Boxoffice, July 25, 1953: “The Del Rio Theatre reopened recently in Cloverdale and is showing Spanish films. William Blair jr. is manager of the house.”
Boxoffice, July 11, 1953: “The St. Ansgar airport soon will have a lighted runway alongside the new Roxy Fly-In and Drive-In, so that aircraft can park and their occupants can watch the outdoor movie. Eight viewing ramps will be provided for automobiles. A ninth ramp will be devoted to the parking of about eight airplanes. The state aeronautics commission said this is a new wrinkle for Iowa - that there are no similar plane drive-ins in the state. Operator of the Roxy is Harland Anderson. Other fly-in theatres reported in various parts of the country are located at Belmar, N.J., Mobile, Ala., and Spearman, Tex.”
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “Jules Perlmutter is reported to have closed temporarily the Lake George Drive-In because patronage fell below a profit margin. Perlmutter opened the Lake George about two weeks after the nearby Fort George was relighted.”
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “Ernie Stautner, drive-in exhibitor and pro football tackle, will not report to the Pittsburgh Steelers until late August. Stautner and his brother-in-law, Ed Hoffman, operate the Sara-Pla between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. He said drive-in duties would entail a month delay in reporting”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “At the close of business January 12, Fox West Coast swapped theatres with Gamble and O'Keefe. The Tower, Fresno, is now operated by them and G&O have the Kinema there.”
Boxoffice, March 28, 1953: “Gerald C. Hardy of Fresno, owner and operator of a chain of theatres in California and Nevada, has purchased the Rivoli at 1213 Fulton in Fresno and will reopen it with third-dimension color motion pictures to premiere the new film technique in the San Joaquin valley. The theatre business was purchased from Albert O'Keefe and T. R. Gamble … Installation of the 3-D equipment will cost $15,000 and will include three projectors and a new screen.”
Boxoffice, March 28, 1953: “J. P. Cruz, a resident of Reedley for 30 years, has bought the Star Theatre there from Mattie Sheibley and the equipment from the Panero Theatre Co. Cruz stated the interior of the theatre is being remodeled and air conditioning and projection are being improved"
Boxoffice, March 21, 1953: “DEL MORTE (sic), COLO. - William A. Simon, formerly of the Grand Theatre in Rocky Ford, purchased the Princess Theatre here. He takes over the house about April 1.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 17, 1953: “EUGENE, ORE. - Ken Hirons, local businessman, has taken over operation of North’s Drive-In. The sale price was estimated at $18,000.”
Boxoffice, March 7, 1953: “EUGENE, ORE. A. B. Olsen, owner of the North End Drive-In, has not sold the outdoor theatre, as was incorrectly reported in the January 17 edition. A drive-in restaurant, in no way connected with the North End Drive-In was sold, leading to the confusion.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 28, 1953: “Edward H. Metzgar … has disposed of two outdoor situations at Clarkston and Lewistown Orchards, it was revealed recently. They were sold to the Liberty Theatre Corp., of Lewistown, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wall.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 7, 1953: “Another neighborhood theatre bit the dust now that Jack Mingus has sold his Florencita on the south side, which will be converted into a union hall”
Boxoffice, Jan. 3, 1953: “An unusual concept of the place of the drive-in theatre as a business entity has been developed at the Nashoba Valley Drive-In Theatre and Restaurant, located in West Acton, Mass., The drive-in itself can be best described as an "area” drive-in, in that it does not draw from any one particular community, but draws from some half-dozen small communities located about 20 miles west of Boston. The drive-in accommodates approximately 400 cars, and the projection boot is located in the rear of the theatre, throwing over the top of all the cars to a screen some 600 feet away … The Nashoba Valley Drive-In Theatre and Restaurant is operated by Boxboro Enterprises, under the management of Donald Sweenie."
The last El Rancho ad I could find in the Sacramento Bee was Sept. 6, 1963. The program that night was “The Caretakers” with Robert Stack and “Man From the Diners Club” with Danny Kaye.
The Oakland was open by 1948, since it was included in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog. Its address was 15065 East 14th Street, and it was owned by Guy W. Meek, Western Drive-In Theatres, Inc.
Exhibitor, June 7, 1950: “David J. Bolton, an executive of the Trans-California Theatres, Inc., acquired the Oakland Drive-In, San Leandro, Cal., formerly owned by Guy Meek.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 6, 1952: “WOODBURN, ORE. - The Westenskow Theatre Co. is building a new 500-car drive-in just north of this community on Highway 99E. The ozoner will be opened next spring. Westenskow Theatre Co. has been in business for the last 18 years and now owns the New Pix Theatre here as well as other theatre holdings.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 6, 1952: “DAYTON, WASH. - A drive-in will be constructed here this winter, Lowell Spiess, manager of the Liberty Theatre, disclosed recently. The new 250-car outdoorer will be located on the A. J. Harting land one mile west of here. Construction is to begin immediately.”
The Modern Theatre section of the Nov. 1, 1952 issue of Boxoffice had a photo of the Howell screen tower ablaze. Its caption said that it was completely destroyed in that fire “last fall.”
Boxoffice, July 25, 1953: “The Del Rio Theatre reopened recently in Cloverdale and is showing Spanish films. William Blair jr. is manager of the house.”
Boxoffice, July 11, 1953: “Ness City, Kas. - Melvin Eichman has opened the new Star Drive-In here."
Boxoffice, July 11, 1953: “Medicine Lodge, Kas. - Roy Culley has opened his new 250-car Pageant Drive-In here.”
Looks like it was a fly-in from the start.
Boxoffice, July 11, 1953: “The St. Ansgar airport soon will have a lighted runway alongside the new Roxy Fly-In and Drive-In, so that aircraft can park and their occupants can watch the outdoor movie. Eight viewing ramps will be provided for automobiles. A ninth ramp will be devoted to the parking of about eight airplanes. The state aeronautics commission said this is a new wrinkle for Iowa - that there are no similar plane drive-ins in the state. Operator of the Roxy is Harland Anderson. Other fly-in theatres reported in various parts of the country are located at Belmar, N.J., Mobile, Ala., and Spearman, Tex.”
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “The new 288-car Rocket Drive-In has been opened by C. L. McVey of Los Angeles.”
Boxoffice, June 27, 1953: “Jack Braxton and George Stoller expect early completion of their 500-space Autovue Drive-In near Camas, Wash.”
Was this ever called the Plainville? Every reference and photo I’ve seen showed it as the Ski-Vue.
Boxoffice, June 13, 1953: “The new 300-car Moore Skivue Drive-In has been opened.”
Boxoffice, June 13, 1953: “The new 400-car Klock 75 Airport Drive-In has been opened by Glenn Klock. It is on Highway 75, a mile west of town.”
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “Jules Perlmutter is reported to have closed temporarily the Lake George Drive-In because patronage fell below a profit margin. Perlmutter opened the Lake George about two weeks after the nearby Fort George was relighted.”
Boxoffice, June 6, 1953: “Ernie Stautner, drive-in exhibitor and pro football tackle, will not report to the Pittsburgh Steelers until late August. Stautner and his brother-in-law, Ed Hoffman, operate the Sara-Pla between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. He said drive-in duties would entail a month delay in reporting”
Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 19, 1952: “At the close of business January 12, Fox West Coast swapped theatres with Gamble and O'Keefe. The Tower, Fresno, is now operated by them and G&O have the Kinema there.”
Boxoffice, March 28, 1953: “Gerald C. Hardy of Fresno, owner and operator of a chain of theatres in California and Nevada, has purchased the Rivoli at 1213 Fulton in Fresno and will reopen it with third-dimension color motion pictures to premiere the new film technique in the San Joaquin valley. The theatre business was purchased from Albert O'Keefe and T. R. Gamble … Installation of the 3-D equipment will cost $15,000 and will include three projectors and a new screen.”
Boxoffice, March 28, 1953: “J. P. Cruz, a resident of Reedley for 30 years, has bought the Star Theatre there from Mattie Sheibley and the equipment from the Panero Theatre Co. Cruz stated the interior of the theatre is being remodeled and air conditioning and projection are being improved"
Boxoffice, March 28, 1953: “Harry Henderson has taken over the Arroyo Theatre, long dark, and reopend the 950-seat showcase”
Boxoffice, March 21, 1953: “The Clovis Theatre at Clovis, Calif., was sold by Mr. and Mrs. Bradley H. Fish to Emanuel A. Giannaros.”
Boxoffice, March 21, 1953: “DEL MORTE (sic), COLO. - William A. Simon, formerly of the Grand Theatre in Rocky Ford, purchased the Princess Theatre here. He takes over the house about April 1.”
A reminder of Boxoffice-based false alarms.
Boxoffice, Jan. 17, 1953: “EUGENE, ORE. - Ken Hirons, local businessman, has taken over operation of North’s Drive-In. The sale price was estimated at $18,000.”
Boxoffice, March 7, 1953: “EUGENE, ORE. A. B. Olsen, owner of the North End Drive-In, has not sold the outdoor theatre, as was incorrectly reported in the January 17 edition. A drive-in restaurant, in no way connected with the North End Drive-In was sold, leading to the confusion.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 28, 1953: “Edward H. Metzgar … has disposed of two outdoor situations at Clarkston and Lewistown Orchards, it was revealed recently. They were sold to the Liberty Theatre Corp., of Lewistown, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wall.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 7, 1953: “Another neighborhood theatre bit the dust now that Jack Mingus has sold his Florencita on the south side, which will be converted into a union hall”
Boxoffice, Jan. 3, 1953: “An unusual concept of the place of the drive-in theatre as a business entity has been developed at the Nashoba Valley Drive-In Theatre and Restaurant, located in West Acton, Mass., The drive-in itself can be best described as an "area” drive-in, in that it does not draw from any one particular community, but draws from some half-dozen small communities located about 20 miles west of Boston. The drive-in accommodates approximately 400 cars, and the projection boot is located in the rear of the theatre, throwing over the top of all the cars to a screen some 600 feet away … The Nashoba Valley Drive-In Theatre and Restaurant is operated by Boxboro Enterprises, under the management of Donald Sweenie."
The last El Rancho ad I could find in the Sacramento Bee was Sept. 6, 1963. The program that night was “The Caretakers” with Robert Stack and “Man From the Diners Club” with Danny Kaye.
The Oakland was open by 1948, since it was included in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog. Its address was 15065 East 14th Street, and it was owned by Guy W. Meek, Western Drive-In Theatres, Inc.
Exhibitor, June 7, 1950: “David J. Bolton, an executive of the Trans-California Theatres, Inc., acquired the Oakland Drive-In, San Leandro, Cal., formerly owned by Guy Meek.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 6, 1952: “WOODBURN, ORE. - The Westenskow Theatre Co. is building a new 500-car drive-in just north of this community on Highway 99E. The ozoner will be opened next spring. Westenskow Theatre Co. has been in business for the last 18 years and now owns the New Pix Theatre here as well as other theatre holdings.”
Boxoffice, Dec. 6, 1952: “DAYTON, WASH. - A drive-in will be constructed here this winter, Lowell Spiess, manager of the Liberty Theatre, disclosed recently. The new 250-car outdoorer will be located on the A. J. Harting land one mile west of here. Construction is to begin immediately.”
Boxoffice, Nov. 29, 1952: “The Harvey Bros. firm has taken a new ten-year lease on the Sage Theatre at Winnemucca and plans to remodel the house”
The Modern Theatre section of the Nov. 1, 1952 issue of Boxoffice had a photo of the Howell screen tower ablaze. Its caption said that it was completely destroyed in that fire “last fall.”