Drive in's in Missouri

[ozarksboy]

There's a really nice drive-in theater in Aurora, Mo. I took my family reguarly when we lived there in the late 70s, early 80s. My son, who lives in Nixa now, took his wife and my granddaughters there this past summer. He had great memories of the place and wanted his kids to have the same great experience. Main difference: When I took him there nearly 30 years ago, we listened to the movie on speaker boxes that hung on the car window. Now the soundtrack is broadcast on the radio.

[Kyledude]

Hi! I'm new to this forum, and I apologize for being late to this particular thread, but when I saw it was about drive-in theaters, I couldn't pass it up.

Although I now live in Southern California, I grew up in St. Louis (St. Charles, to be exact) and am a major drive-in fan! Sadly, there are no drive-ins left in the immediate St. Louis area (St. Louis and St. Charles counties), although there is the Skyview Drive-in in Belleville, IL, that is still open.

Here is a complete rundown of the St. Louis area drive-ins, to the best of my knowledge. All were single screen theaters, unless otherwise mentioned:

Plaza Drive-In - West Clay St. and Droste Road, St. Charles - nothing left as Lindenwood College has built over the property. This was the first drive-in in St. Charles and was originally known as the St. Charles Drive-In.

I-70 Drive-In - Veterans Memorial Parkway, just east of Spencer Road, St. Peters - nothing left, Mid Rivers Dodge now occupies the land...this was the drive-in I went to most often!! Had 2 screens, one of which you could see clearly as you drove by on I-70.

Airway Drive-In - St. Charles Rock Road near Northwest Plaza, St. Ann - theater is gone, but the marquee with the majorette is still there at the entrance to Shop-N-Save. Had 2 screens.

St. Ann 4 Screen Drive-In - just down the street from the Airway - totally gone, now just businesses. I believe this was the first multi-screen theater (indoor or outdoor) in St. Louis...but if I'm wrong about that, feel free to correct...politely...

North Twin Drive-In - Lewis and Clark Drive (Hwy 367) at St. Cyr Road, Jennings - nothing left as houses have been built on it. This was the last St. Louis drive-in to close (2002, I believe)

270 Drive-In - West Florissant and Dunn Roads, just off I-270 in Florissant - nothing left, Clocktower Place shopping center is there now. This one had the yellow tower and red ball on the marquee.

Olympic Drive-In - St. Charles Rock Road, Pagedale - nothing left, now a junkyard, but very close to a Metrolink stop. This was the most controversial since it showed mostly X-rated movies. Known as Rock Road Drive-In in its final years.

Manchester Drive-In - I-270 and Manchester Road, Des Peres - totally gone since the mid 1960s, West County Center is there now. This was the first drive-in opened in the St. Louis area.

Holiday Drive-In - Page Ave in Overland - totally gone, offices on site now. Mid-America Theaters, which owned and operated the Holiday, also had its offices at this theater. Had 4 screens, which ties it with the St. Ann as the largest drive-ins in St. Louis.

66 Park-In - Watson Road (Route 66) and Sappington Road, Crestwood - totally gone, Best Buy and Schnucks occupy the land now. This was the next-to-last drive-in in St.Louis to close (1994). Was also directly across the street from Crestwood Plaza. Went to it once before moving to Southern California. Great double feature that night (Tremors and Back To The Future III) with a lightning storm thrown in!

Ronnie's Drive-In - S. Lindbergh and Baptist Church Road, Sappington - totally gone, Ronnie's 20 Cine and Ronnie's Plaza now on the land. Fred Wehrenberg, founder of Wehrenberg Theaters, named this drive-in after his grandson, Ronnie Krueger...who today is President and Chairman of the Board of Wehrenberg Theaters.

South Twin Drive-In - Lemay Ferry Road and Buckley Road, Mehlville - totally gone, Lemay Plaza with Dierbergs is on the land now.

I-44 Drive-In - I-44 and Highway 141, Valley Park - totally gone, was used as storage for trucks and trailers, now I hear it's just part of a landfill. This was the last Drive-In to open in St. Louis, around 1972.

WHEW!!! OK, that's about all I remember. I'm pretty sure I may have left a few places out, but those were probably before my time or didn't last too long, so if anyone can add extra info, please feel free!!

Thanks for letting me post!! I love this stuff!!

[kshe95girl]

We used to go to the St Charles drive in when I was a child, it was sooooooo much fun! Thanks for making me smile!

[Kyledude]

You're welcome, kshe95girl! Glad I could make your day!!

As a follow-up, here's a list of the theater companies that ran these theaters. Once again, this is to the best of my knowledge, so if I made a mistake, feel free to correct:

Drive-ins operated by Arthur Theaters:
270
St. Ann 4 Screen

Drive-ins operated by Mid-America Theaters:
Holiday
I-70
Plaza

Drive-ins operated by Wehrenberg Theaters:
66 Park-In
Airway
I-44
North Twin
Ronnie's
South Twin

It should also be noted that, after Arthur Theaters went out of business, Wehrenberg operated the St. Ann 4 Screen and the 270 before they closed. The Airway was operated by General Cinema Corporation before Wehrenberg took it over in the 70s. Wehrenberg also ran the Rock Road (Olympic) for its final 2-3 years. I don't know who ran the Olympic before that. I also don't know who ran the Manchester.

OK, I'm done now...

[kshe95girl]

I loved that majorette in front of the St Ann drive-in, glad to know she is still there, wonder if she has been restored?

[blueboss]

The memories this thread brings back. As a small child mom and dad would load all 5 of us kids in the truck and take us to the Willow Springs drive in. It's been gone for many years. As a teen, I spent a lot of Saturday nights at the 21 drive in. Not sure what movies were playing, but sure had fun!

[Aftershock318]

There is a drive in between desoto missouri and potosi missouri in a lil place called old mines.U cant miss it.i believe its 5bucks a carload.