The owners tried unsuccessfully to sell the land in the late-'80s, but it the land was not sold until the mid-2000s.Īstro Drive-In, 3141 S. The drive-in could accommodate 2,000 cars. Frankie Avalon and Deborah Waley hosted an autograph party at Gemini before the screening of their film Beach Blanket Bingo during the theater's grand opening. The $1.5 million outdoor theater opened with a cocktail party and celebrity appearances. The Gemini Drive-In became Dallas' first multiscreen drive-in theater when it opened in 1965. The theater did not open after the lawsuit. In 1987, the city of Dallas filed a lawsuit to close the drive-in theater after its sexually oriented business license expired. Lone Star turned into an adult theater in the mid-1960s, and began showing X-rated content. The outdoor theater had a concession stand, and outdoor patio and a children's playground. The grand opening also included fireworks and free souvenirs. 3, 1951, with the screening of Broken Arrow, starring James Stewart. The outdoor theater changed its name to King Drive-In in the early 1970s and later became an adult drive-in theater. The opening also included a fireworks show and free coffee and donuts for all moviegoers. It screened Return of the Frontiersman, starring Gordon McRae. The King Drive-In was originally named the Cinderella Drive-In when it opened on Dec. The drive in closed in 1970, and UT Southwestern Medical Center now sits on the property. Three officers descended on each side of the car and two frightened young men were taken in a flash of steel and handcuffs." "As 722 patrons in parked cars still sat in the darkened open-air Big D Drive-In Theater, six policemen with shotguns suddenly swooped down on the suspects' car at 10:30 p.m," The News reported at the time. The outdoor theater made the news two years later after two armed suspects who had robbed a man of $8 at a nearby gas station hid at the drive-in for hours. The theater eventually added a heated indoor auditorium for moviegoers who did not want to sit in their cars. The Big D Drive-In opened around 1950 as the Hines Boulevard Drive-In. The drive-in’s former address leads to a dead end, which is currently sandwiched between an apartment complex and Interstate 35.īig D Drive-In, 6327 Harry Hines Blvd. The drive-in theater was demolished around 1978. Moran, M.J Konemann, opened the same day as the Kaufman Pike Drive-In on July 1, 1949. The Hi-Vue Drive-in, owned and operated by W.P. Hi-Vue Drive-In, 5525 South Beckley Ave., Dallas (The Dallas Morning News) The officers of the Southeast Division of the Dallas Police Department now sit on the property. The drive-in theater closed in the summer of 1983 and was demolished soon after. Kaufman Pike featured Montana Mike with Robert Cumming and Brian Donlevy on its opening day. The theater was demolished in the late 1970s, and is now a storage facility. The outdoor theater also provided bottle warmers for infant feeding, and a concession stand for adults. (The Dallas Morning News)īuckner Boulevard had a play area with two elephant slides, sand boxes and other playground equipment. Buckner Boulevard Drive-In's outdoor speaker system. The theater claimed to have the “World’s Largest Fiberglass Screen” when it first opened. The theater could accommodate up to 664 vehicles, and had a loud speaker for each of them, The News reported at the time. The Buckner Boulevard Drive-In, formerly located between Samuell Boulevard and East Grand Avenue, first opened on June 4, 1948, with the screening of the film Tycoon with John Wayne and Laraine Day. Buckner Boulevard Drive-In Theater's newspaper ad. Several warehouses currently sit in the outdoor theater’s former location.īuckner Boulevard Drive-In, 3333 N. The Chalk Hill Drive-In closed in 1973 and was demolished a year later. What does that tell you? That they weren’t really watching the movie.” Nobody sold any concessions because people wouldn’t get out of their car. “It wasn’t like that for very many years, but in order to survive, that’s what some of them had to do,” Vogel said. Indoor theaters tended to have first pick of new releases, which left drive-in theater owners to show less popular films. Some drive-in theater owners in the late 1960s and early 1970s saw opportunity in this challenge and transformed their venue into “adult drive-in theaters” to bolster attendance and revenue. (Staff / The Dallas Morning News)ĭrive-in theaters always had to cope with inclement weather, but increased competition from multiplex indoor theaters with dozens of screens largely left single-screen, independently owned drive-in theaters in the dust. Danny Kinnard sleeps as his wife, Katy Kinnard, and daughter Gracie Kinnard, 3, from Waxahachie, waited for the sun to go down to watch a double feature at the Galaxy Drive-In in Ennis in 2009.
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