Penn Drive-In
13419 US-27,
Pennville,
GA
30753
13419 US-27,
Pennville,
GA
30753
1 person
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Located in Pennville, just outside Summerville. The Penn Drive-In was rather large for a small town drive-in, parking 400 cars. It was opened on August 24, 1950 with Esther Williams in “Neptune’s Daughter”. It was owned by J.S. Tankersley. It was closed for movies in 1969, but continued for a while as a special events venue.
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MikeRogers
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Found it, was technically located in Pennville, just outside Summerville hence the name “Penn Drive-In”. Approximate address now is Underwood Dr & Martha Berry Hwy, Pennville GA 30753. It’s in a 1964 aerial and a 1968 topo but only ramp markings remained by 1981. Underwood drive didn’t exist when the drive-in was open. Now a vacant tree-filled lot however the cement base of the marquee may be the last thing left.
For a time it was operated by Luther and Beth Smith who owned the Tooga in nearby Summerville.
Boxoffice, Feb. 4, 1956: “J. S. Tankersley has sold his Penn Drive-In, Summerville, Ga., to L. Smith and D. L. McWhorter”
Underwood Drive runs through the old drive-in site across the highway from a Wal-Mart and a Wendys with the address 13419 US-27. The site was on the same side of the highway and north of a building with the address 13234 US-27.
The marquee was removed by 1981. You can still see its rectangular base until 1993.
Today, even the base is gone. A sign for the prison sits just a few feet away from where the marquee once stood.
The larger, square-like concrete base that is still present is not the marquee. That didn’t appear until 1993.
The Penn Drive-In opened its gates on August 24, 1950 with Esther Williams in “Neptune’s Daughter” along with a fireworks show at intermission. Otherwise, no extras were added. It was closed in 1969, but briefly became a special events site in the early-1970s.