Boxoffice, Feb. 6, 1954: “The Canby Theatre has reopened under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Herald McKellips, who … bought the theatre business and leased the building from Irvin Westenskow of Woodburn. The Canby Theatre, originally opened Nov. 1, 1950, was closed last November by the O. A. Nelsons for lack of patronage.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 17, 1955: “The Canby Theatre, which was recently sold back to Irvin Westenskow, the original owner, by Herold McKellips after operating it for almost a year, has in turn been sold by Westenskow to Raymond E. "Chuck” Charles. Charles immediately announced plans for the installation of a new wide screen and other improvements."
Boxoffice, DEc. 25, 1954: “JEROME, IDA. - Construction has begun on a 400-car airer near here under the supervision of I. H. Harris, head of the Harris-Voeller circuit. According to Roy Hardy, manager of the Voeller-Harris local Voris Theatre, the drive-in will be opened in the spring and will feature the latest in sound and projection equipment. The builders also operate four other drive-ins. They are located at Burley and Buhl, Ida., and Logan, Utah, which has two.”
State Line Tribune (Farwell TX), March 10, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Perry Crawley of Texico, who last week had the grand opening of their new business, a drive-in theatre in Portales, report that a capacity crowd attended the first showing. Named Crawley’s Drive-In, the new business is jointly owned by the local family, and by his brother, C. W. Crawley. The 185-car drive-in, is located a mile out of Portales on the Clovis highway. A drive-in cafe is operated in connection with the movie. The operators plan to show a double feature each night. Mrs. Crawley said this week, that their opening crowd was such, that cars were turned away. ‘We gave away 600 doughnuts and ran out of them, so we don’t know exactly how many were there.’”
State Line Tribune, May 26, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Perry L. Crawley moved to Portales, N. M., last week where they began complete operation of the Crawley Drive-In Theatre on the Clovis highway. Crawley had previously operated the theatre and cafe with his brother, Cecil, but recently he purchased his brother’s interest in the business. Crawley moved into a home previously occupied by his brother one mile north of Portales on the Clovis Highway.”
The location is an exact match. The date also lines up - the drive-in site went from a vacant lot to completion in the six weeks between my latest USGS aerial photos. But the size is off, and why “Crawley’s”?
Boxoffice, Nov. 6, 1954: “PORTALES, N. M. – All State Theatres of Abilene, Tex., has started construction of a de luxe 500-car drive-in a mile east of here on the Clovis highway. The new drive-in will be equipped with one of the largest screens in New Mexico, according to Tom Griffing, an official of the company.”
Boxoffice, Nov. 13, 1954: “The Boyes Theatre has been equipped for the showing of the new wide screen processes, according to the new operator Alan W. Finlay. The new owner and manager was formerly assistant manager of the El Capitan Theatre in San Francisco.”
The Salina Journal ran an article in August 1988 with more details. Anthony Blazina had a 16mm projector and roamed from town to town for merchant-subsidized free shows. In 1951, he said, “I did a test run, and I told the public if they’d support the drive-in, I’d build it.” Later that year, he built the drive-in himself “in the dead of winter … with an old Ford tractor and a scoop.” Opening day was May 23, 1952, when they ran an unnamed cartoon followed by “Red Stallion in the Rockies.”
He still owned and ran the Kanopolis in 1988 with help from his daughter, Irene Pacey.
Josh and Amanda Webb sold the Kanopolis Drive-In to Tyson Moyer and his wife, Jessica Eagle-Moyer, in November 2024. An article in the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter said that the Webbs will be hanging around this season to help the Moyers learn the business. The drive-in’s Facebook page currently shows the progress they’re making in remodeling the concession/restroom building.
Bad News: KB Home, which bought the Starlite site in the last year or two, has taken down the old marquee, as shown in this January 2025 Google Street View.
Good News: KB Home announced this week that it’s building “Astaire and Harlow at Starlite” and will restore the marquee to its former glory to “serve as a beautiful entrance monument.” Press release.
Boxoffice, Oct. 2, 1954: “Walter F. Graham has sold his Graham Theatre to J. C. Christiansen, formerly of Madras, Ore. The new owner has renamed the house Melody after his 8-year-old daughter.”
Looks like May 28, 1954 was the precise opening date.
Boxoffice, Sept. 25, 1954: “The screen of the Mount Vu Drive-In at the foot of beautiful Mt. Shasta has been increased to 104x50 feet for CinemaScope. Mrs. Curtis Cheadle, secretary of the theatre company, reports the new 530-car airer, opened last May 28, boasts the most beautiful setting in the Northwest with the famed mountain for a background and spectacular scenery all around.”
HistoricAerials.com must have added its 1958 aerial photo of Beeville since my posts here five years ago. It now clearly shows the drive-in at 1608 S Washington St (AKA Texas 202), where a storage facility sits today.
As rivest266 surmised, another operator bought the Nor-West before the 1987 season. William “Bill” Holshoe, who had purchased the nearby 88 Drive-In in 1976, apparently bought the Nor-West as well. An August 1997 article in the Broomfield Enterprise said that he “managed the Nor-West for a decade before calling it quits last year.” He didn’t advertise in the Denver papers too often during that decade, but when he did, it was a combined 88/Norwest listing.
The reason Holshoe reluctantly closed the drive-in at the end of the 1996 season was because city fathers were excited about a developer’s plan for an indoor ice rink. That August 1997 article was about the fact that the rink proposal had already faded away. The site continues to sit vacant today.
Richard Young owned the Wabash from 1977 to 1985. He told the Lafayette Journal and Courier the reason he switched from X-rated movies to family-friendly fare was, “I can’t go to church and show X-rated movies at the same time.” The June 8, 1985 article also noted that potential patrons were renting adult films from video stores.
By November 1991, it was called “the old Wabash Drive-In Theater” in a Journal and Courier ad.
To answer an old question, it was probably named for US 41, which was probably called the Wabash Highway since that’s where it went.
Boxoffice, Feb. 7, 1972: “Extensive remodeling is under way at the Aero Drive-In, 1470 Broadway. The changes will increase the capacity of the ozoner from its present 530 to approximately 1,000 car spaces, according to Al Dumont, who has managed the Aero since 1951. The theatre has been completely rewired and all new posts and speakers installed. Plans also call for the remodeling of the concession stand and restrooms. The project also includes moving the boxoffice 650 feet north of its present location and constructing a four-lane entrance which will allow space for a 250-car “stack-up” on theatre property. Existing Broadway frontage will be completely landscaped and a new attraction board erected.
“The Aero Drive-In is owned by Los Angeles-based Sero Amusement Co. and was opened in 1949. Showings have not been suspended during the modernization work. The Aero Swap-Meet, a companion operation, is held at the theatre each week. The remodeling also will affect that operation, doubling the present 400 stall spaces now available.”
Boxoffice, July 24, 1954: “E. L. Baker of Spokane and Keith Beckwith of North Bend have bought the Motor-In Theatre from Lowell Thompson for a reported $100,000. Thompson built the 750-car airer in 1946 with Baker as his first manager.”
As Joe Vogel noted, the Lithia Theatre burned in 1952. But a couple of its employees carried on, sort of.
Boxoffice, July 24, 1954: “ASHLAND, ORE. - Construction on a new drive-in a few miles north of here on highway 99 is under way and should be completed by the end of July according to the owners, Jack Putney and Jim Selleck. The new 400-car airer will be called the Lithia after a local conventional house which burned two years ago. Selleck had served as manager of the former Lithia and Putney was the projectionist.”
Boxoffice, July 24, 1954: “ASHLAND, ORE. - Construction on a new drive-in a few miles north of here on highway 99 is under way and should be completed by the end of July according to the owners, Jack Putney and Jim Selleck. The new 400-car airer will be called the Lithia after a local conventional house which burned two years ago. Selleck had served as manager of the former Lithia and Putney was the projectionist.”
As kennerado knows, you can’t trust those Boxoffice “opened” notices.
Boxoffice, July 10, 1954: “DOUGLAS, WYO. – Douglas Movies, Inc., has opened its Mile High Drive-In near here, according to Joe Stallman, one of the firm’s officers. The new ozoner will have a 250-car capacity.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1954: “DOUGLAS, WYO. - The Mile High Drive-In near here has opened after a slight delay in procuring the necessary screening equipment. Joe Stallman will manage the airer.”
The June 26, 1954 issue of Boxoffice included an article about the Liberty Kiwanis club using the Claco for an after-graduation party for Liberty High School. The author called it the “Cisco,” but there was no mistaking which drive-in he was talking about. “The theatre gave each girl a Cisco the Clown pin - a lovely red, white and gold brooch-type pin featuring the drive-in’s trademark insignia, the clown.”
This drive-in was once known as the Rustic Drive-In. A 1957 movie flyer posted here by Drive-In 54 used that name. “Rustic” was the name given in a 1959 movie list in the Tampa Tribune, also in the April 8, 1960 note in the Tampa Bay Times when Carl Floyd bought the place from Harry Jones.
These days, the Ruskin is reopening soon, and WFLA has posted a very nice Youtube video to prove it.
As you said, capacity exaggeration was not at all unheard of. However, note that those six ramps all appear to be double ramps. Counting the poles visible in a very detailed USGS photo, I’d guess that they held 30x2 cars each, which would make 350 a more reasonable figure.
That photo appeared in the May 22, 1954 issue of Boxoffice, in the public domain. The original caption, titled “Are the Indians attacking?”:
This is not a promotion for a western feature. It’s the entrance sign at the Fort Drive-In Theatre, Leavenworth, Kas., engulfed in flames. Beverly Miller, president of the Kansas-Missouri Allied unit, who owns the Fort, said the fire was caused by a short circuit in the wiring. A strong wind whipped up the flames, which completely consumed the rustic-type sign. Damage as set at $3,000. A patron, with a camera, took the picture at the height of the fire.
Boxoffice, Feb. 6, 1954: “The Canby Theatre has reopened under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Herald McKellips, who … bought the theatre business and leased the building from Irvin Westenskow of Woodburn. The Canby Theatre, originally opened Nov. 1, 1950, was closed last November by the O. A. Nelsons for lack of patronage.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 17, 1955: “The Canby Theatre, which was recently sold back to Irvin Westenskow, the original owner, by Herold McKellips after operating it for almost a year, has in turn been sold by Westenskow to Raymond E. "Chuck” Charles. Charles immediately announced plans for the installation of a new wide screen and other improvements."
Boxoffice, DEc. 25, 1954: “JEROME, IDA. - Construction has begun on a 400-car airer near here under the supervision of I. H. Harris, head of the Harris-Voeller circuit. According to Roy Hardy, manager of the Voeller-Harris local Voris Theatre, the drive-in will be opened in the spring and will feature the latest in sound and projection equipment. The builders also operate four other drive-ins. They are located at Burley and Buhl, Ida., and Logan, Utah, which has two.”
State Line Tribune (Farwell TX), March 10, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Perry Crawley of Texico, who last week had the grand opening of their new business, a drive-in theatre in Portales, report that a capacity crowd attended the first showing. Named Crawley’s Drive-In, the new business is jointly owned by the local family, and by his brother, C. W. Crawley. The 185-car drive-in, is located a mile out of Portales on the Clovis highway. A drive-in cafe is operated in connection with the movie. The operators plan to show a double feature each night. Mrs. Crawley said this week, that their opening crowd was such, that cars were turned away. ‘We gave away 600 doughnuts and ran out of them, so we don’t know exactly how many were there.’”
State Line Tribune, May 26, 1955: “Mr. and Mrs. Perry L. Crawley moved to Portales, N. M., last week where they began complete operation of the Crawley Drive-In Theatre on the Clovis highway. Crawley had previously operated the theatre and cafe with his brother, Cecil, but recently he purchased his brother’s interest in the business. Crawley moved into a home previously occupied by his brother one mile north of Portales on the Clovis Highway.”
The location is an exact match. The date also lines up - the drive-in site went from a vacant lot to completion in the six weeks between my latest USGS aerial photos. But the size is off, and why “Crawley’s”?
Boxoffice, Nov. 6, 1954: “PORTALES, N. M. – All State Theatres of Abilene, Tex., has started construction of a de luxe 500-car drive-in a mile east of here on the Clovis highway. The new drive-in will be equipped with one of the largest screens in New Mexico, according to Tom Griffing, an official of the company.”
Google Maps shows the entire Starlite Drive-In site as within the city limits of Keyes.
The Starlite installed a CinemaScope wide screen in 1954.
Boxoffice, Nov. 13, 1954: “The Boyes Theatre has been equipped for the showing of the new wide screen processes, according to the new operator Alan W. Finlay. The new owner and manager was formerly assistant manager of the El Capitan Theatre in San Francisco.”
The Salina Journal ran an article in August 1988 with more details. Anthony Blazina had a 16mm projector and roamed from town to town for merchant-subsidized free shows. In 1951, he said, “I did a test run, and I told the public if they’d support the drive-in, I’d build it.” Later that year, he built the drive-in himself “in the dead of winter … with an old Ford tractor and a scoop.” Opening day was May 23, 1952, when they ran an unnamed cartoon followed by “Red Stallion in the Rockies.”
He still owned and ran the Kanopolis in 1988 with help from his daughter, Irene Pacey.
Josh and Amanda Webb sold the Kanopolis Drive-In to Tyson Moyer and his wife, Jessica Eagle-Moyer, in November 2024. An article in the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter said that the Webbs will be hanging around this season to help the Moyers learn the business. The drive-in’s Facebook page currently shows the progress they’re making in remodeling the concession/restroom building.
Bad News: KB Home, which bought the Starlite site in the last year or two, has taken down the old marquee, as shown in this January 2025 Google Street View.
Good News: KB Home announced this week that it’s building “Astaire and Harlow at Starlite” and will restore the marquee to its former glory to “serve as a beautiful entrance monument.” Press release.
Looks like there was another name along the way.
Boxoffice, Oct. 2, 1954: “Walter F. Graham has sold his Graham Theatre to J. C. Christiansen, formerly of Madras, Ore. The new owner has renamed the house Melody after his 8-year-old daughter.”
Looks like May 28, 1954 was the precise opening date.
Boxoffice, Sept. 25, 1954: “The screen of the Mount Vu Drive-In at the foot of beautiful Mt. Shasta has been increased to 104x50 feet for CinemaScope. Mrs. Curtis Cheadle, secretary of the theatre company, reports the new 530-car airer, opened last May 28, boasts the most beautiful setting in the Northwest with the famed mountain for a background and spectacular scenery all around.”
Boxoffice, Sept. 18, 1954: “Glenn Harper has sold his Arrow and Fontana theatres in Fontana to Paul Mart.”
HistoricAerials.com must have added its 1958 aerial photo of Beeville since my posts here five years ago. It now clearly shows the drive-in at 1608 S Washington St (AKA Texas 202), where a storage facility sits today.
As rivest266 surmised, another operator bought the Nor-West before the 1987 season. William “Bill” Holshoe, who had purchased the nearby 88 Drive-In in 1976, apparently bought the Nor-West as well. An August 1997 article in the Broomfield Enterprise said that he “managed the Nor-West for a decade before calling it quits last year.” He didn’t advertise in the Denver papers too often during that decade, but when he did, it was a combined 88/Norwest listing.
The reason Holshoe reluctantly closed the drive-in at the end of the 1996 season was because city fathers were excited about a developer’s plan for an indoor ice rink. That August 1997 article was about the fact that the rink proposal had already faded away. The site continues to sit vacant today.
Richard Young owned the Wabash from 1977 to 1985. He told the Lafayette Journal and Courier the reason he switched from X-rated movies to family-friendly fare was, “I can’t go to church and show X-rated movies at the same time.” The June 8, 1985 article also noted that potential patrons were renting adult films from video stores.
By November 1991, it was called “the old Wabash Drive-In Theater” in a Journal and Courier ad.
To answer an old question, it was probably named for US 41, which was probably called the Wabash Highway since that’s where it went.
Boxoffice, Feb. 7, 1972: “Extensive remodeling is under way at the Aero Drive-In, 1470 Broadway. The changes will increase the capacity of the ozoner from its present 530 to approximately 1,000 car spaces, according to Al Dumont, who has managed the Aero since 1951. The theatre has been completely rewired and all new posts and speakers installed. Plans also call for the remodeling of the concession stand and restrooms. The project also includes moving the boxoffice 650 feet north of its present location and constructing a four-lane entrance which will allow space for a 250-car “stack-up” on theatre property. Existing Broadway frontage will be completely landscaped and a new attraction board erected.
“The Aero Drive-In is owned by Los Angeles-based Sero Amusement Co. and was opened in 1949. Showings have not been suspended during the modernization work. The Aero Swap-Meet, a companion operation, is held at the theatre each week. The remodeling also will affect that operation, doubling the present 400 stall spaces now available.”
Here’s the reason for the name change, I assume.
Boxoffice, July 24, 1954: “E. L. Baker of Spokane and Keith Beckwith of North Bend have bought the Motor-In Theatre from Lowell Thompson for a reported $100,000. Thompson built the 750-car airer in 1946 with Baker as his first manager.”
As Joe Vogel noted, the Lithia Theatre burned in 1952. But a couple of its employees carried on, sort of.
Boxoffice, July 24, 1954: “ASHLAND, ORE. - Construction on a new drive-in a few miles north of here on highway 99 is under way and should be completed by the end of July according to the owners, Jack Putney and Jim Selleck. The new 400-car airer will be called the Lithia after a local conventional house which burned two years ago. Selleck had served as manager of the former Lithia and Putney was the projectionist.”
More background, and maybe a little exaggeration.
Boxoffice, July 24, 1954: “ASHLAND, ORE. - Construction on a new drive-in a few miles north of here on highway 99 is under way and should be completed by the end of July according to the owners, Jack Putney and Jim Selleck. The new 400-car airer will be called the Lithia after a local conventional house which burned two years ago. Selleck had served as manager of the former Lithia and Putney was the projectionist.”
As kennerado knows, you can’t trust those Boxoffice “opened” notices.
Boxoffice, July 10, 1954: “DOUGLAS, WYO. – Douglas Movies, Inc., has opened its Mile High Drive-In near here, according to Joe Stallman, one of the firm’s officers. The new ozoner will have a 250-car capacity.”
Boxoffice, July 17, 1954: “DOUGLAS, WYO. - The Mile High Drive-In near here has opened after a slight delay in procuring the necessary screening equipment. Joe Stallman will manage the airer.”
The June 26, 1954 issue of Boxoffice included an article about the Liberty Kiwanis club using the Claco for an after-graduation party for Liberty High School. The author called it the “Cisco,” but there was no mistaking which drive-in he was talking about. “The theatre gave each girl a Cisco the Clown pin - a lovely red, white and gold brooch-type pin featuring the drive-in’s trademark insignia, the clown.”
This drive-in was once known as the Rustic Drive-In. A 1957 movie flyer posted here by Drive-In 54 used that name. “Rustic” was the name given in a 1959 movie list in the Tampa Tribune, also in the April 8, 1960 note in the Tampa Bay Times when Carl Floyd bought the place from Harry Jones.
These days, the Ruskin is reopening soon, and WFLA has posted a very nice Youtube video to prove it.
As you said, capacity exaggeration was not at all unheard of. However, note that those six ramps all appear to be double ramps. Counting the poles visible in a very detailed USGS photo, I’d guess that they held 30x2 cars each, which would make 350 a more reasonable figure.
Offered for sale at this eBay auction.
That photo appeared in the May 22, 1954 issue of Boxoffice, in the public domain. The original caption, titled “Are the Indians attacking?”:
This is not a promotion for a western feature. It’s the entrance sign at the Fort Drive-In Theatre, Leavenworth, Kas., engulfed in flames. Beverly Miller, president of the Kansas-Missouri Allied unit, who owns the Fort, said the fire was caused by a short circuit in the wiring. A strong wind whipped up the flames, which completely consumed the rustic-type sign. Damage as set at $3,000. A patron, with a camera, took the picture at the height of the fire.