Hello folks,

269 towns/cities now on this site, a few thousand or so to go.

Here I am. Back again. I closed this site down years ago because spammers were flooding my ‘contact me’ page. So, this is my old site, with topographical maps and some photographs, as I just don’t have the time to track new ones.

And there are new ones out there !

Years ago I read two different sites about just how many drive-ins there are/were. One said over five thousand. One said over three thousand. A site I recently read said over four thousand.

Sadly, Joe Bob Brigg’s site is down. Along with Drive-ins.com. The later one had a ton of information, which I had copied with permission.

I have found some sites that track open drive-ins. I’ll create a links page and put links to their sites on that page.

Good Luck out there !

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November, 2023

Nov 21

Navigation menus installed. I currently don't know why they only work on the entrance page for this site.

Changes to the css not working again. Urf. Seems better in a different browser.

Moved to a new web host. Photos, etc. are being uploaded.

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Downtown, and the first Movie palace I ever went to. I realize this isn’t a drive-in, but it was magnificent in its day.

I found this information on http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1487

Photo: December 2, 2007 photo credit Traces of Texas.

The above site shows photos from 2001 thru 2018. No changes. I remember back around the turn of the century there was a restoration effort. I wonder what happened to that ?

I remember you went in an entrance where you paid, there was also an concession stand. Walk through a short passageway. Which was behind 2 stores on the perpendicular street. Then you got to the theater. There were no folks seating anyone when I went there. There was an attempt to bring back the seaters, but most Texans felt they could find their own seat.

Over 900 seats. A large blue neon clock on the right side of the screen. There were murals on both sides of the seating. Some statues. There were lights that shined up from the floor onto the statues and murals. When those lights dimmed, you knew the show was about to start.

The highway went/goes from Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, to California.

Illinois

I don't have any topographic maps, nor aerial photos, of these locations. The exception being Baxter Springs in Kansas. If I can find topos and aerial photos, I'll add them.

West Chicago had 1, Cascade Outdoor Theatre.

Cascade Outdoor Theatre is working to re-open.

Countryside had 66 Drive-In. Closed.

Versailles/Romeoville has Bel Aire Drive-In

Bloomington had Phil-Kron Drive-In. It is closed.

Springfiled had 1, 66 Drive-In. Closed.

Carlinville had 1, Diana Drive-In. Closed.

Litchfield had 1, Skyview Drive-In. Closed.

Mitchell had 1, Bel Air Drive-In. Closed.

Collinsville had 1, Falcon Drive-In. Closed.

Missouri

St. Louis had 1, Broadway Drive-In. Closed.

Crestwood had 1, "66" Park-In. Closed.

Sullivan had 1, Grand Drive-In. Closed.

Cuba had 1, 19 Drive-In. Closed.

Rolla Had 1, Rolla Drive-In. Closed.

Springfield had Holiday Drive-In, Sunset Drive-In, Queen Drive-In/Hi-M Drive-In

Carthage has 1 open, 66 Drive-In

66 Drive-In

Webb City had 1, Webb City Drive-In. Closed.

Kansas

Baxter Springs had 1, Twilite Drive-In

Oklahoma

Miami had 1, Sooner Drive-In. Closed.

Tulsa had 1 open: Admiral Twin Drive-In. Closed

Sapulpa has 1, Tee Pee Drive-In. Closed.

Oklahoma City had 1, Cinema 66

Bethany had 1, Lakeside Drive-In. Closed.

El Reno had 1, Squaw Drive-In. Closed.

Weatherford had 1, Showest/Sho-West Drive-in Theatre. Closed.

Clinton had 1, Clinton Drive-In. Closed.

Elk City had 1, 66 Drive-In. Closed.

Texas

Shamrock had 1, Pioneer Drive-In. Closed.

McLean had 1, Derby Drive-In. Closed.

Amarillo had 3: Tascosa Drive-In, Trail Drive-In, and Twin Drive-In. Closed.

New Mexico

Albuquerque had 11: 66 Drive-In, Terrace Drive-In, Albuquerque 6 Drive-In, Cactus Drive-In, Duke City Drive-In, Silver Dollar Drive-In, Star Drive-In, Sunset Drive-In, Tesuque Drive-In, Try C Drive-In, Wyoming Drive-In. I was unable to find the others. Closed.

Gallup had 2: Zuni Drive-In and Yucca Drive-In. Closed.

Grants had 1, Trail Drive-In. Closed.

Arizona

Winslow had 1, Tonto Drive-In. Closed.

California

Barstow has 1, a re-opened Skyline Drive-In. I couldn't find a web site for them, and facebook blocks me from reading about them. But I did find info on Driveinmovie.com

Lenwood had 1, Lenwood Drive-In. Closed.

Victorville had 1, Joshua Drive-In. Closed.

Rialto had 1, Foothill Drive-In. Closed.

Azusa had 1, Edwards Azusa Foothill Drive-In Theatre. Closed.

Its been many a year, since I went to a drive-In Movie…

But this is the way I remember them !

Many a year ago, back around 1955, my folks and I went, to the Drive-In movie theatre !

Down the road, excited in anticipation, down to the highway, and byway, to see upon the Big Screen a war movie, or a western, and cartoons galore, or maybe Space Pirates ! Up there on the Big Screen. Fifty feet tall !

Sitting, almost bouncing, there in the back seat of the car. Well, I did bounce a few times, and was told to stop that. I had bounced so much, my Dad thought we had a flat tire…

One time, I brought my cap pistols, to help the Good Guys battle the Bad Guys. I wore my cowboy hat and cap pistol belt over my pajamas. And how I accidentlly left the caps in there. Gee, did my Dad jump when I fired my toy pistol at the Bad Guys… and hit his head on the inside of the car roof. We left early… oh well. But I had fun, up to that point in time.

The concession stand popcorn and the large soda pop drink, it was cheaper than going to the movie show in town.

My folks particularly liked dollar a car night ! But you had to go early, otherwise the long lines might mean there was no room left by the time we got up to the ticket booth.

I never saw a pony ride there, but they had swings and slides. Sometimes I could go and swing, and have fun. Other times I had to sit in the car, ‘cause dad had a headache and didn’t want to chase me back to the car because I wanted to see the movie, while swinging on that swing. And my folks wanting me back in the car. I enjoyed those swings.

Its kinda hard to tell you, just what the experience was like. To see our Heroes, and the Bad Guys, up there, on the Big Screen.

If you ever saw a movie at one of the movie palaces, that would be close.

But I don’t remember it rivaling the size of the people and monsters at the Drive-In Movie Theatre Picture Show !

The sounds were tinny, of that you could be sure, but those ray guns and space ships paid no attention to that !
Space ships and monsters, looked much larger there !

At the Drive-In Movie Picture Show.

Back in the days, of the double-feature ! On some nights, there were three movies ! All for one price. Two cartoons, before and after the Main Attraction. Out there, in the dark of the Drive-In Movie Theatre Big Screen !

Popcorn, candy, and hot dogs with mustard, from the concession stand.

Oh, I remember the thrill of seeing those 1950s B-Movies at the Drive-In Movie Theatre Big Screen !