Historic Houston Drive-In Theaters

[Mark F. Barnes]

I-45 Drive In

McLendon Tri-plex Drive-In

Sharpstown Drive-In

Shepherd Drive-In

South Main Drive in

Telephone Rd Drive-In

[gonzo1976]

This is from the 1948 Theatre Catalog listing of drive-in theaters:

Houston, Tex. EPSOM DR., Jensen Rd., Highway 59. Exec: W. V. Ratcliff.(M12 C275 D7 SF CH4).

Houston, Tex. MARKET STREET DR., 8601 Market St. Exec: C. H. Mitchamore, Mitchamore and Neves Amusement Co.(M12 C400 D7 SF CH4).

Houston, Tex. SHEPHERD RD. DR., Conroe Highway. Exec: (UNDER) C. C. Ezell, Underwood and Ezell.(M12 C400 D7 ASDF CH4).

Houston, Tex. SOUTH MAIN DR., Old Fort Bend Rd. Exec: (UNDER) C. C. Ezell, Underwood and Ezell.(M12 C400 D7 ASDF CH4).

Houston, Tex. WINKLER DR., Winkler and Telephone Rds. Exec: (UNDER) C. C. Ezell, Underwood and Ezell.(M12 C400 D7 ASDF CH4).

M indicates the number of months the drive-in is in operation

C indicates car capacity

D indicates the number of days a week it operates

SF-DF or ASDF indicates a single feature, double feature or assorted single and double policy

CH indicates the number of changes of show per week

Here is a list (partial?) from this Web site.

[sevfiv]

neat pictures!

there is a thread here about drive-ins - i think i posted some current tel-twin pictures there

[FreakyDude]

Wow, those are some great pics! I've looked all over for pics like that and was unable to locate any. Brought back memories. Thanks!

[Subdude]

Note merged the two topics on drive-ins.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Don't remember this playground at Sharpstown Drive-In, but my parents took us there at night. Enjoy!

How about this playground at Sharpstown?

[kents]

I know I'm resurrecting an ancient thread there.

I found this doing some searching and thought I'd pop in anyway.

I was the manager of the Town & Country DI in Pasadena in '80-'81.

I've visited the site a couple times over the years and its sad to see the empty lot.

I live in Garland Texas now, a suburb of Dallas.

Thought I'd pop in and say hi to my friends in Houston.

Sincerely,

Kent Smith

[plumber2]

Strip center with Home Depot and Office Depot?

Before the Home Depot and others were built, there were an Oldsmobile, Buick and a Chysler-Plymouth car

dealership there. These were the businesses that built on the site right after the Winkler Drive theater closed.

[gnu]

sev, next time you go to Baytown take some pics of the old Decker Drive-in, it is filled with abandodned and repo'd mobile homes now, at least last time I looked it was.

Sevfiv, if you never did take those pictures of the decker, you might want to do it sooner than later.

The theater property was posted as sold in Monday's chronicle.

JEC Texas purchased the 14 acre site from the Tercar Theater Company.

[enviromain]

How about this playground at Sharpstown?

Doesn't look too familiar. Where in Sharpstown was it located? Looks like the drive-in is in the background.

[bkjones98]

Im 48 and I remember going to a few drive ins in the 60's and 70's. The last movie I saw at Telephone Road was Young Frankenstein. I drove by the land it used to occupy a few weeks ago and you can still make out the driveway in and out and from arial photos you can see the humps you used to park on. Hurricane Alicia took care of the Gulfway. After it hit, the marquee said the movie playing was Gone With The Wind thanks to a person with a sense of humor and a spray paint can. I saw Purple Rain at the giant drive in on 45 north, and Saturday night fever at the Texas City drive in. And let us not forget the Town and Country in Pasadena. The last movie I saw there was Star Wars. I wont mention Pasadenas other famous drive in, although if you were on 225 heading east and looked out the back windshield at the right time you could get a glimpse of things a youngster shouldnt see.

Does anyone think Drive ins would work now? Personally, I don't, althought I do miss them greatly.

I've always wanted to go to a drive-in. I think they would work.

[Mark F. Barnes]

I've always wanted to go to a drive-in. I think they would work.

The Showboat in Hockley stays pretty crowded every weekend.

http://www.theshowboatdrivein.com/

[bkjones98]

The Showboat in Hockley stays pretty crowded every weekend.

http://www.theshowboatdrivein.com/

Thanks. I'll have to remember about this place. We usually just go to the Edwards 24.

[plumber2]

I just looked on DriveIns.Com. It lists the "Post Oak II Drive-In". It says that it was located at 1255 North Post Oak Road. Is this one different from the one that you're talking about? Someone named Nancy Burnett posted a comment which said that on the screen was a mural of a black duck named Dinky. Could this be a "sister" of the drive-in that you're referring to?

The Post Oak Drive In moved from S. Post Oak (south of present day Williams Tower) to N Post Oak (between Katy Freeway and Hempstead Highway sometime in the early 60's. I remember watching the cartoons from a tree in my front yard in the 5800 block of Norfolk (now Beverly Hill) in the late 50's.

[texianjoe]

I was looking on GoogleEarth.Ink. I entered Winkler Drive at Woodridge. On the spot of land where the Winkler Drive-In Theatre was located I saw a business. It was a large building with a big parking lot. The front of the building faces Interstate 45. Can someone out there tell me what that business is?

The Home Depot is on the feeder of I 45. It and the shopping center next door is where Bob Marco Buick, McDavid Olds and Metro Chrysler Plymouth used to be.

The structure you see on corner of Telephone and Winkler is probably the Tele-Wink Grill. It has been there since I can remember and is still going strong and still one of the best and cheapest breakfasts in town.

joe

[northbeaumont]

This is from the 1948 Theatre Catalog listing of drive-in theaters:

Houston, Tex. EPSOM DR., Jensen Rd., Highway 59. Exec: W. V. Ratcliff.(M12 C275 D7 SF CH4).

Houston, Tex. MARKET STREET DR., 8601 Market St. Exec: C. H. Mitchamore, Mitchamore and Neves Amusement Co.(M12 C400 D7 SF CH4).

Houston, Tex. SHEPHERD RD. DR., Conroe Highway. Exec: (UNDER) C. C. Ezell, Underwood and Ezell.(M12 C400 D7 ASDF CH4).

Houston, Tex. SOUTH MAIN DR., Old Fort Bend Rd. Exec: (UNDER) C. C. Ezell, Underwood and Ezell.(M12 C400 D7 ASDF CH4).

Houston, Tex. WINKLER DR., Winkler and Telephone Rds. Exec: (UNDER) C. C. Ezell, Underwood and Ezell.(M12 C400 D7 ASDF CH4).

M indicates the number of months the drive-in is in operation

C indicates car capacity

D indicates the number of days a week it operates

SF-DF or ASDF indicates a single feature, double feature or assorted single and double policy

CH indicates the number of changes of show per week

Here is a list (partial?) from this Web site.

Yes, I've been trying to find out what happened to that drive-in theatre owner C.C. Ezell, Underwood & Ezell. Would anyone out there happen to know? There was at least one closed-down drive-in theatre (the Surf in Port Arthur) over here that Ezell/Underwood owned. I've seen that list. Ezell/Underwood owned a lot of drive-in theatres.

[devonhart]

Back in your younger days, did any of you try sneaking someone in the trunk of a car into a drive-in theatre to avoid paying admission for that person?

I was underage when the South Main Drive in showed what would be soft porn today, but was very forbidden fruit to a bicycle riding, 13 year old. I would ride up to the back gate, squeeze through the gate locked with a chain and lock. And walk up to the benches at the front. Still makes me nervous thinking about it.

Later on, when I was a motorcycle riding 17 year old, my buddy and I rode our motorcycles into one of the McLendon Triple exits, our tires slipped between the tire spikes that prevented cars from entering the exit. We watched "Dirty Harry" at no charge. My Buddy's a retired FBI Agent now.

[northbeaumont]

I was underage when the South Main Drive in showed what would be soft porn today, but was very forbidden fruit to a bicycle riding, 13 year old. I would ride up to the back gate, squeeze through the gate locked with a chain and lock. And walk up to the benches at the front. Still makes me nervous thinking about it.

Later on, when I was a motorcycle riding 17 year old, my buddy and I rode our motorcycles into one of the McLendon Triple exits, our tires slipped between the tire spikes that prevented cars from entering the exit. We watched "Dirty Harry" at no charge. My Buddy's a retired FBI Agent now.

A guy on another thread talked about the Red Bluff Drive-In Theatre in Pasadena. I told him that I read on Drive-Ins.com that it spent its last years showing X-rated movies and that it had a tall fence around it so that the screen couldn't be seen. But he said that you could see it.

[ImTomTerrific]

A guy on another thread talked about the Red Bluff Drive-In Theatre in Pasadena. I told him that I read on Drive-Ins.com that it spent its last years showing X-rated movies and that it had a tall fence around it so that the screen couldn't be seen. But he said that you could see it.

He was quite right

[northbeaumont]

He was quite right

Oh, did you see it? Did you climb up to the top or did you kneel under the bottom to catch a glimpse?

[TxFireguy]

Doesn't look too familiar. Where in Sharpstown was it located? Looks like the drive-in is in the background.

It simply amazes me the pics that folks post on here! Every now and then I will tell some friend of the Sharpstown Drive-In and how I recall them having a very small amusement park on the west end of the lot. I even remember the train going under the screen. There was a clown and also a parrot and other birds in a cage. No matter who I tell, they DON'T believe me! HA! And there it is!

Another thing I recall about this Drive-In, is that it had a very HUGE lot! It was very deep and and the farther back you went, there was grass and no cars would park back there because it was to far away from the screen (if you were there to really see it), but there were speakers!

[northbeaumont]

It simply amazes me the pics that folks post on here! Every now and then I will tell some friend of the Sharpstown Drive-In and how I recall them having a very small amusement park on the west end of the lot. I even remember the train going under the screen. There was a clown and also a parrot and other birds in a cage. No matter who I tell, they DON'T believe me! HA! And there it is!

Another thing I recall about this Drive-In, is that it had a very HUGE lot! It was very deep and and the farther back you went, there was grass and no cars would park back there because it was to far away from the screen (if you were there to really see it), but there were speakers!

Yes, where we and most other people wanted to sit was just the opposite at a drive-in versus a walk-in theatre. At a drive-in you wanted to park up as close to the screen as possible. In a walk-in you wanted to sit as far back as possible. But it's a shame that most drive-ins bit the dust. The last time that I went to a walk-in was back in 1998. I simply have no desire to go to one anymore, the high prices being the main reason.

[Vertigo58]

A guy on another thread talked about the Red Bluff Drive-In Theatre in Pasadena. I told him that I read on Drive-Ins.com that it spent its last years showing X-rated movies and that it had a tall fence around it so that the screen couldn't be seen. But he said that you could see it.

and later became a junk yard remember? The fence stayed up but you could see all the junked cars.

and.....

I must find this out...but wasn't that small little kkk headquarters bldg just across the street from the Red Bluff? We just couldnt recall exact location but I recall us passing and going WHAT! but that was in the late 70's. The sign above it was so brazen, like no big deal. I'm sure its been imploded by now.

[northbeaumont]

and later became a junk yard remember? The fence stayed up but you could see all the junked cars.

and.....

I must find this out...but wasn't that small little kkk headquarters bldg just across the street from the Red Bluff? We just couldnt recall exact location but I recall us passing and going WHAT! but that was in the late 70's. The sign above it was so brazen, like no big deal. I'm sure its been imploded by now.

On Drive-Ins.com there are pictures of the land where the Red Bluff once stood. It's all flat and open, no sign of an auto salvage yard. If you'll look at the pictures of the remains of the Telephone Road Drive-In, you'll shake your head with regret that it and most other drive-ins turned out that way. I never went to that one. Those of you who have will look at those pictures and the pleasant memories of your youth will return. You'll all of a sudden remember who you went with there, what movie you saw, what you did, etc.

[musicman]

If you'll look at the pictures of the remains of the Telephone Road Drive-In, you'll shake your head with regret that it and most other drive-ins turned out that way. Those of you who have will look at those pictures and the pleasant memories of your youth will return. You'll all of a sudden remember who you went with there, what movie you saw, what you did, etc.

I remember seeing Live and Let Die, Godzilla vs the smog monster and star wars at the telephone road.

[northbeaumont]

I remember seeing Live and Let Die, Godzilla vs the smog monster and star wars at the telephone road.

See? What did I tell you? I said that you would be able to remember what you saw there.

[Vertigo58]

See? What did I tell you? I said that you would be able to remember what you saw there.

In the late 70's and early 80's Telephone Road Drive in had $1.00 night so naturally we packed in as many partiers as possible. Obviously, we had to sneak in the trunk (even thought it was just 1 buck, jeez). The hardest part was trying not to laugh or make noise as you passed the attendant. This is tough because you were mushed up against other friends & brew. I recall seeing the lights filter throught the speakers as we snuck past. When we hit the bumps as we tried to find parking it would hurt but our driver did it to taunt us! It was bizarre to finally park, open the trunk, and about 3 people jump out! I was kind of embarrased but as other cars pulled up they had more people pop out! Then it turned in to a hippie-hollow kind of event while watching the movies. It was so much fun because you would always meet other kids from other High Schools from Houston being just as silly. Good days indeed.

These films come to mind...Cheech & Chong, Warriors, Stars Wars, Jaws, Carrie, Chainsaw Mass, The Omen, Heavy Metal, Tommy & tons more.

[isuredid]

Then it turned in to a hippie-hollow kind of event while watching the movies.

Do you mean you were watching movies naked?

[Vertigo58]

Then it turned in to a hippie-hollow kind of event while watching the movies.

Do you mean you were watching movies naked?

Maybe I mean't to say Pale Face Park?

of course you could be right after all it was the 70's! Yee haaah!

[northbeaumont]

Maybe I mean't to say Pale Face Park?

of course you could be right after all it was the 70's! Yee haaah!

On those nostalgia websites about drive-in theatres, I read that a lot of parents back in the 1950s/1960s referred to them as "passion pits" because of some of the things that went on in the cars. In MAD Magazine it said: "You know that you're really married when...you go to a drive-in theatre to actually watch the movie."