The drive-in may not have lasted that long. A 1960 aerial shows a new building on the east side towards the back of the property. With cars parked haphazardly around it and the projection booth.
It may be that the service station, which is just SE of the drive-in in the 1955 aerial, was demolished and rebuilt on the back of the drive-in. Because the service station no longer appears in the 1960 aerial. But that is just a guess.
A closer address is 1180 N Main St, Lillington, NC.
A 1955 aerial shows the screen and projection booth of the drive-in. The screen stood quite close, seemingly dangerously close to Main Street on the east side. By 1973, it was completely demolished.
Today, a strip mall stands on the property with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 1808 Wallace Airport Rd, Wallace, NC.
A small section of the original entrance road is on the residential property. Which is the source of the address for the theater.
The drive-in appears complete and operational in a 1951 aerial. By 1977, it had been completely demolished.
Today, it is mostly an open field with the trees and Henderson Road bordering the property. It is next to a small airfield with a Moose Lodge occupying part of the property.
There was never a drive-in at the church location, aerial photos confirm that. The drive-in was further south at the junction of US-41 & US-19, putting it closer to Palmetto.
However, this drive-in was built before 1957 as it appears in the aerial. It is located behind the Little Palm Inn which existed at that time. So, perhaps this drive-in was under previous ownership, maybe part of the inn?
What’s interesting is that the 1969 aerial may show the drive-in closed, but I cannot be sure.
The drive-in was intact in 1984, but was demolished by 1995. Today, it is North Manatee RV & Storage with no trace of the drive-in remaining. Save perhaps for the pillars of the marquee which appears to have once held the sign for the drive-in on top.
A 1956 aerial photo makes me question if this is the right location for the drive-in. The land is clearly overgrown and no indication that anything was on the property just two to four years earlier.
Save for what appears to be tiny entrance and exit roads of a few feet located on the SE side. But that appears to be prep work for housing that would be constructed on the property. And quite insufficient to handle 8 cars, much less 80.
Even a temporary drive-in would leave behind more than that. And I know what the ad says, but addresses change.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property. Despite mostly being an open field, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
Despite being plowed innumerable times, you can still see the parch marks of the outline and ramps of the drive-in. But the only remnants left are where the entrance and exit roads attach to the OH-296.
The drive-in was still intact in 1970, although I cannot say if it was open.
By 1982, the projection booth was gone and two years later the entire drive-in was demolished.
Today, the property is overgrown with trees. If there is any trace of the drive-in remaining, it is underneath the tree canopy. However, the entrance road still exists although there is no evidence of any gravel or pavement left.
The entire property is engulfed in trees. It also appears that the screen is no longer present. Although the projection booth/concession stand is still there.
I can’t be 100% certain without more information, but I’m going to say yes.
A 1960 topo map shows a drive-in where the Wonderland is located. And does not show any other drive-in anywhere near that area that I can see. If a topo map shows one, it should show another if it existed.
A 1956 aerial shows the drive-in intact complete with a fence that ran along the perimeter of the drive-in, save for the back.
By 1968, that fence was gone and the drive-in appears closed.
By 1983, the concession stand/projection booth was gone but the screen was still standing until some time before 1993.
Today, although nothing was built on the drive-in itself, the topography has changed considerably. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A slightly closer address is 32536 US-63, Macon, MO.
Google Maps has updated their street addresses and this puts it right on the property.
As of May 2023, the property is mostly clear. However, trees have grown up around what is left of the concession stand/projection booth and ticket booth.
It seems that the drive-in included a mobile home park as past aerial photos show it connected via the exit road. Today, only the concrete pads of the mobile home park remain.
It’s north of the church by two properties. A new house has been built where the screen once stood. You can still barely see the parch marks of the ramps to the east of the house.
A slightly closer address is 1051 Drive in Rd, Nathalie, VA.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right in the middle of the property.
Apart from the outline and entrance, there is not much left. The box office may or may not be there.
https://tinyurl.com/mtue8k6n
A closer address is 108 Brooks Rd, Belhaven, NC.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right in the middle of the property.
https://tinyurl.com/35x5t9mk
The address looks good to me.
The screen lasted until at least 2016 along the remnants of the drive-in which was covered in undergrowth for quite some time.
The screen has been removed and the entire area was razed so that it is now unrecognizable.
The drive-in may not have lasted that long. A 1960 aerial shows a new building on the east side towards the back of the property. With cars parked haphazardly around it and the projection booth.
It may be that the service station, which is just SE of the drive-in in the 1955 aerial, was demolished and rebuilt on the back of the drive-in. Because the service station no longer appears in the 1960 aerial. But that is just a guess.
A closer address is 1180 N Main St, Lillington, NC.
A 1955 aerial shows the screen and projection booth of the drive-in. The screen stood quite close, seemingly dangerously close to Main Street on the east side. By 1973, it was completely demolished.
Today, a strip mall stands on the property with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/3kcym3wk
A closer address is 1808 Wallace Airport Rd, Wallace, NC.
A small section of the original entrance road is on the residential property. Which is the source of the address for the theater.
The drive-in appears complete and operational in a 1951 aerial. By 1977, it had been completely demolished.
Today, it is mostly an open field with the trees and Henderson Road bordering the property. It is next to a small airfield with a Moose Lodge occupying part of the property.
https://tinyurl.com/wj7wttvw
Found It!
The address is 2729 NC-41, Chinquapin, NC.
The drive-in appears intact and operational in a 1958 aerial. By 1977, it was demolished and the property overgrown with trees.
Today, it’s still overgrown with trees with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/4x7kmk5n
A closer address is 3522 US-41, Palmetto, FL.
There was never a drive-in at the church location, aerial photos confirm that. The drive-in was further south at the junction of US-41 & US-19, putting it closer to Palmetto.
However, this drive-in was built before 1957 as it appears in the aerial. It is located behind the Little Palm Inn which existed at that time. So, perhaps this drive-in was under previous ownership, maybe part of the inn?
What’s interesting is that the 1969 aerial may show the drive-in closed, but I cannot be sure.
The drive-in was intact in 1984, but was demolished by 1995. Today, it is North Manatee RV & Storage with no trace of the drive-in remaining. Save perhaps for the pillars of the marquee which appears to have once held the sign for the drive-in on top.
https://tinyurl.com/5n7vbk6e
A 1956 aerial photo makes me question if this is the right location for the drive-in. The land is clearly overgrown and no indication that anything was on the property just two to four years earlier.
Save for what appears to be tiny entrance and exit roads of a few feet located on the SE side. But that appears to be prep work for housing that would be constructed on the property. And quite insufficient to handle 8 cars, much less 80.
Even a temporary drive-in would leave behind more than that. And I know what the ad says, but addresses change.
In addition, part of the old entrance road still exists as well.
Although most of the property is occupied by what looks like a retirement villa, you can still see some of the ramps on the western side.
A closer address is 2599 NJ-35, Manasquan, NJ.
Google Maps has updated their addresses and this puts it right on the property. Despite mostly being an open field, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The drive-in was still intact in 1979, but appears closed. By 1995, it had been demolished.
Today, it is a driving range with no trace of it on the property. But the marquee is still standing.
Despite being plowed innumerable times, you can still see the parch marks of the outline and ramps of the drive-in. But the only remnants left are where the entrance and exit roads attach to the OH-296.
Almost the entire area that the drive-in sat on is a baseball field and soccer pitch. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The drive-in was still intact in 1970, although I cannot say if it was open.
By 1982, the projection booth was gone and two years later the entire drive-in was demolished.
Today, the property is overgrown with trees. If there is any trace of the drive-in remaining, it is underneath the tree canopy. However, the entrance road still exists although there is no evidence of any gravel or pavement left.
The entire property is engulfed in trees. It also appears that the screen is no longer present. Although the projection booth/concession stand is still there.
I can’t be 100% certain without more information, but I’m going to say yes.
A 1960 topo map shows a drive-in where the Wonderland is located. And does not show any other drive-in anywhere near that area that I can see. If a topo map shows one, it should show another if it existed.
A 1956 aerial shows the drive-in intact complete with a fence that ran along the perimeter of the drive-in, save for the back. By 1968, that fence was gone and the drive-in appears closed.
By 1983, the concession stand/projection booth was gone but the screen was still standing until some time before 1993.
Today, although nothing was built on the drive-in itself, the topography has changed considerably. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A slightly closer address is 32536 US-63, Macon, MO.
Google Maps has updated their street addresses and this puts it right on the property.
As of May 2023, the property is mostly clear. However, trees have grown up around what is left of the concession stand/projection booth and ticket booth.
It seems that the drive-in included a mobile home park as past aerial photos show it connected via the exit road. Today, only the concrete pads of the mobile home park remain.
https://tinyurl.com/467upwxu
A 1976 aerial shows the building that would become The Falls Cinema with parking lot.
Was it a theater back then?
It would make sense given the Satellite Drive-In was in operation at that time. Adding two indoor screens for all-year viewing.
A closer address is 2135 Ellisville Blvd, Laurel, MS.
The drive-in appears in a 1955 aerial, but was demolished by 1960 to make way for Exit 93 of I-59. The address is next to the off-ramp.
There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/3bapjx4e
Difficult to see if the concession stand/projector booth is still there. But it does look like part of the marquee survived.
It’s north of the church by two properties. A new house has been built where the screen once stood. You can still barely see the parch marks of the ramps to the east of the house.
A 1984 aerial shows the drive-in demolished and seemingly for some time.