River-Vu Drive-In
2000 E. Main Street,
Green River,
UT
84525
2000 E. Main Street,
Green River,
UT
84525
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The first issue of the Green River Journal, July 21, 1955, mentioned a drive-in on the east side of the river. It later advertised in the Journal as River-Vu Drive-In “Just across the bridge”.
Was the drive-in renamed? A much later Denver Post article quoted drive-in photographer Zachary Malham, “In 1983, my wife and I were on a trip in Green River, Utah, and saw the Dunham drive-in, closed because not much was going on there by then. That was the first one I shot. Three years later, we were in the same area, and we decided to go through Green River so I could shoot it again — and it was gone! They’d put up a food stand”.
Today, Dunham Melons has a small fruit stand on the northwest corner of the old drive-in site. The ramp pattern is still visible in aerial photos.
Contributed by
Michael Kilgore
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
One source suggests that because the Drive-In was “across the river” it was actually in Elgin, Utah.
The Drive-In was operated by local Green River residents and closed on November 28, 1955.
I have uploaded a 2011 photo of the downed pylon by Grant Smith and a 1977 aerial U.S. Geological Survey photo from the utahtheaters.info site. In the aerial photo the projection building is in the center of the image and the screen at the bottom.
The site makes no mention of “Dunham” as an alternate name for the drive-in.
This Means That This Theater Only Operated For One Partial Season.
From Yumpu’s online hosting of a bound copy that cut off a few letters at the margin:
Boxoffice, May 21, 1955: “Lewis D. All?? and Leland R. Carroll are opening a new drive-in at Green River, Utah, one of the cities booming because of Utah’s uranium activities. Jack Swonson will book and buy for them.”
Boxoffice, May 28, 1955: “The Riverview Drive-In opened at Green River, Utah, booming uranium city.”
As of May 2021, part of the screen which has fallen over is still present on the property.
A few more notes.
Emery County Progress, May 26, 1955: (Green River News) “The new outdoor River Vu Drive In Theatre opened last Thursday (19) with a free showing of Queen of Africa. Over 200 cars witnessed the show. The shows will continue every night with three changes of shows a week. Gene Hunt, Alma Scovill, Lewis Allen and Jay Vetere are the owners and Lee Carroll is the Projectionist.”
Independent Film Journal, July 9, 1955: “Jack Swanson of Swanson Bros. Circuit opened his River-Vu Drive-In at Green River, Utah, and the new ozoners at Blanding, Utah and Dillon, Mont.”
Green River Journal, Aug, 11, 1955: “The River Vu Drive-In Theater … is operated by Eugene Hunt, Jay Vetere, Alma Scoville, and Lewis Allen, all residents of Green River.”
Price Sun-Advocate, July 26, 1978: “Green River” note about Mrs. Geneva Powell, plus nephews and cousins, ten in all. “One of their projects has been the River Vu drive-in movie, and the Snack Bar has been painted and renovated, the movie projectors repaired and the speakers overhauled, with some new ones purchased. Ms. Powell plans to show family-type films … and hopes for better turnouts the rest of the summer.”
A 1981 aerial shows the drive-in intact, but it appeared to have been closed for some time. There is debris present and trails cutting into the ramps which is a sure sign of closure.
At some point between 1986 and 1997, the projection booth/concession stand was torn down and the screen knocked over. The skeletal remains of the screen still exist on the property today.