The Joe Bob Report, Sept. 6, 1993: “The Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been rescued from oblivion by Richard D. Smith, a former division manager for General Cinema who couldn’t stand to see his old bosses sell it off, and so he bought it himself. It’s twenty-six acres and the last drive-in in Tulsa. What an American.”
The Joe Bob Report, July 12, 1993: “The Meadow Drive-In, on State Highway 9 outside Stigler, Oklahoma, burned to the ground one Wednesday night … The drive-in lasted forty years, beginning in 1951, when Jack Pierce opened it with Mickey Rooney starring in All Ashore. At one time the Meadow had "Buck Night” (one dollar per carload), but they had to discontinue because too many people came in hay trucks filled with thirty or forty people."
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Oak Hills Drive-In in Ada, Oklahoma, has been ripped down and replaced with a new hospital, but here’s what’s suspicious. They already had a hospital, and the old one stands empty!"
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Sky-Hi Drive-In Theatre, on Old Highway 63 in Columbia, Missouri, is overgrown with five-foot weeds, and its 355 acres are soon to be gone, replaced with a shopping and housing development. The Sky-Hi opened in 1965 and closed in 1986.”
The Joe Bob Report, Oct. 19, 1992: “The Mountain View Drive-In in Cashmere, Washington, is dead. Defunct. Kaplooey. No hope. Locals are heading for the View Dale Drive-In in Wenatchee and the Park Drive-In in Soap Lake.”
Two data points suggest that the Decatur opened in 1950 or 1951.
Exhibitor, May 17, 1950: “Open-air theatres under construction in Indiana are: … Decatur Drive-In, Decatur, Ind., by Decatur Drive-In, Inc.”
The Joe Bob Report, May 31, 1993: “Bureaucrat Alert! The Decatur Drive-In, on U.S. 33 at Salem Road, about a mile outside Decatur, Indiana, never opened this year, ending forty-one years of continuous operation. We reported that it might happen, and it did happen. The State of Indiana confiscated 2 ¼ acres of the drive-in to build a new highway cloverleaf. That land once housed the marquee, the ticket booth, the fence, 120 of the 400 speaker posts, the electrical system, and the septic system. Here’s the worst of it - it would cost $100,000 to replace all that stuff and keep the drive-in running, but the state refuses to pay, says all it’s good for is farmland. Owner Alan J. Kalver vows to fight, but he’s not optimistic."
The Joe Bob Report, May 3, 1993: “Republican Alert! The Kailua Drive-In, located at the foot of the Koolaus in Honolulu, on the slopes of the Kawainui Swamp, opened in 1965 with a James Bond flick and closed twenty-seven years later with One Good Cop and New Jack City. Why? Because some guy decided they needed the space (it holds 1,600 cars) for yet another golfers' driving range for Japanese tourists. Price of the driving range: $4.7 million. Pitiful.”
Joe Bob Report, Jan. 11, 1993: “Superior Being Alert! In 1977 God saw it to send Hurricane Belle to the eastern end of Long Island, New York, where it blew the Flanders Drive-In screen at least halfway to Connecticut. The drive-in has never been torn down, but this year a forest of scrub pine broke through the parking lot. Things are looking grim indeed. Bruce Thompson of Stanford, California, reminds us that, without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.”
Boxoffice, July 23, 1955: “The Roxy Theatre building in Pleasanton has been sold to Peter Christensen, local merchant. Agreement of purchase called for the theatre to vacate the building by July 20, Christensen said. The sale leaves the community with just one theatre, the Valley Drive-In on Santa Rita road. The Roxy was built about 25 years ago by Charles Chicazola, was later sold to H. S. Hamm and the Westside Theatre, who operated it until the present.”
Boxoffice, July 16, 1955: “CASHMERE, WASH. - Ben and Delphi?? Slowe have opened their new Mountain View Drive-In on Pine Flat between Cashmere and Dryden. Norman Slowe, their son who has been associated with them in the operation of the Vale Theatre here, will manage the airer.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “V. C. Shattuck, owner-operator of the Tahoe Theatre at Kings Beach, and Jack Neugebauer, owner and manager of the Donner Theatre at Truckee, purchased the Brockway Theatre at Kings Beach from Tom Lucas, who built it.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “projectionists Local 303 has continued to advertise that the new Hamilton Drive-In does not employ its members. Manager-owner J. Dydzak has said he operates his own machines.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “WENATCHEE, WASH. - A late-July opening has been scheduled for the 600-car Pow Wow Drive-In that Peter Barnes is building north of here. The 90x45-foot screen and other equipment will be installed by Modern Theatre Equipment Co. of Seattle.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1955: “OROVILLE, WASH. – The new Powwow Drive-In was opened here recently by Peter Barnes”
The Van-Del dismantled its third screen a few years ago, and winds toppled the second last weekend. (See the WPTA story.) Saunders said the drive-in is insured and will rebuild its second screen.
According to a seller at HipPostcard.com, that photo was the front of a postcard published without a copyright notice and mailed with a 1-cent stamp. That would mean it’s in the public domain.
Not to be fussy, but based on what I can see on Google Maps, there are no apartments on the old Hemacinto site. A VFW hall (1891 S Santa Fe Ave) is on the north side of the old entrance driveway, and an RV storage lot (1915 S Santa Fe Ave) is on the south side. The viewing field was still vacant in a Street View photo taken in May 2024 from 1998 S San Jacinto Ave.
Boxoffice, Feb. 7, 1972: “Long-time owners Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Woods have sold the Dome Theatre and Libby Drive-In to Dave Weisbeck. They had operated the two theatres as a family business and have made no definite plans for the future as yet. They will, however, stay on for a short time to help the new owner become familiar with the operations. Weisbeck, who moved here from Rapid City, S.D., in 1967, has resigned from his position as vice-president of United National Bank to enter show business.”
Boxoffice, November 1980: “Dave and Phillis Weisbeck have sold the Dome Theatre and Libby Drive In Theatre, located in Libby, Montana, to Leo C. and Emelia Huber.”
Boxoffice, March 19, 1955: “Plans for a drive-in in the Mistletoe area immediately east of Redding have been reported recently. The theatre is expected to be completed in April and will open to the public as soon as the weather permits. The owner is Aubrey D. Smith of Medford, Ore.”
Boxoffice, April 23, 1955: “The 500-car Sky-Vue Drive-In at Redding was opened by Aubrey Smith recently”
Boxoffice, May 7, 1955: “Aubrey Smith opened his Sky-Vue Drive-In at Redding May 1”
Boxoffice also mentioned, on May 7, 1955, George Peterson’s purchase of the Kings. That led me to check Google Maps again; it still tells us that Armona’s city limits include the old Kings site. Those folks may get their mail from Hanford, but they’re inside Armona.
Also, just in case it ever leaves the Hanford Sentinel site, here’s an archived version of its 2012 story about the Kings, datelined Armona.
Boxoffice, May 7, 1955: “United California recently acquired the Mesa Drive-In at Orville from Newell Post and the Crescent Drive-In in Vallejo from Guy Meeks. The amounts involved were not disclosed.”
Boxoffice, April 16, 1955: “Robert Cook, manager of the Bungalo Theatre, reports that he has purchased the necessary land to build a drive-in near Plummer. Plans for the ozoner call for a 200-car capacity and the latest projection and sound equipment.”
Boxoffice, March 29, 1955: “CHULA VISTA, CALIF. – A $60,000 remodeling and expansion program is being undertaken by Tom Huntington, owner of the Harbor Drive-In located between here and National City. The capacity will be increased from 700 to 1,100 cars and a 120-foot wide-vision screen replaced the old 60-foot screen.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 12, 1955: “Harry Milstein has sold his Torrance Theatre in Torrance to the California bank, which will convert the building into a modern bank branch. Milstein will refurbish and remodel his Grand Theatre there to serve as a replacement for the Torrance.”
The Joe Bob Report, Sept. 6, 1993: “The Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been rescued from oblivion by Richard D. Smith, a former division manager for General Cinema who couldn’t stand to see his old bosses sell it off, and so he bought it himself. It’s twenty-six acres and the last drive-in in Tulsa. What an American.”
The Joe Bob Report, July 12, 1993: “The Meadow Drive-In, on State Highway 9 outside Stigler, Oklahoma, burned to the ground one Wednesday night … The drive-in lasted forty years, beginning in 1951, when Jack Pierce opened it with Mickey Rooney starring in All Ashore. At one time the Meadow had "Buck Night” (one dollar per carload), but they had to discontinue because too many people came in hay trucks filled with thirty or forty people."
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Oak Hills Drive-In in Ada, Oklahoma, has been ripped down and replaced with a new hospital, but here’s what’s suspicious. They already had a hospital, and the old one stands empty!"
The Joe Bob Report, June 28, 1993: “The Sky-Hi Drive-In Theatre, on Old Highway 63 in Columbia, Missouri, is overgrown with five-foot weeds, and its 355 acres are soon to be gone, replaced with a shopping and housing development. The Sky-Hi opened in 1965 and closed in 1986.”
The Joe Bob Report, Oct. 19, 1992: “The Mountain View Drive-In in Cashmere, Washington, is dead. Defunct. Kaplooey. No hope. Locals are heading for the View Dale Drive-In in Wenatchee and the Park Drive-In in Soap Lake.”
Two data points suggest that the Decatur opened in 1950 or 1951.
Exhibitor, May 17, 1950: “Open-air theatres under construction in Indiana are: … Decatur Drive-In, Decatur, Ind., by Decatur Drive-In, Inc.”
The Joe Bob Report, May 31, 1993: “Bureaucrat Alert! The Decatur Drive-In, on U.S. 33 at Salem Road, about a mile outside Decatur, Indiana, never opened this year, ending forty-one years of continuous operation. We reported that it might happen, and it did happen. The State of Indiana confiscated 2 ¼ acres of the drive-in to build a new highway cloverleaf. That land once housed the marquee, the ticket booth, the fence, 120 of the 400 speaker posts, the electrical system, and the septic system. Here’s the worst of it - it would cost $100,000 to replace all that stuff and keep the drive-in running, but the state refuses to pay, says all it’s good for is farmland. Owner Alan J. Kalver vows to fight, but he’s not optimistic."
The Joe Bob Report, May 3, 1993: “Republican Alert! The Kailua Drive-In, located at the foot of the Koolaus in Honolulu, on the slopes of the Kawainui Swamp, opened in 1965 with a James Bond flick and closed twenty-seven years later with One Good Cop and New Jack City. Why? Because some guy decided they needed the space (it holds 1,600 cars) for yet another golfers' driving range for Japanese tourists. Price of the driving range: $4.7 million. Pitiful.”
Joe Bob Report, Jan. 11, 1993: “Superior Being Alert! In 1977 God saw it to send Hurricane Belle to the eastern end of Long Island, New York, where it blew the Flanders Drive-In screen at least halfway to Connecticut. The drive-in has never been torn down, but this year a forest of scrub pine broke through the parking lot. Things are looking grim indeed. Bruce Thompson of Stanford, California, reminds us that, without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.”
Boxoffice, July 23, 1955: “The Roxy Theatre building in Pleasanton has been sold to Peter Christensen, local merchant. Agreement of purchase called for the theatre to vacate the building by July 20, Christensen said. The sale leaves the community with just one theatre, the Valley Drive-In on Santa Rita road. The Roxy was built about 25 years ago by Charles Chicazola, was later sold to H. S. Hamm and the Westside Theatre, who operated it until the present.”
Boxoffice, July 16, 1955: “CASHMERE, WASH. - Ben and Delphi?? Slowe have opened their new Mountain View Drive-In on Pine Flat between Cashmere and Dryden. Norman Slowe, their son who has been associated with them in the operation of the Vale Theatre here, will manage the airer.”
Boxoffice, June 25, 1955: “V. C. Shattuck, owner-operator of the Tahoe Theatre at Kings Beach, and Jack Neugebauer, owner and manager of the Donner Theatre at Truckee, purchased the Brockway Theatre at Kings Beach from Tom Lucas, who built it.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “projectionists Local 303 has continued to advertise that the new Hamilton Drive-In does not employ its members. Manager-owner J. Dydzak has said he operates his own machines.”
Boxoffice, June 18, 1955: “WENATCHEE, WASH. - A late-July opening has been scheduled for the 600-car Pow Wow Drive-In that Peter Barnes is building north of here. The 90x45-foot screen and other equipment will be installed by Modern Theatre Equipment Co. of Seattle.”
Boxoffice, Aug. 13, 1955: “OROVILLE, WASH. – The new Powwow Drive-In was opened here recently by Peter Barnes”
The Van-Del dismantled its third screen a few years ago, and winds toppled the second last weekend. (See the WPTA story.) Saunders said the drive-in is insured and will rebuild its second screen.
I found a sharper version of this photo at Picryl.com, which says it’s in the public domain.
According to a seller at HipPostcard.com, that photo was the front of a postcard published without a copyright notice and mailed with a 1-cent stamp. That would mean it’s in the public domain.
Not to be fussy, but based on what I can see on Google Maps, there are no apartments on the old Hemacinto site. A VFW hall (1891 S Santa Fe Ave) is on the north side of the old entrance driveway, and an RV storage lot (1915 S Santa Fe Ave) is on the south side. The viewing field was still vacant in a Street View photo taken in May 2024 from 1998 S San Jacinto Ave.
Most of the addresses in the housing development on the old drive-in site are on Mile High Drive, which feels appropriate.
Also, Google Maps says that the site is now within the Lead city limits, even though its residents get their mail from the Deadwood post office.
Boxoffice, Feb. 7, 1972: “Long-time owners Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Woods have sold the Dome Theatre and Libby Drive-In to Dave Weisbeck. They had operated the two theatres as a family business and have made no definite plans for the future as yet. They will, however, stay on for a short time to help the new owner become familiar with the operations. Weisbeck, who moved here from Rapid City, S.D., in 1967, has resigned from his position as vice-president of United National Bank to enter show business.”
Boxoffice, November 1980: “Dave and Phillis Weisbeck have sold the Dome Theatre and Libby Drive In Theatre, located in Libby, Montana, to Leo C. and Emelia Huber.”
The evolution of the opening date.
Boxoffice, March 19, 1955: “Plans for a drive-in in the Mistletoe area immediately east of Redding have been reported recently. The theatre is expected to be completed in April and will open to the public as soon as the weather permits. The owner is Aubrey D. Smith of Medford, Ore.”
Boxoffice, April 23, 1955: “The 500-car Sky-Vue Drive-In at Redding was opened by Aubrey Smith recently”
Boxoffice, May 7, 1955: “Aubrey Smith opened his Sky-Vue Drive-In at Redding May 1”
Boxoffice also mentioned, on May 7, 1955, George Peterson’s purchase of the Kings. That led me to check Google Maps again; it still tells us that Armona’s city limits include the old Kings site. Those folks may get their mail from Hanford, but they’re inside Armona.
Also, just in case it ever leaves the Hanford Sentinel site, here’s an archived version of its 2012 story about the Kings, datelined Armona.
Boxoffice, May 7, 1955: “United California recently acquired the Mesa Drive-In at Orville from Newell Post and the Crescent Drive-In in Vallejo from Guy Meeks. The amounts involved were not disclosed.”
Boxoffice, April 16, 1955: “Robert Cook, manager of the Bungalo Theatre, reports that he has purchased the necessary land to build a drive-in near Plummer. Plans for the ozoner call for a 200-car capacity and the latest projection and sound equipment.”
Boxoffice, March 29, 1955: “CHULA VISTA, CALIF. – A $60,000 remodeling and expansion program is being undertaken by Tom Huntington, owner of the Harbor Drive-In located between here and National City. The capacity will be increased from 700 to 1,100 cars and a 120-foot wide-vision screen replaced the old 60-foot screen.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 12, 1955: “Harry Milstein has sold his Torrance Theatre in Torrance to the California bank, which will convert the building into a modern bank branch. Milstein will refurbish and remodel his Grand Theatre there to serve as a replacement for the Torrance.”