inc. in Florida (!), with principals Bruno Ferrari Sr., Bruno Ferrari Jr., John Slate, and John M. Ridilla. Ferrari (Sr?) and Ridilla had built at least two apartment complexes by then.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog shows the Hi-Way, capacity 300, Exec: Thomas Woods, and John M. Ridilla. Ditto for the 1955-56 edition.
THe 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Hi-Way with Owner or Booker as Hanna Theatre Service. For the 1961-66 editions, that changed to J. M. Ridilla. It was missing from the 1978 MPA, then the 1980-82 editions listed it as owned by Cinemette, capacity 500.
For the 1984-88 MPAs, the spell-checker just didn’t care. The Hiway was listed on Roud 1 in Carrolton, owner R. Glaus. Was that a young Rick Glaus, since owner of the Twin Hi-Way in Robinson and the Dependable in Moon?
The Hi-Way is currently owned by Donald Gawel, who also owns the Bar-Ann Drive-In in Portage. The 2007 obituary of Diane Radwanski Gawel, his late wife, said she was “Co-owner of Hi-Way Drive In Theater in Carrolltown and the Bar-Ann Drive In Theater in Portage and previous operator of the Silver Drive In Theater in Johnstown for 12 years.”
From TribLive.com, June 9, 2011, “Nearly three months after the plan was proposed, Unity supervisors on Wednesday gave developers the go-ahead to demolish the landmark Hi-Way Drive-In along Route 30 to make way for a CVS pharmacy. …
“Lee and Kathy Zimmerman, who operated the 730-car drive-in until its final showing last fall also operated a popular flea market at the location every Sunday, … The drive-in was owned by Latrobe-based Dill Construction Co. and leased on a year-to-year basis by the Zimmermans.
“In May, P. Richard Ridilla, owner of the drive-in and the property it has sat on since 1950, wrote a letter to township officials indicating … that the Zimmermans said the drive-in and flea market have not been profitable for some time.”
The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog listed the Bar-Ann, capacity 300, Exec: George Wasko, and Stearn-Hanna Co-Operative Th Serv.
Its first appearance in the International Motion Picture Almanac was the 1956 edition when it was listed as simply “Drive-In”. In 1957-66, it was the Bar An (sic), Geo. Wasko, Hanna Theatre Serv., capacity 276.
The IMPA didn’t fix the name until 1978 when the Bar Ann was still owned by G. Wasko. It stayed that way through the final list in 1988.
The drive-in was advertised in 1985-87 in the Altoona Mirror as Wasko’s Bar-Ann. A July 1985 article said that Wasko had owned the drive-in “since its construction in 1955.”
The June 30, 1991 Altoona Mirror, found at NewspaperArchive.com said that the Bar-Ann had recently reopened “after a three-year hiatus”. The article said that George Wasko named the drive-in after his two daughters, Barbara and Peggy Ann. The original idea came to him “in 1955 after a vacation trip”. He had installed radio sound “during the theater’s most recent season”.
The article continued: The Bar-Ann itself was in limbo for three years. “I had a bout with cancer,” said Wasko, who said he has since received a clean bill of health. And with the return of health came pleas from townspeople to restore nighttime entertainment to Portage, according to Wasko’s wife, Peg.
Wasko’s 1995 obituary said that he owned and operated the Bar-Ann from 1954 to 1994, as well as an assortment of other businesses.
When the Bar-Ann had a flap over its sign in early 2014, its owner was Don Gawel, who spoke through the drive-in’s manager Dustin Grush. Once that was cleared up, it converted to digital projection.
As of Labor Day weekend 2017, the Bar-Ann is still going strong.
Aha! The July 8, 1950 Billboard wrote: Maurice Fruhlinger, for many years manager of the Met Theater, Baltimore, for the Schwaber Circuit, will manage the soon-to-be opened Silver Drive-In at Winber (sic), Pa.
A 1948 wedding announcement said that Fruhlinger, already managing the Met, was from Windber but would move to Baltimore. Whatever brought him back home two years later might make an interesting story.
I’m starting to believe the assertion that the Silver opened in 1950, as is painted on a mural on-site. The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed it under Windber, Exec: Maurice Fruhlinger and Louis Hanna, Hanna Th. Service, capacity 300. The 1952-53 Motion Picture Catalog listed it under Scalp Level, Hanna Theatre Service, 300.
Also, a July 1975 newspaper ad showed that the Silver was already a “CAC” (County Amusement Co.?) theater at that point.
The Silver was listed in the 1961-66 International Motion Picture Almanacs, capacity 300, owner or booker Bud Thomas Cir. It persisted there through at least 1976. The 1978-88 editions listed it in Windber PA, owner County Amus., capacity 400.
A 2008 article in The Tribune-Democrat said that “The reopening of the Silver Drive-In in 2005 fulfilled Rick Rosko’s dream of owning a first-class outdoor theater.” Which means that the Silver was closed for a while? Also, several Trib-Dem articles referenced a 1950 opening for the Silver, but I’d guess they were confusing it with the Westmont, which closed in the early 1960s after the Silver opened.
From The Daily Courier of Connellsville, June 20 1947: The Ruthorn Drive-In Theatre, the first in Westmoreland county, opened Thursday night. Cars came from all points of Westmoreland and Fayette counties to witness and experience the newest type of entertainment.
Owned and operated by Donald J. Ruth of Mount Pleasant and R. M. Thorn of Scottdale, the theater is located midway between Pennsville and Mount Pleasant. … Plenty of ushers were on hand to escort each car to its “seat” and all cars are escorted out after the show to avoid a jam at the exit.
That was Robert M. Thorn, whose March 18 1966 obituary said he was the former partner in the “Everygreen” Drive-In. Which means that the original name is a portmanteau of the two owners' names, and therefore suggests that Ruth might have been by himself when inspired to change the drive-in’s name.
The 1948-50 Theatre Catalogs listed the Ruthorn in Scottdale, owner Donald J. Ruth, capacity 300. The Catalogs later noticed the name change to Evergreen.
The 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs also had the Evergreen in Scottdale, the “owner or booker” was Co-op, capacity 400. By the 1966 edition, the owner had changed to S-Hanna Co-op Thea. Serv. The 1978-84 editions had the owner as H. Michael. The Evergreen fell off the MPA list by 1986, never to return. Considering that one family owned it during that period, I wonder if it was ever closed.
Its web site currently has its account suspended and its official Facebook page didn’t have any posts for four years, but it does appear that the Silver was active in 2017. The Tribune-Democrat mentioned it in May as one place to watch summer blockbusters, and the Silver added a See You In The Spring post to Facebook in October.
From the Connellsville Daily Courier, June 14, 1950: Anna Marie Fasson, 19, of Connellsville, R. D., was the winner of the contest to name the new drive-in theatre at Morrell under sponsorship of the Morrell Amusement Company. The name chosen for which Miss Fasson will receive a price was “The Comet.” It is planned to open the theatre within the next few weeks.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed the Comet in Morrell, Exec: A. C. DeMichelis, Strand Th., Dunbar, and Louis Hanna, Hanna Th. Service, Pittsburgh, capacity 300. 1955-56 edition listed the Comet in Connellsville, Exec: Ted Laskey and Moore Th. Serv.
The 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Comet in Morrell, owner Hanna Thea. Ser., capacity 300. It was gone from the 1961 edition. For the 1963-66 editions, the owner had changed to Ted Laskey. It stayed in Morrell through 1976, then the 1978-88 editions put it in Connellsville, owner Monessen Amu., capacity 425.
A July 1967 article announcing extensive renovations said it was part of the Manos Theatre chain. Again on July 28, 1971 it held a “grand opening tonight to celebrate its new, bright look.” At that point, it had a panoramic screen an new marquee.
Ficks opened in April 1949. Its ad in the April 22, 1949 Uniontown Morning Herald said to “watch for opening of the district’s newest most modern constructed drive-in”. Its first now showing ad was Tuesday April 26, “One Sunday Afternoon”. For some reason, the current Brownsville site says the original box office was erected in June 1949.
Ficks Drive-In Theatre, Inc. filed public notice of incorporation for February 9, 1950.
The Daily Courier of Connellsville wrote on July 3, 1951: I. J. Ficks and Margaret B. A. Moody were deeded nine and a half acres of ground with buildings along Route 40 by the Ficks Drive-In Theatre, Inc. That would be Isadore J. Ficks.
In March 1954, I. J. Ficks announced purchase of the Moody interests in the Ficks Drive-In theater.
The Brownsville, formerly Ficks, reopened for the season in March 1959, now owned by Louis Stuler and Durward Coe, the pair who started the Sky View a few miles down the road in Carmichaels.
The 1952 Theatre Catalog listed “Fick’s” in East Brownsville, Exec: Moody and Baker. The 1955-56 Catalog listed “Fick’s” in Brownsville, Exec: Basie and Laskey Entr., and F. D. Moore Th. Serv.
Ficks is listed under Brownsville in the 1952-59 Motion Picture Almanacs, capacity 400, owned by Moody & Dickinson. For the 1961-66 editions, it became the Brownsville DI, owned by Louis Stuler & Darwin Coe. It fell off the MPA list in 1978, never to return.
The 1993 photo at HistoricAerials.com shows only two screens, so the third must have come after that. The 1969 photo shows that the main screen used to be northwest of the concession stand.
Every anecdotal source says this drive-in opened in 1946, but they’re all wrong. The Jan. 25 1951 Evening Standard of nearby Unionville wrote about a lawsuit against the drive-in’s owners that “when the theater was opened in 1948, reddog and earth was heaped up near the headwaters of a brook”. Which explains what the Theatre Catalog wrote.
The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog listed Carmichaels Drive-In as under construction, Exec: Lou Stuler, Stuler and Coe. Carmichaels was in the regular drive-in list in the 1949-50 edition. By the 1952 edition of the Catalog, its name had changed to the Skyview, still owned by L. Stuler and Duard Coe.
In the newspapers in nearby Unionville, its first mention was in a February 1950 traffic accident report as “the Drive-In theater”. It was advertising in those papers by summer, calling itself the Sky View with a small gap between words. By the 1960s, the ads were running as the Sky-View with a hyphen.
In 1960, the Brownsville Telegraph mentioned that “Lewis Stuler and Durwood Coe” owned the “Skyview”.
The Pittsburgh Press ran an obituary for Louis S. Stuler after he died of a heart attack at the age of 47 on August 10, 1961. “Together with Duard Coe of Waynesburg, Mr. Stuler owned and operated the Sky View and Brownsville Drive-In Theaters”.
The 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Skyview Auto (later just the Skyview) as owned by Stuler & Coe. Capacity was originally 225, but doubled to 450 by 1963. When ownership info returned for the 1978-82 editions, capacity was 400 and the owner was Cinemette Corporation of America, based in Pittsburgh. In the 1984-88 editions, the owner changed to G & G Theaters, Inc., which incorporated in 1963 and is now inactive.
There’s another name that’s not mentioned often enough, it appears. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog showed the Central in Blackwood VA, owners H. Kiser and R. Lodge, capacity 150.
The 1953-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Central under Blackwood VA, owner Russell Large, capacity 150. In the 1978-88 editions, after ownership information resumed, the owner was R. Kiser, capacity 100.
Was that co-owner Large or Lodge? Historically the Catalog had fewer errors, so my guess would be Lodge. Update: Except I’m wrong. On Facebook, the reply I received was “the original owners were the Kiser family and the Large family.” It’s the rare case when the MPA was right and the Catalog wasn’t.
The Kingsport Times-News wrote that the Central opened “in 1952 by the Kiser family of Wise County”.
“Buddy and Paula (Herron) bought the Central in 2005 from Jeff Kiser following the death of his mother, Agnes Kiser Lay, the Kiser family’s much loved drive-in darling who operated the Central for many if not most of those years since it opened in 1952.”
Multiple reports say the Central has a very nice arcade. This YouTube video from July 2017 includes a glimpse plus some drone footage with a train passing by across the highway from the screen.
Also, the 25 Drive In Auto Theatre is up to three screens now. A photo copyright 2015 still showed two, and a July 2016 photo showed “Now 3 screens”, so I’d guess it was an early 2016 addition.
On a probably unrelated note, the McCutcheons took a couple of months off at the beginning of this year. They told the Greenwood Index-Journal, “since 2010, we’ve been open 52 weeks out of the year and it’s hard to visit people when you only have two days off.”
In their YouTube video, published in 2014 and shot before digital projection, a banner on the concession building says “Showing movies since 1945”.
The first Theatre Catalog drive-in list in 1948-49 listed just “Drive-In” for Greenwood, owned by A. T. Livingston, capacity 250.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs listed the Monetta as owned by Sam Bogo, capacity 230.
In the 1952-66 Motion Picture Almanacs, the Monetta was owned by Twin City Amusement Co., capacity 200. It was off the list for 1969-76.
In the 1978 edition, the owner was J. Warren, capacity 210, which is how it stayed through the 1988 edition, again showing that the MPA didn’t always notice change.
Richard and Lisa Boaz added a second screen in 2005, and as noted above, a third screen in 2011.
There was a lightning strike June 18, 2017 that knocked out all three screens. They were all up and running by June 22.
In 2014, some locals were trying to find a way to save the mural. The story was in The Post and Courier of Charleston.
Tex Roberts, whose uncle helped create it, was leading the effort, and “the owner, Keith Kinard, also is willing to work to save the screen, even going so far as to subdivide his land.”
Based on what I see in a May 2106 Google Street View and the 2017 aerial view, I’d guess it was torn down. :(
The 1980-82 Motion Picture Almanacs listed the Plaza 21 Drive-in in Beaufort, owned by P. Trask, capacity 300. (There’s a Yelp page that still calls it the Plaza 21. And Google Maps calls the highway in front of the drive-in the Trask Parkway. Hmm.) For the 1984-88 editions, it had the Hiway 21, owned by J. Warren.
The Island News wrote that the drive-in closed in 2002. Bonnie and Joe Barth bought the Highway 21 and reopened it in 2003, per The Post and Courier of Charleston.
The 1952-56 Theatre Catalogs had the Family owned by W. P. Riggins, capacity 300.
The 1952-61 editions of the Motion Picture Almanac listed the Family Drive-In in Jessup (sic) with owner W. P. Reggins (sic), capacity 300. It was off the list in the 1963-66 editions.
The Family was back in Jesup in the 1969-76 MPAs with a capacity of 350. When ownership info returned in the 1978 MPA, its name had changed to the Jesup, the owner was Cockfield, and capacity was 250. In 1980-88, the Jesup Twin was owned by Floyd Theatres of Lakeland FL.
The Florida Times-Union wrote in 1999 that “had been closed for 10 years when (Tim) Cockfield bought it in 1970. In 1975, Cockfield ‘twinned it,’ turning the back two rows around and adding two more.” It also said at the time that “Cockfield, 72, works behind the counter before the movie starts” and “Tim Cockfield Jr. … is poised to take over when the time comes.”
In 2012, the Savannah Morning News quoted Ward P. Riggins III, grandson of the original builder, who said “It’s been here since the 1940s.”
“There was only a short time when it wasn’t operational,” Riggins says. “My dad, who is 87, said they built the Jesup Strand Theatre in 1924 in the center of town. In 1948, they built the Jesup Family Drive-in.” … When Riggins’ grandfather got sick, Ward Jr. continued the business.