Mineralite Drive-In

250 K. Street,
Hawthorne, NV 89415

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MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on July 1, 2025 at 2:12 pm

Boxoffice, Sept. 14, 1957: “Mrs. E. M. Bearden, Cactus and Desert Theatre in Hawthorne, has purchased the Mineralite Drive-In, Hawthorne, and the Babbitt Court Theatre, Babbitt, Nev., from Charles Leonard for an undisclosed sum. Motion Picture Purchasing, Inc., will handle all four situations.”

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on February 12, 2025 at 11:53 am

As NYozoner implied, the drive-in site was roughly bounded by modern-day J & L streets and 2nd & 3rd streets. I uploaded a 1954 UGSG aerial photo that shows it just outside the edge of town back then.

Boxoffice, Aug. 15, 1953: “Chuck Leonard, operator of the Babbit Theatre in Nevada, opened his new drive-in at Hartshorne (sic) July 31”

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on October 31, 2018 at 8:33 am

350 cars.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on December 11, 2017 at 11:36 pm

Odd name!! Why was it called Mineralite?

NYozoner
NYozoner on December 17, 2010 at 10:49 pm

The drive-in was located inside the grid of the town, at 250 K St, Hawthorne, NV 89415. Here is an aerial photo from 1974 which vaguely shows the footprint of the drive-in.

http://flic.kr/p/92KhaA

The projection building is in the center of the lot, and the screen is facing due south.

MauriceM
MauriceM on October 30, 2010 at 11:57 am

If I recall correctly, the Drive-In was without the 1-mile square footprint of Hawthorne, roughly where the 200 block of K Street is now.

AndyCallahanMajorMajor
AndyCallahanMajorMajor on August 11, 2010 at 10:21 am

It looks like this was on the east side of Highway 359 south of town. It’s just south of Spanish Springs Road.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 9, 2008 at 7:34 pm

Here is part of an article from the Reno Evening Gazette dated 8/30/57:

Theater Sale is Announced in Hawthorne

HAWTHORNE â€" Mrs. Elizabeth Bearden, owner of the Cactus and Desert theaters in Hawthorne, recently purchased the Mineralite Drive-In Theater and the lease on the Babbitt Theater and will assume active management of these two theaters on Sept 1.

The sale was made by Charles Leonard who has operated the Babbitt theater since 1949 and who constructed the Mineralite Drive-In, Hawthorne’s only drive-in theater, in 1953. Mrs. Bearden has announced that her Desert theater will be closed on Sept 1 and that the Babbitt theater, which has been closed during the summer months, will re-open on Sunday, Sept 1.