The “Westernaire” held its grand opening on June 5, 1949, per coverage that week in the Lewistown Daily News. The opening program was “My Wild Irish Rose,” a cartoon and news.
Boxoffice, June 7, 1952: “LEWISTOWN, MONT. - Frank Machler, owner and manager, has started the fourth season of the Westernaire Drive-In here. A snack bar has been installed for this season and chairs placed at it so patrons may continue watching the show while waiting to be served. Adult admission is 60 cents.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 22, 1955: “Ralph and Bruce Isaacson and Glenn Metcalf, local business men, have bought the Westernaire Drive-In from Frank and Helen Machler, who operated it through the recently completed season.”
Boxoffice, June 7, 1952: “Mr. and Mrs. William Blair and son William jr. purchased the 507-seat Ritz Theatre in Calistoga, the only theatre there, from L-B Industries. The Blairs, who live in Cloverdale, own the Blair and Del Rio theatres.”
Boxoffice, May 24, 1952: “WHITEFISH, MONT. - Two drive-ins are planned for this locality. One will be built on Highway 40 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls by E. A. Massman and Walter Thompson, owners of the Orpheum and Lake theatres in Whitefish and the Park in Columbia Falls, Mont. They have bought ten acres just west of Blue Moon and Massman has made a trip to Chicago to purchase equipment.”
Boxoffice, May 10, 1952: “Hill’s Drive-In, Riverdale, was opened May 1 by Dr. Gerard Hill."
Boxoffice, May 17, 1952: “The grand opening of Hill’s Drive-In recently was a gala affair. Built at a cost of $60,000, the theatre has a capacity of 325 cars.”
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “The Mount Vernon Drive-In on Road 62 has reopened for the season under the management of new owners John and Stephen Miles and Mary and Joe Nickelick. They also own and operate the Sunset Drive-In on Highway 41 north of Evansville."
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “The Mount Vernon Drive-In on Road 62 has reopened for the season under the management of new owners John and Stephen Miles and Mary and Joe Nickelick. They also own and operate the Sunset Drive-In on Highway 41 north of Evansville. An extensive remodeling program has been undertaken at the Mount Vernon Drive-In during the off season. The concession stand has been rearranged."
Just a few more details to supplement rivest266’s note.
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “The Esquire Theatre has been renamed the Sequoia. Fred R. Sawaske, city manager for Hardy’s Theatres, said the change was made in order to obtain a name more fitting to the Fresno locale”
Boxoffice, May 19, 1951: “LA GRANDE, ORE. - The community’s first airer, the La Grande Drive-In, opened May 1 under the partnership of W. J. Shell and A. V. Parker. The 400-car outdoorer cost an estimated $50,000.”
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “Car service will be a new feature at the La Grande Drive-In this season. Carhops will take orders for refreshments from the theatre audience, saving them them trips to the snack bar during intermission and performances.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 9, 1954: “LA GRANDE, ORE. – Parker and W. J. Shell, owners of the drive-in theatre, have sold it to Francis Greulich of La Grande and Ted Jones of Santa Monica, Calif. Greulich and Jones own the two La Grande theatres, the Liberty and the Granada.”
This entry needs to list “Hollis Drive-In” as a previous name. I suspect Lynn Teeter was the person who renamed it. And here’s an approximate opening date:
Exhibitor, May 20, 1953: “Watt Long, Lavista, Hollis, Okla., will open his new drive-in, the Hollis, May 27.”
I’m getting out some twine to connect pushpins on a corkboard. I’m starting to guess that the 100 speakers that Cavasos used in Socorro came from Hatch.
The Hatch drive-in, capacity 100, closed after the 1948 season. The Starlite opened with 100 speakers the following spring. It makes a kind of sense.
I agree that the HistoricAerials (NETR) version for 1949 looks like the high-res Oct. 1 set. Maybe we’ll figure it out some day.
Boxoffice, March 29, 1952: “New manager of the Moonlite Drive-In in Hollister is Don Hooton. Hans Severinsen, owner, said Hooton replaces Dallas Haney, who shifted to a Santa Cruz theatre.”
Do you use USGS' EarthExplorer? https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ It’s nowhere near as friendly and easy as HistoricAerials, but it can fill in a lot of gaps. HistoricAerials often uses those same USGS maps as its starting point.
In particular, I can see that Socorro’s 1949 photos were taken on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1. The latter set is unusually well detailed. You’re better at spotting these drive-ins, so maybe you could look them over.
I’m thinking of the drive-in at Hatch NM, about 100 miles down the highway. Its outline looked almost nothing like the typical clamshell drive-in site, but it could have influenced Cavasos, who had a Hatch connection. After his drive-in closed, Cavasos opened a radio/TV repair shop in Hatch.
So if you could look at some EarthExplorer TIF files with an eye toward an unconventional setup, maybe you’ll fill this longstanding hole in my knowledge.
Hi Kenmore. Sorry to be late with this reply. I wish you were right, but a couple of data points get in my way.
The Sierra (which would become the Sierra Vista) opened on April 24, 1952. Earlier Socorro drive-in notes are all consistent with Edsel Cavasos' Sunset/Star-Lite. Aerial photos from 1950 clearly showed that the future Sierra site was still unimproved land. It’s one of the few places that I know for sure wasn’t where the Sunset was. :)
There is so very much that I don’t know about this drive-in. I hope that one day some Socorro historian will be motivated to check it out.
Boxoffice, Feb. 16, 1952: “E. D. Winslow has reopened the Maywood in Maywood, the house operating on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday basis and closed the rest of the week”
The Feb. 2, 1952 Modern Theatre section of Boxoffice included a photo of the Ellis with the words “Celebrating our first anniversary” on its marquee, suggesting a 1951 (or 1950) opening date.
It was still active on July 23, 1963, when the Beckley Post-Herald reported the arrest of one of the robbers of the “Ellis Drive-In Restaurant and Theater at Clarksburg”.
Boxoffice, Jan. 19, 1952: “Change in ownership and management of the Cambria Theatre became effective January 1. Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Lang purchased the house from Mr. and Mrs. Lester Balog.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 19, 1952: “Barney Gurnette, owner of the Clovis in Clovis, has purchased the Exeter at Exeter from the Exeter Amusement Corp. J. D. Arakelian, San Francisco theatre broker, handled the transaction”
From the current Smiths Ranch web site (https://www.drivein29.com/): “In 1956, Art Clemons, inspired by a drive-in theater he visited in Bakersfield, envisioned bringing this novel form of entertainment to the high desert town of Twenty Nine Palms. With his wife, DelDee, he embarked on a mission to create a local drive-in theater. After hiring an architect, the couple meticulously planned and constructed the Smith’s Ranch Drive-In. Their hard work culminated in a grand opening, where they proudly showcased their first film, “Man with the Golden Arm,” starring Frank Sinatra. Initially, the drive-in operated with three shows a week, becoming a beloved community fixture before the widespread rise of television.”
The Smith’s Ranch Drive-In erected a new metal tower in April 1992, based on a note in the Desert Trail. “The old screen, made from wood, served the theatre since 1954 (sic).”
Four days earlier, the Twentynine Palms newspaper, the Desert Trail, wrote that Don Dunham would take over the Starlite Twin “on long term lease” from the retiring owners Prudie and Bill Underhill on Jan. 1, 1973.
The Desert Trail, Sept. 28, 1978: “Bill and Prudie Underhill sold their Starlite Twin Drive-In Theatre and roller rink … to Major and Mrs. John Shay … Don Dunham(’s) lease has been cancelled to effect the transaction.”
I don’t know what was going on in 1972, but the 299 came back later in the decade. In the Eureka Times-Standard on June 22, 1976, a movie ad mentioned that it was available “Also 299 Drive In - Willow Creek”. And the 1977 Motion Picture Almanac, which had the best accuracy of any of their drive-in lists, still included the 299, owned by R. Rickard.
In the March 9, 1977 Times-Standard, a public notice said that James L. Rickard, executor of Helen Rickard’s estate, would sell 30% interest in “Buzzy’s 299 Drive-In, Willow Creek”. On May 11, 1977, a notice from Robert Rickard said he was abandoning the business name of Buzzy’s 299 Drive-In.
It’s possible that Rickard revived “Buzzy’s 299” for just one year, 1976, and those notices sure make it sound like the drive-in closed for good by 1977.
The “Westernaire” held its grand opening on June 5, 1949, per coverage that week in the Lewistown Daily News. The opening program was “My Wild Irish Rose,” a cartoon and news.
Boxoffice, June 7, 1952: “LEWISTOWN, MONT. - Frank Machler, owner and manager, has started the fourth season of the Westernaire Drive-In here. A snack bar has been installed for this season and chairs placed at it so patrons may continue watching the show while waiting to be served. Adult admission is 60 cents.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 22, 1955: “Ralph and Bruce Isaacson and Glenn Metcalf, local business men, have bought the Westernaire Drive-In from Frank and Helen Machler, who operated it through the recently completed season.”
Boxoffice, June 7, 1952: “Mr. and Mrs. William Blair and son William jr. purchased the 507-seat Ritz Theatre in Calistoga, the only theatre there, from L-B Industries. The Blairs, who live in Cloverdale, own the Blair and Del Rio theatres.”
Boxoffice, May 24, 1952: “WHITEFISH, MONT. - Two drive-ins are planned for this locality. One will be built on Highway 40 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls by E. A. Massman and Walter Thompson, owners of the Orpheum and Lake theatres in Whitefish and the Park in Columbia Falls, Mont. They have bought ten acres just west of Blue Moon and Massman has made a trip to Chicago to purchase equipment.”
Boxoffice, May 10, 1952: “Hill’s Drive-In, Riverdale, was opened May 1 by Dr. Gerard Hill."
Boxoffice, May 17, 1952: “The grand opening of Hill’s Drive-In recently was a gala affair. Built at a cost of $60,000, the theatre has a capacity of 325 cars.”
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “The Mount Vernon Drive-In on Road 62 has reopened for the season under the management of new owners John and Stephen Miles and Mary and Joe Nickelick. They also own and operate the Sunset Drive-In on Highway 41 north of Evansville."
This drive-in was opened before 1952.
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “The Mount Vernon Drive-In on Road 62 has reopened for the season under the management of new owners John and Stephen Miles and Mary and Joe Nickelick. They also own and operate the Sunset Drive-In on Highway 41 north of Evansville. An extensive remodeling program has been undertaken at the Mount Vernon Drive-In during the off season. The concession stand has been rearranged."
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “Long shuttered, the Yucalpa Theatre in Yucalpa has been reopened by O. K. Warner"
Just a few more details to supplement rivest266’s note.
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “The Esquire Theatre has been renamed the Sequoia. Fred R. Sawaske, city manager for Hardy’s Theatres, said the change was made in order to obtain a name more fitting to the Fresno locale”
Boxoffice, May 19, 1951: “LA GRANDE, ORE. - The community’s first airer, the La Grande Drive-In, opened May 1 under the partnership of W. J. Shell and A. V. Parker. The 400-car outdoorer cost an estimated $50,000.”
Boxoffice, April 26, 1952: “Car service will be a new feature at the La Grande Drive-In this season. Carhops will take orders for refreshments from the theatre audience, saving them them trips to the snack bar during intermission and performances.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 9, 1954: “LA GRANDE, ORE. – Parker and W. J. Shell, owners of the drive-in theatre, have sold it to Francis Greulich of La Grande and Ted Jones of Santa Monica, Calif. Greulich and Jones own the two La Grande theatres, the Liberty and the Granada.”
The last ad I could find for the Crest in the Kiowa County Star-Review was Sept. 1, 1960. The program was “Pork Chop Hill” and “Tarzan the Ape Man”
This entry needs to list “Hollis Drive-In” as a previous name. I suspect Lynn Teeter was the person who renamed it. And here’s an approximate opening date:
Exhibitor, May 20, 1953: “Watt Long, Lavista, Hollis, Okla., will open his new drive-in, the Hollis, May 27.”
I’m getting out some twine to connect pushpins on a corkboard. I’m starting to guess that the 100 speakers that Cavasos used in Socorro came from Hatch.
The Hatch drive-in, capacity 100, closed after the 1948 season. The Starlite opened with 100 speakers the following spring. It makes a kind of sense.
I agree that the HistoricAerials (NETR) version for 1949 looks like the high-res Oct. 1 set. Maybe we’ll figure it out some day.
The latest link for that issue of Boxoffice is:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/26658832/boxoffice-june281948
Boxoffice, April 5, 1952: “Paul Herman sold his Victory Theatre in San Diego to Harry Ussery”
The Moonlite was open by 1952.
Boxoffice, March 29, 1952: “New manager of the Moonlite Drive-In in Hollister is Don Hooton. Hans Severinsen, owner, said Hooton replaces Dallas Haney, who shifted to a Santa Cruz theatre.”
Do you use USGS' EarthExplorer? https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ It’s nowhere near as friendly and easy as HistoricAerials, but it can fill in a lot of gaps. HistoricAerials often uses those same USGS maps as its starting point.
In particular, I can see that Socorro’s 1949 photos were taken on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1. The latter set is unusually well detailed. You’re better at spotting these drive-ins, so maybe you could look them over.
I’m thinking of the drive-in at Hatch NM, about 100 miles down the highway. Its outline looked almost nothing like the typical clamshell drive-in site, but it could have influenced Cavasos, who had a Hatch connection. After his drive-in closed, Cavasos opened a radio/TV repair shop in Hatch.
So if you could look at some EarthExplorer TIF files with an eye toward an unconventional setup, maybe you’ll fill this longstanding hole in my knowledge.
Hi Kenmore. Sorry to be late with this reply. I wish you were right, but a couple of data points get in my way.
The Sierra (which would become the Sierra Vista) opened on April 24, 1952. Earlier Socorro drive-in notes are all consistent with Edsel Cavasos' Sunset/Star-Lite. Aerial photos from 1950 clearly showed that the future Sierra site was still unimproved land. It’s one of the few places that I know for sure wasn’t where the Sunset was. :)
There is so very much that I don’t know about this drive-in. I hope that one day some Socorro historian will be motivated to check it out.
Of course, I stand corrected about the Circle Autoscope’s closing date, which was really Labor Day 1964.
Boxoffice, Feb. 16, 1952: “E. D. Winslow has reopened the Maywood in Maywood, the house operating on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday basis and closed the rest of the week”
The Feb. 2, 1952 Modern Theatre section of Boxoffice included a photo of the Ellis with the words “Celebrating our first anniversary” on its marquee, suggesting a 1951 (or 1950) opening date.
It was still active on July 23, 1963, when the Beckley Post-Herald reported the arrest of one of the robbers of the “Ellis Drive-In Restaurant and Theater at Clarksburg”.
Boxoffice, Jan. 19, 1952: “Change in ownership and management of the Cambria Theatre became effective January 1. Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Lang purchased the house from Mr. and Mrs. Lester Balog.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 19, 1952: “Barney Gurnette, owner of the Clovis in Clovis, has purchased the Exeter at Exeter from the Exeter Amusement Corp. J. D. Arakelian, San Francisco theatre broker, handled the transaction”
From the current Smiths Ranch web site (https://www.drivein29.com/): “In 1956, Art Clemons, inspired by a drive-in theater he visited in Bakersfield, envisioned bringing this novel form of entertainment to the high desert town of Twenty Nine Palms. With his wife, DelDee, he embarked on a mission to create a local drive-in theater. After hiring an architect, the couple meticulously planned and constructed the Smith’s Ranch Drive-In. Their hard work culminated in a grand opening, where they proudly showcased their first film, “Man with the Golden Arm,” starring Frank Sinatra. Initially, the drive-in operated with three shows a week, becoming a beloved community fixture before the widespread rise of television.”
The Smith’s Ranch Drive-In erected a new metal tower in April 1992, based on a note in the Desert Trail. “The old screen, made from wood, served the theatre since 1954 (sic).”
Four days earlier, the Twentynine Palms newspaper, the Desert Trail, wrote that Don Dunham would take over the Starlite Twin “on long term lease” from the retiring owners Prudie and Bill Underhill on Jan. 1, 1973.
The Desert Trail, Sept. 28, 1978: “Bill and Prudie Underhill sold their Starlite Twin Drive-In Theatre and roller rink … to Major and Mrs. John Shay … Don Dunham(’s) lease has been cancelled to effect the transaction.”
I don’t know what was going on in 1972, but the 299 came back later in the decade. In the Eureka Times-Standard on June 22, 1976, a movie ad mentioned that it was available “Also 299 Drive In - Willow Creek”. And the 1977 Motion Picture Almanac, which had the best accuracy of any of their drive-in lists, still included the 299, owned by R. Rickard.
In the March 9, 1977 Times-Standard, a public notice said that James L. Rickard, executor of Helen Rickard’s estate, would sell 30% interest in “Buzzy’s 299 Drive-In, Willow Creek”. On May 11, 1977, a notice from Robert Rickard said he was abandoning the business name of Buzzy’s 299 Drive-In.
It’s possible that Rickard revived “Buzzy’s 299” for just one year, 1976, and those notices sure make it sound like the drive-in closed for good by 1977.