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Uploaded on: October 24, 2025

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231 Drive-In - Memorial Parkway NW and Winchester Road NW, Huntsville, AL - Previously known as the the Regal Drive-in.

Image & text courtesy of - WILLIAM H. HAMPTON

Prior to the opening of the Regal Drive-In on Meridian Pike (Highway 241) near Alabama A&M, Negro citizens could not go to drive-in theatres in Huntsville until Mr. Rhett Woody, owner of Woody’s Drive-In, along with Alabama A&M President, J.F. Drake came up with a plan. The two men worked a deal which allowed Negro citizens to secretly enter the drive-in without white patrons knowing about it. After dark, and as the trailers played for coming attractions, Negro motorists would park their vehicles along the back row and await the feature. When they got hungry and needed a snack from the concession area, they simply flashed their headlights and Mr. Woody himself would come to the window, take their order, and deliver it to them. We salute Mr. Woody for sacrificing his life and his business for a just cause.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -