Hempstead Road Drive-In Theater At 10600 Hempstead Rd.

[Goatman79]

On Hempstead Rd. just west of Dacoma Street, there used to be (according to aerial photographs), some sort of large arena or theatre located on Hempstead Rd. It only appears in photos prior to 1973, and then it was replaced by what looks like industrial buildings.

I am curious as to what this place was, because there seems to be no obvious references to the place, and it's unique structure alone makes it worth learning about.

From aerial photos taken in the 1950's and early 60's, the place resembles a seashell, and is not huge, but not small either. It definitely stands out on a black & white photo map. When you overlay road labels on the picture, it reads Fairway Park Drive. Any information on this ancient place would be greatly appreciated.

[intencity77]

On Hempstead Rd. just west of Dacoma Street, there used to be (according to aerial photographs), some sort of large arena or theatre located on Hempstead Rd. It only appears in photos prior to 1973, and then it was replaced by what looks like industrial buildings.

I am curious as to what this place was, because there seems to be no obvious references to the place, and it's unique structure alone makes it worth learning about.

From aerial photos taken in the 1950's and early 60's, the place resembles a seashell, and is not huge, but not small either. It definitely stands out on a black & white photo map. When you overlay road labels on the picture, it reads Fairway Park Drive. Any information on this ancient place would be greatly appreciated.

I'm pretty certain this is a drive in theater. I think it's the old Hempstead Drive In. I don't know much about it but I remember seeing in an article somewhere that the screen caught fire in 1964. The seashell shape you are talking about was the parking lot which was a common layout for most drive in's.

[sevfiv]

Yes - the Hempstead Drive In Theater (10600 Hempstead) - there is a picture of the fire on these pages:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/30583

http://www.cinemahouston.info/driveins.shtml

Another interesting thing on the aerial maps - a little residential area on Ora St. that is a wooded area now - looks like it lasted in to the 1980s and Ora isn't a street anymore..

[houstonartstudent]

Here's a screenshot I did from Google Earth historical imagery (from 1953)....this makes me want to go to a drive-inn now!

[Goatman79]

Yep, that's it. I guess it does look more like a drive in theatre, now that I am hearing universal agreement that this is what I was looking at. You'd never know where the thing was today. No evidence whatsoever.

With regards to he neighborhood on Ora St., I would like to check it out.

[Specwriter]

When I first read Goatman's reference to an arena I thought he meant the basketball arena that was part of the Delmar Stadium complex at Mangum and the Hempstead Highway. This is where the present HISD headquarters is now located. The arena had a hyperbolic parabaloid roof which looks like a Pringle's potato chip. I was fascinated by the building as a child and was sad to see it slowly decay over the years

I do not remember the drive-in theater at that location although I do remember one further out the old Hempstead Highway. I definitely remember the Airline drive-in and the I-45 drive-in (at the corner of I-45 and West Road). I thought it was odd that the I-45 was built when it was. It seemed drive-in theaters' time had passed. From his extensive research into the history of the Aldine area, Firebird65 can tell us the date when the I-45 was built and probably when it was demolished.

[cowboybud]

When I first read Goatman's reference to an arena I thought he meant the basketball arena that was part of the Delmar Stadium complex at Mangum and the Hempstead Highway. This is where the present HISD headquarters is now located. The arena had a hyperbolic parabaloid roof which looks like a Pringle's potato chip. I was fascinated by the building as a child and was sad to see it slowly decay over the years

I do not remember the drive-in theater at that location although I do remember one further out the old Hempstead Highway. I definitely remember the Airline drive-in and the I-45 drive-in (at the corner of I-45 and West Road). I thought it was odd that the I-45 was built when it was. It seemed drive-in theaters' time had passed. From his extensive research into the history of the Aldine area, Firebird65 can tell us the date when the I-45 was built and probably when it was demolished.

It was built in the early 80s and demolished sometime in the 90s. Wasn't there for too long.

[TheNiche]

When I first read Goatman's reference to an arena I thought he meant the basketball arena that was part of the Delmar Stadium complex at Mangum and the Hempstead Highway. This is where the present HISD headquarters is now located. The arena had a hyperbolic parabaloid roof which looks like a Pringle's potato chip. I was fascinated by the building as a child and was sad to see it slowly decay over the years

So that's what that is. It's what I figured that this thread was about, too. Is there another thread somewhere about this mostly-forgotten architectural gem?

[Ross]

Delmar Fieldhouse is still there.

http://maps.google.c...2,79.41,,0,1.78

[NenaE]

Yes - the Hempstead Drive In Theater (10600 Hempstead) - there is a picture of the fire on these pages:

http://cinematreasur.../theaters/30583

http://www.cinemahou.../driveins.shtml

Another interesting thing on the aerial maps - a little residential area on Ora St. that is a wooded area now - looks like it lasted in to the 1980s and Ora isn't a street anymore..

Yeah, the Fairway Park Dr. goes rt. through the middle of the drive-in theater parking lot.

One interesting thing I remember about the drive-ins (I was young) is that the shell/ gravel parking lots had little hills, so when you pulled up to the speaker (that hung on your car window), the car sat at a slight angle, upwards, to get a good view of the screen (for those who were actually watching the movie) haha.

The small neighborhood of about 9 homes (Ora St.) is an interesting study. Looks like they were reduced to slabs in the later yrs. as you point out. One home seemed to last longer than the others. Those homes sat very close to the railroad tracks & road, where the road curves, or forks in two directions.

[Ross]

The Ora property is owned by RKI, the company that owns the large warehouse building to the NW. the HCAD map shows the separate lots, but they have a single tax account. I haven't been able to trace the ownership changes through the online search available at the Clerk's office website.

[sevfiv]

I could only get back to 1979 (probably when all the houses were bought out):

F921425 ZONANA

W/D

Grantor: KEYSTONE KOENIG INC

Grantee: KEYSTONE INTERNATL INC

19790109

L0004

F921426 FLOWERS J

W/D

Grantor: KEYSTONE KOENIG INC

Grantee: KEYSTONE INTERNATL INC

19790109

P38.9 5 117821030

..and just for reference, here are two block book images for the area:

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v074/AE1997_74_0107.jpg

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v117/AE1997_117-3_0015.jpg

[Ross]

Hmm, the Zonana block book shows the street name as Orr, not Ora. Got to love how things change over time.

[sevfiv]

I made a quick stop by Ora St. - the whole area is fenced and it's very brushy. The road is getting pretty grown over too (no street sign anymore).

Looking at the property across Dacoma:

[Specwriter]

Delmar Fieldhouse is still there.

http://maps.google.c...2,79.41,,0,1.78

Thanks, Ross. I don't get out that way much anymore. Is there evidence it is stil being used? It looked awfully decrepit the last time I saw it.

[Ross]

Thanks, Ross. I don't get out that way much anymore. Is there evidence it is stil being used? It looked awfully decrepit the last time I saw it.

I think it's still used for basketball games. It seats 5400 according to HISD's website.

[NenaE]

My high school (Milby) had a football game way out there, only once, in their schedule, I believe.

I looked in the block books, never found anything on Ora st., so that's why. Interesting name for a neighborhood, Zonana.

Speaking of map or land document word mispellings, the street Mangum was mispelled as Magnum , on some old NW Houston maps.

I see it all the time.

By the way, is mispelled mis-spelled? haha...

[marmer]

I went to a high-school all-star type football game at Delmar Stadium in January. It's the nastiest, grottiest stadium I have ever been to. And the only one where there were cops with metal detectors at the entrances. (I saw them send someone back to their car with a three-inch pocketknife.)

[Reefmonkey]

I got acquainted with the Live Oak Grill on Hempstead Road and Dacoma when my office was out there from 2012-2013, enjoyed a few lunches. And my daughter has gone to a few events at Speedy's Fast Track recently, so during the last one my wife and I decided to get lunch and have a couple drinks at the Live Oak while we waited for her instead of driving all the way home only to turn around in a couple hours. It's always intrigued me that this rather large house from 1915 has survived for over 100 years while the area around it has been industrial for as long as I can remember, (the story of the house can be found here: http://www.liveoak-houston.com/our-story.html) and I was curious to see what the area immediately around it looked like before. The earliest aerial photo of the area only goes back to 1953, and the area around the Live Oak house appears to be residential, though much smaller houses on smaller, closer together lots. Those houses were all torn down sometime between 1966 and 1973. It's hard to tell when those houses were built, as the topos don't depict any structures until the 1946 one, not even the house that is now the Live Oak Grill in the 1932 topo, even though we know the house was there at the time. I have to assume the houses are pre-war vintage, because it doesn't seem likely that a bunch of houses 20 years old or less would have been torn down like that.

 

Another thing caught my eye, just northwest of the Live Oak Grill house on Hempstead Rd was a large structure that almost looked like an ampitheatre to me at first. It's clear as day in the aerial photo from 1953, and the 1957 topo labels it as a drive-in theatre. It's not on the topo before that, from 1946, so built sometime between 1946 and 1953. It's still there in the 1966 aerial, but by the 1973 aerial it's gone.

 

Any oldtimers here remember that drive-in theatre?

[mkultra25]

Judging from the address of the Live Oak Grill, this is almost certainly the Hempstead Road Drive-In.

 

Hempstead Road Drive-In

 

Pic of the aftermath of the fire mentioned at the above link at the bottom of the page here:

 

http://www.cinemahouston.info/driveins.shtml