Author Archives: mrdrivein

Video: Joplin’s Former Drive-In In The Round

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While we wait for some real drive-in news to pop up again, I wanted to share this weird little slice of drive-in history. In Joplin MO, the Mini Art Theater showed movies using the Autoscope system, patented by Tom Smith of Urbana MO, about 120 miles away. Using mirrors, the movie was delivered to a circle of (in this case) 120 windshield-sized screens, one for each car in attendance. You can see a photo of an old active Autoscope drive-in here.

According to online sources, the Mini Art opened around 1971, and from its inception showed adult films. It didn’t pop up in the International Motion Picture Almanac until 1978, when it was owned by R. Younger. It continued through the final IMPA list in 1988, then owned by N. Sinclair, though it’s possible it could have closed a few years earlier.

I had always wondered about the appeal of an Autoscope’s ring of screens. The pre-VCR days of adult film would seem to be a good fit for that technology.

The embedded video shows the way the site looked in 2015. Indeed, considering the tornado that devastated Joplin in 2011, it’s surprising that the 40+ year old Mini Art’s outline is still visible on Google Maps. If you poke around the internet, you might find a few photos of how the Mini Art Theater looked in its heyday. Have fun!

Video: In Prescott AZ, The Sign Stays Alive

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In little Prescott AZ, about halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff, some folks there really love their old drive-in sign. It’s for the Senator (named for the Senator Highway it fronts), which opened in 1950 and lasted until at least the 1980s.

Since this is dry Arizona, structures tend to remain in place until something or someone intervenes. As shown in the embedded YouTube video, some locals decided in 2008 to put the old sign out of its misery. But try not to get too upset; within a year, other locals had restored the sign.

The reason I’m mentioning any of this is an article posted today by the local newspaper, The Daily Courier. It documents the work of Class of 1963 alum Stephen Rogers and classmate Jane Orr, who together spearheaded a restoration and fundraising effort with former alums that enabled the sign to be re-erected. Since then, the group has posted messages with the sign’s moveable letters to commemorate holidays, anniversaries, and at least one marriage proposal.

“This past week, Orr and Rogers posted a Valentine’s Day missive: ‘Senator Drive-In — We Still Love and Miss You.’ A big red heart is on the far side.” Today’s article has much more, including a photo of how the sign looks today, so you know you really ought to go read it!

New Drive-In Coming Soon In SC

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Four people standing next to a sign that reads Coming Soon - Center Road Drive-In

Photo from the Center Road Drive-In Facebook page

A new drive-in in South Carolina may be open as soon as March according to its owner. Brent Anderson told the Florence News that he’s at the “end of the permits and engineering process” for the Center Road Drive-In Movie Theater, which will be a few miles west of the Darlington Raceway south of State Highway 34. “Construction won’t take too long once the permits are in, but it takes a lot longer to get access to those than a normal person might think,” Anderson said.

According to the article, the Center Road have a two-sided screen showing first-run movies in double features on both sides. It will be on land (on Center Road, of course) that Anderson’s family has owned for more than 75 years. He plans to start with a Thursday-Sunday schedule in the spring and may expand to seven days a week in the summer.

It’s always nice to see another new drive-in pop up. We can all follow its progress by checking in on the Center Road’s Facebook page.