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.
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".
If you have any comments about this set of web pages, or
information about this drive-in theater, please send e-mail to comments@captainchicken.org.
Opened: 18 November 1940
Screens: 1
Capacity: 450 cars
Austin-American Statesman
17 November 1940Small - 80K
Large - 290K
Austin-American Statesman
17 November 1940Small - 80K
Large - 264K
Austin-American Statesman
18 November 1940Small - 99K
Large - 180K
Austin-American Statesman
19 November 1940Small - 90K
Large - 162K
Austin Chronicle
26 January 2001
UndatedSmall - 97K
Large - 333K
Views Since 05 July 2007