Darn it, I did not plan to learn this much about the White Beauty. :) The resort was founded by Anita and Naldo Guccini, who owned the White Beauty View Restaurant by the 1930s. Looks like Richard was a son of the founders.
The last White Beauty Drive-In ad I could find in the Wayne Independent of Honesdale PA was on Sept. 22, 1977, with the showing of “Orca the Killer Whale” through Sept. 24.
The Scranton PA Tribune provided explanations to answer the last two posts.
The White Beauty View was a summer resort on Lake Wallenpaupack. It advertised for a cook “for the season” on May 23, 1949, and a chef’s 2005 obituary called it the “once famous” White Beauty View. (It changed its name to The Lakeside Resort in 1993.) The White Beauty Drive-In Theatre advertised its opening on June 30, 1949 at White Beauty View, so it might be that the resort folks started the drive-in.
The new question is why Motion Picture Herald and Billboard both thought that Richard Guccini opened his “new” White Beauty three years later. A 1955 note in the Tribune associated Guccini with the White Beauty View.
The April 4, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu, told the story of three Texas Christian University students who pooled $2000 to reopen the Heights (previously closed for three years) as the Capri earlier in 1960. It summarized (or maybe just copied) Jack Gordon’s column in the Fort Worth Press.
There’s a fairly lengthy story about the Alpine in “East Rainelle” that ran in the April 18, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu. To summarize:
Frank L. Weitzel bought the Alpine on March 1, 1960. Soon after, the town was snowed in for a week. In early April, warm weather brought a flood that “inundated the 512-seat house” so that only about 100 chairs were dry enough to be used. Weitzel reopened anyway on the weekend of April 10, running the boiler night and day to try to dry out the place. He soon bought dry seats from closed theaters in Gowen (?) and Gassaway (also called the Alpine), because the damp seats were creating an unpleasant “smell-o-vision” experience.
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “Danville, Ill. - Abe H. Kaufman, owner of the Fountain Theatre, Terre Haute, Ind., has purchased the Victory Theatre here effective April 1 from Jack Butler. The theatre name will be changed to the Main.”
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “Cave-In-Rock, Ill. - The Ohio Theatre, which was badly damaged by fire January 23, has been reopened by Carl Humm and Tom Partain. A plastic fireproof screen has been installed and the projection room has been made as nearly fireproof as possible. Steel guards, which will drop automatically, have been placed over all opening so that it would be sealed off in the event of a fire. A fireproof door, which is closed automatically, shots off the booth from the rest of the house. Humm and Partain did not carry insurance on either the theatre building or its contents prior to the fire.”
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “New feature of the Eugene Drive-In, opening for its second season, is a pony ring, with six shetland ponies to provide rides before the shows free of charge for children. The ozoner is located at 2860 South Willamette St., near the intersection of the Lorane Road. L. M. Wirtz is the manager.”
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “Michael Redstone, operator of the Sunrise Highway Drive-In Theatre at Valley Stream, L. I., will build an 800 to 1,000-car drive-in in the east Bronx. This will be the second drive-in within the city limits. The Fabian circuit opened a 620-car drive-in on Staten Island last spring. Redstone’s new theatre will be built on a 22-acre site near the Bronx-Whitestone bridge. The property was bought last week”
According to the Lewiston PA Sentinel, Timothy and Lacie Wert of Burnham bought the Midway as of Dec. 1 this year. They bought it mainly for the River’s Edge RV Park and Campground next door, but they have assured fans on Facebook that the only change they plan is moving opening day from Memorial Day to Mother’s Day weekend.
According to a drive-in history roundup in the Omaha World-Herald (paywall) that started in 2021 and was updated in 2022, this photo was taken by a World-Herald staffer as workers were raising the screen one week before opening night. I would bet that the newspaper still owns the copyright.
The regional Press-Tribune noted on Aug. 2, 1978 that the owners of the Citrus Heights Drive-In had sold it to developers, and that it would close forever at the end of the 1978 season. The article quoted a local guy as inaccurately saying the drive-in had been built in 1947. (Another reminder that memories aren’t perfect.) Its final owner was the San Francisco-based General Theatrical Corp.
The screen wasn’t torn down until April 1981. The caption for that demolition photo said the Citrus Heights had closed in the fall of 1979, but I couldn’t find any ads for the drive-in after October 1978.
The Ferry OH Times-Leader ran a news roundup near the end of 2022. It mentioned that in July 2022, a group announced that it was forming to raise money to restore the State. “The structure opened in 1925 along West Main Street and featured a large stage and balcony. Over the decades, it hosted an array of live shows and movies before it closed for good around 1969. The building was later used as a carpet store, followed by a thrift store, but it has been vacant for many years.”
Boxoffice, May 11, 1940: “Memphis - Bernard Woolner expects to open Memphis' first drive-in theatre this spring.”
Which illustrates the fallibility of memory. As I posted earlier, Dave Woolner was quoted in the May 30, 1966 issue of BoxOffice saying that the Woolners “built the South’s first drive-in at Memphis in 1937”.
Perhaps the Falls was opened in 1927 as the Ritz? The street matches.
Variety, Dec. 14, 1927: “The new Ritz, Marlin, Tex., was opened by Lee Oakes.”
Film Daily, Dec. 20, 1927: “Marlin. Tex. — Dean & Oakes have opened the Ritz on Live Oak St. This gives the town three houses.”
Then maybe it changed to the Rex? The 1930 Film Daily Year Book listed the Rex and the Palace as the only two Marlin theaters that were wired for sound.
Motion Picture News, Jan. 11, 1930: “Kipp sound equipment has been installed at the … Rex, Marlin, Tex.”
The 1933 Film Daily Year Book listed three theaters in Marlin: the Palace, the Strand, and the Lyric (capacity 350). Was that yet another renaming? I don’t know, but at least I have a place to dump most of my Marlin notes. :)
Harper Herald, April 15, 1949: “The El Rancho Theatre of Harper has been sold by the former owner, B. O. McDonald of Kerrville, to Walter R. Dills, also of Kerrville. Mr. Dills announced that he has changed the name of the theatre to the "Hartex” theatre and plans are to have a show each night of the week."
The Herald noted on Oct. 15, 1954 that “Roger Harper is the proprietor of the Hartex Theatre now”.
As the watermarks indicate, those aerial photos are copyrighted by HistoricAerials.com’s company. If you find the original aerials, typically USGS, those would be public domain, but this isn’t.
Darn it, I did not plan to learn this much about the White Beauty. :) The resort was founded by Anita and Naldo Guccini, who owned the White Beauty View Restaurant by the 1930s. Looks like Richard was a son of the founders.
The last White Beauty Drive-In ad I could find in the Wayne Independent of Honesdale PA was on Sept. 22, 1977, with the showing of “Orca the Killer Whale” through Sept. 24.
The Scranton PA Tribune provided explanations to answer the last two posts.
The White Beauty View was a summer resort on Lake Wallenpaupack. It advertised for a cook “for the season” on May 23, 1949, and a chef’s 2005 obituary called it the “once famous” White Beauty View. (It changed its name to The Lakeside Resort in 1993.) The White Beauty Drive-In Theatre advertised its opening on June 30, 1949 at White Beauty View, so it might be that the resort folks started the drive-in.
The new question is why Motion Picture Herald and Billboard both thought that Richard Guccini opened his “new” White Beauty three years later. A 1955 note in the Tribune associated Guccini with the White Beauty View.
The April 4, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu, told the story of three Texas Christian University students who pooled $2000 to reopen the Heights (previously closed for three years) as the Capri earlier in 1960. It summarized (or maybe just copied) Jack Gordon’s column in the Fort Worth Press.
There’s a fairly lengthy story about the Alpine in “East Rainelle” that ran in the April 18, 1960 issue of Boxoffice, found on Yumpu. To summarize:
Frank L. Weitzel bought the Alpine on March 1, 1960. Soon after, the town was snowed in for a week. In early April, warm weather brought a flood that “inundated the 512-seat house” so that only about 100 chairs were dry enough to be used. Weitzel reopened anyway on the weekend of April 10, running the boiler night and day to try to dry out the place. He soon bought dry seats from closed theaters in Gowen (?) and Gassaway (also called the Alpine), because the damp seats were creating an unpleasant “smell-o-vision” experience.
Vintage Aerial has a 1972 photo of the Sullivan here.
Vintage Aerial has a 1976 photo of the Mound Drive-In here and a 1981 photo here.
Vintage Aerials has a 1984 photo of the Atomic Drive-In here.
Vintage Aerials has a 1977 photo of the Hi-Way 28 here.
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “Danville, Ill. - Abe H. Kaufman, owner of the Fountain Theatre, Terre Haute, Ind., has purchased the Victory Theatre here effective April 1 from Jack Butler. The theatre name will be changed to the Main.”
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “Cave-In-Rock, Ill. - The Ohio Theatre, which was badly damaged by fire January 23, has been reopened by Carl Humm and Tom Partain. A plastic fireproof screen has been installed and the projection room has been made as nearly fireproof as possible. Steel guards, which will drop automatically, have been placed over all opening so that it would be sealed off in the event of a fire. A fireproof door, which is closed automatically, shots off the booth from the rest of the house. Humm and Partain did not carry insurance on either the theatre building or its contents prior to the fire.”
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “New feature of the Eugene Drive-In, opening for its second season, is a pony ring, with six shetland ponies to provide rides before the shows free of charge for children. The ozoner is located at 2860 South Willamette St., near the intersection of the Lorane Road. L. M. Wirtz is the manager.”
Boxoffice, April 2, 1949: “Michael Redstone, operator of the Sunrise Highway Drive-In Theatre at Valley Stream, L. I., will build an 800 to 1,000-car drive-in in the east Bronx. This will be the second drive-in within the city limits. The Fabian circuit opened a 620-car drive-in on Staten Island last spring. Redstone’s new theatre will be built on a 22-acre site near the Bronx-Whitestone bridge. The property was bought last week”
According to the Lewiston PA Sentinel, Timothy and Lacie Wert of Burnham bought the Midway as of Dec. 1 this year. They bought it mainly for the River’s Edge RV Park and Campground next door, but they have assured fans on Facebook that the only change they plan is moving opening day from Memorial Day to Mother’s Day weekend.
This Omaha World-Herald file photo was taken before the Q-Twin’s season opener in 1987. I would bet that the newspaper still owns the copyright.
According to a drive-in history roundup in the Omaha World-Herald (paywall) that started in 2021 and was updated in 2022, this photo was taken by a World-Herald staffer as workers were raising the screen one week before opening night. I would bet that the newspaper still owns the copyright.
According to the Omaha World-Herald, this shot (from 2000) was by staff photographer Kiley Cruse. Presumably, the newspaper still holds its copyright.
The regional Press-Tribune noted on Aug. 2, 1978 that the owners of the Citrus Heights Drive-In had sold it to developers, and that it would close forever at the end of the 1978 season. The article quoted a local guy as inaccurately saying the drive-in had been built in 1947. (Another reminder that memories aren’t perfect.) Its final owner was the San Francisco-based General Theatrical Corp.
The screen wasn’t torn down until April 1981. The caption for that demolition photo said the Citrus Heights had closed in the fall of 1979, but I couldn’t find any ads for the drive-in after October 1978.
The Ferry OH Times-Leader ran a news roundup near the end of 2022. It mentioned that in July 2022, a group announced that it was forming to raise money to restore the State. “The structure opened in 1925 along West Main Street and featured a large stage and balcony. Over the decades, it hosted an array of live shows and movies before it closed for good around 1969. The building was later used as a carpet store, followed by a thrift store, but it has been vacant for many years.”
Boxoffice, Oct. 19, 1940: “Paola - The new Paola was formally opened a few weeks ago.”
Boxoffice, May 11, 1940: “Memphis - Bernard Woolner expects to open Memphis' first drive-in theatre this spring.”
Which illustrates the fallibility of memory. As I posted earlier, Dave Woolner was quoted in the May 30, 1966 issue of BoxOffice saying that the Woolners “built the South’s first drive-in at Memphis in 1937”.
Boxoffice, Feb. 10, 1940: “Mora - N. Cornett is opening a new house, the first in this town, which has a population of 1,500.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 31, 1949: (under Theatre Construction) “Marlin, Tex. - 400-car drive-in started on Route 6 for E. L. Williams.”
Boxoffice, March 4, 1950: (under Theatre Openings) “Marlin, Tex. - Royal Drive-In opened by E. L. Williamson & Associates.”
Boxoffice, March 18, 1950: (under Theatre Openings) “Marlin, Tex. - 300-car drive-in to open immediately for H. C. Stadele on Highway 7.”
Perhaps the Falls was opened in 1927 as the Ritz? The street matches.
Variety, Dec. 14, 1927: “The new Ritz, Marlin, Tex., was opened by Lee Oakes.”
Film Daily, Dec. 20, 1927: “Marlin. Tex. — Dean & Oakes have opened the Ritz on Live Oak St. This gives the town three houses.”
Then maybe it changed to the Rex? The 1930 Film Daily Year Book listed the Rex and the Palace as the only two Marlin theaters that were wired for sound.
Motion Picture News, Jan. 11, 1930: “Kipp sound equipment has been installed at the … Rex, Marlin, Tex.”
The 1933 Film Daily Year Book listed three theaters in Marlin: the Palace, the Strand, and the Lyric (capacity 350). Was that yet another renaming? I don’t know, but at least I have a place to dump most of my Marlin notes. :)
Harper Herald, April 15, 1949: “The El Rancho Theatre of Harper has been sold by the former owner, B. O. McDonald of Kerrville, to Walter R. Dills, also of Kerrville. Mr. Dills announced that he has changed the name of the theatre to the "Hartex” theatre and plans are to have a show each night of the week."
The Herald noted on Oct. 15, 1954 that “Roger Harper is the proprietor of the Hartex Theatre now”.
As the watermarks indicate, those aerial photos are copyrighted by HistoricAerials.com’s company. If you find the original aerials, typically USGS, those would be public domain, but this isn’t.