North Austin Drive-In Theater

LOCATION

The location of this theater was originally listed as "6600 Dallas Highway".

"Dallas Highway" is no longer listed on current (2003) maps of Austin. Evidence indicates that this portion of the "Dallas Highway" was renamed to "North Lamar" sometime after the completion of Interstate Highway 35. In a special edition titled "Lost Austin", the Austin Chronicle refers to the location of this theater as North Lamar and Justin Lane.

The block number on North Lamar at this intersection is 6800. Given that a drive-in's street entrance might not be located on the corner of the property, this location appears to be a good match to the location described in the original advertisements.

That same issue of the Austin Chronicle lists the location of the Chief Drive-In theater as being at the intersection of North Lamar and Koenig. The location of the Chief Drive-In theater was originally listed as "5600 Dallas Highway". The block number on North Lamar at this intersection is 5700. An undated Mobil travel map shows a drive-in theater in this location, spanning an area several blocks in length. This is convincing evidence that the location of the Chief Drive-in theater was on what is now known as "North Lamar". And given that this is actually the site of the Chief Drive-In theater, then by extension, "North Lamar" is also the correct location of the North Austin Drive-in.

TIDBITS

This theater was originally named "Joseph's Drive-In Theater". The name was changed in 1947 to "North Austin Drive-In Theater" prior to the opening of the "South Austin Drive-In Theater".

STATISTICS

Opened: 18 November 1940 Screens: 1 Capacity: 450 cars

REFERENCES

"Drive-In Movie Opens Monday"
Austin-American Statesman
17 November 1940
Small - 80K Large - 290K
Advertisement
Austin-American Statesman
17 November 1940
Small - 80K Large - 264K
Advertisement
Austin-American Statesman
18 November 1940
Small - 99K Large - 180K
"'Curb-Service' Movie Theater Opens to Near-Capacity Crowd"
Austin-American Statesman
19 November 1940
Small - 90K Large - 162K
"Lost Austin"
Austin Chronicle
26 January 2001
Mobil Travel Map
Undated
Small - 97K Large - 333K

FEEDBACK

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