The original entrance road has long since disappeared. This makes the original ticket booth that is still standing worthless in its current location. It appeared to still be in use in a 1986 aerial, but was overgrown by 1993.
I wonder why the original entrance road was abandoned?
I find it difficult to believe that the Cuddihy Drive-In existed for more than a year. The airfield was abandoned towards the end of World War II and purchased by the city in 1947. That leaves a very short window for someone to run a drive-in on the field.
I’m still convinced based on the adverts that the drive-in itself was on one of the runways or perhaps next to a hanger. So, there would be no scarring or evidence of any drive-in present. Especially if it was a temporary drive-in which was common at the time.
A slightly closer address is 5142 Leopard St, Corpus Christi, TX.
Google has updated their street addresses. It now lines up with the old entrance.
A 1951 aerial shows the drive-in demolished and apparently for a few years.
Today, the north part of the property is occupied by kennels for the Gulf Coast Racing facility. while the south part of the property is open ground. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
Creating 35mm prints is expensive when you no longer mass-order 35mm prints. It’s the same as asking why 8-tracks are no longer being made.
Single and even double-screen theaters have been going out of business for the past half-century. And while I am not a fan of seeing drive-ins go out of business, there are strong economic reasons as to why it has happened.
Wishing it wouldn’t happen is one thing, coming up with an alternative business model that withstands the changes the industry has undergone is another. Considering that today multi-screen theaters are going out of business, re-opening some of these older drive-ins is a challenge to say the least.
I’m not sure the concession stand/projector booth is still present. A 2019 Google Street View from FM 309 (the west side of the property) shows a dilapidated building which could be what’s left of the concession stand/projection booth.
But the 2022 view from the south (HWY-22) does not show the building at all. It looks like some additional buildings were added and perhaps the old concession stand/projection booth was taken down.
A closer address is 3510 St Elmo Ave, Chattanooga, TN.
This puts it right on the property. Today, it is home to Linda Transport. The property retains the general shape of the drive-in and the entrance/exit roads remain. But what is most remarkable is that the projection booth/concession stand still appears to be intact on the property.
Most of the property is an open field. The outline and ramps have long worn away. The only trace remaining is the rubble of the foundation of the projection booth/concession stand.
A closer address is 245 Black Bottom Rd, Jeremiah, KY.
This places it right on the property as the church uses the same entrance as the drive-in.
The drive-in appears intact in a 1983 aerial. The screen is on the south side with the projection booth/concession stand and possibly ticket booth all combined in one building on the north side of the property.
A 1995 aerial shows the larger building on the north side gone, but a new projection booth/concession stand in the middle of the drive-in. The drive-in was demolished sometime between 2004 and 2006.
Today, the church sits on the north side of the property with two private residences on the south side. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
This places it right about where the entrance to the drive-in was located. Today, a housing edition sits on the property with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The drive-in was still standing in a 1958 aerial, although it does appear that the screen is damaged.
By 1969, the drive-in had been totally demolished and trailers sit on the property.
Today, it is an empty field with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
The drive-in does sorta sit between Minneapolis and St. Paul, although when it was built it sat north of both cities. So, that use of the word “Twin” would make sense.
And considering that two-screen drive-ins were quite rare in those days, there would not be any confusion about the name.
Of course, the other odd thing about the name is the “100” which refers to the highway that the drive-in sits next to, but does NOT connect with. The 100 Twin connected to the popular Medtronic HWY and would be how most residents of St. Paul would reach the drive-in.
However, the use of “100” may be to differentiate the drive-in from the nearby Hill-Top which sat about one mile to the south and also connected to the Medtronic HWY.
The 1957 aerial is quite clear in showing a single-screen drive-in at that location. By 1966, it became a “twin”.
So, the question is whether this is the correct location or whether it was named “100 Twin” when it only had one screen for at least the first six years of its operation?
The drive-in was still intact in a 1985 aerial, but had been demolished by 1994.
A closer address is 1421 IL-32, Sullivan, IL.
Google has updated their addresses and this one is right on the house in the middle of the property.
You can still clearly see the outline and ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/2arw4257
The original entrance road has long since disappeared. This makes the original ticket booth that is still standing worthless in its current location. It appeared to still be in use in a 1986 aerial, but was overgrown by 1993.
I wonder why the original entrance road was abandoned?
The screen was still standing as of July 2021, but by September of 2022 it was gone.
A closer address is 4215 S Staples St, Corpus Christi, TX.
A 1956 aerial shows a drive-in at this location which is now the Covenant Baptist Church.
A 1960 aerial shows the drive-in demolished. Today, there is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/487x5p3p
I find it difficult to believe that the Cuddihy Drive-In existed for more than a year. The airfield was abandoned towards the end of World War II and purchased by the city in 1947. That leaves a very short window for someone to run a drive-in on the field.
I’m still convinced based on the adverts that the drive-in itself was on one of the runways or perhaps next to a hanger. So, there would be no scarring or evidence of any drive-in present. Especially if it was a temporary drive-in which was common at the time.
A slightly closer address is 5142 Leopard St, Corpus Christi, TX.
Google has updated their street addresses. It now lines up with the old entrance.
A 1951 aerial shows the drive-in demolished and apparently for a few years.
Today, the north part of the property is occupied by kennels for the Gulf Coast Racing facility. while the south part of the property is open ground. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/4ydwzpd4
Sometime between October 2018 and April 2021 the marquees were taken down. In fact, most of the items on the property were removed.
A closer address is 22371 OK-34, Mangum, OK.
Google has updated their street addresses. This puts it right in the middle of the property.
https://tinyurl.com/vcxjr7n9
Creating 35mm prints is expensive when you no longer mass-order 35mm prints. It’s the same as asking why 8-tracks are no longer being made.
Single and even double-screen theaters have been going out of business for the past half-century. And while I am not a fan of seeing drive-ins go out of business, there are strong economic reasons as to why it has happened.
Wishing it wouldn’t happen is one thing, coming up with an alternative business model that withstands the changes the industry has undergone is another. Considering that today multi-screen theaters are going out of business, re-opening some of these older drive-ins is a challenge to say the least.
I’m not sure the concession stand/projector booth is still present. A 2019 Google Street View from FM 309 (the west side of the property) shows a dilapidated building which could be what’s left of the concession stand/projection booth.
But the 2022 view from the south (HWY-22) does not show the building at all. It looks like some additional buildings were added and perhaps the old concession stand/projection booth was taken down.
A closer address is 3510 St Elmo Ave, Chattanooga, TN.
This puts it right on the property. Today, it is home to Linda Transport. The property retains the general shape of the drive-in and the entrance/exit roads remain. But what is most remarkable is that the projection booth/concession stand still appears to be intact on the property.
https://tinyurl.com/2s3w9vtr
A closer address is 1157 N Ll and G Ave, Anthony, KS.
This puts it right on the projection booth/concession stand.
https://tinyurl.com/4cs554rd
A closer address is 1785 US-60, Globe, AZ.
Google has updated their street addresses. This puts it right on the projection booth/concession stand.
https://tinyurl.com/35v35uxp
Most of the property is an open field. The outline and ramps have long worn away. The only trace remaining is the rubble of the foundation of the projection booth/concession stand.
A closer address is 245 Black Bottom Rd, Jeremiah, KY.
This places it right on the property as the church uses the same entrance as the drive-in.
The drive-in appears intact in a 1983 aerial. The screen is on the south side with the projection booth/concession stand and possibly ticket booth all combined in one building on the north side of the property.
A 1995 aerial shows the larger building on the north side gone, but a new projection booth/concession stand in the middle of the drive-in. The drive-in was demolished sometime between 2004 and 2006.
Today, the church sits on the north side of the property with two private residences on the south side. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 3963 N Elm St, Denton, TX.
This places it right about where the entrance to the drive-in was located. Today, a housing edition sits on the property with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
https://tinyurl.com/45253vvc
The drive-in was still standing in a 1958 aerial, although it does appear that the screen is damaged. By 1969, the drive-in had been totally demolished and trailers sit on the property.
Today, it is an empty field with no trace of the drive-in remaining.
A closer address is 3141 Johnston St, Lafayette, LA.
This puts it right on The Grand 16 which sits on the property and uses the same entrance as the old drive-in.
https://tinyurl.com/mpsdesft
A closer address is 5485 US-70, Waverly, TN.
Google has updated their addresses and this one puts it right on the concession stand/projector booth.
https://tinyurl.com/yw9rudkw
The projection booth/concession stand was recently removed. It appears as late as the August 2019 Google Street View, but was gone by July 2022.
The drive-in does sorta sit between Minneapolis and St. Paul, although when it was built it sat north of both cities. So, that use of the word “Twin” would make sense.
And considering that two-screen drive-ins were quite rare in those days, there would not be any confusion about the name.
Of course, the other odd thing about the name is the “100” which refers to the highway that the drive-in sits next to, but does NOT connect with. The 100 Twin connected to the popular Medtronic HWY and would be how most residents of St. Paul would reach the drive-in.
However, the use of “100” may be to differentiate the drive-in from the nearby Hill-Top which sat about one mile to the south and also connected to the Medtronic HWY.
The 1957 aerial is quite clear in showing a single-screen drive-in at that location. By 1966, it became a “twin”.
So, the question is whether this is the correct location or whether it was named “100 Twin” when it only had one screen for at least the first six years of its operation?
Or some other explanation.
It certainly looks well maintained in a 1974 aerial. Even in 1981 the drive-in is in excellent shape.
You can see the Skyline Drive-In open in a 1967 aerial. By 1980, it had been completely demolished. Only the ramps and outline remained at that time.
Today, even that is gone with only a faint hint of the entrance and exit roads remaining.