Remembering Chattanooga's Drive-In Theaters

  • Saturday, July 19, 2003
  • Harmon Jolley
Broad Street Drive-In was near foot of Lookout Mountain. Click to enlarge.
Broad Street Drive-In was near foot of Lookout Mountain. Click to enlarge.

According to the United Drive-In Theaters Owners Association, there are fewer than 500 drive-ins remaining. However, CNN reported on 7/4/2003 that after years of decline, drive-in movie theaters are experiencing a revival. Some that escaped being razed for retail establishments have been reopened.

For instance, the Parkway Drive-In East of Maryville, Tenn., is hosting audiences after sitting idle for several years. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on 3/9/2003 profiled a couple of entrepreneurs who are planning the first drive-in to be built in that area in ages. They hope to see abandoned shopping centers be turned back into drive-ins.

The book, “Cinema Under the Stars,” by Elizabeth McKeon and Linda Everett, recaps the
colorful history of drive-ins.

Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. is credited as the inventor of the format. Seeking to start a business during the throes of the Great Depression, Mr. Hollingshead made a list of the things that he felt people would not give up, even during a bad economy: food, clothing, and automobiles.

He later added “movies” to the list, after visiting a packed local theater. The idea for a combination outdoor cinema, gas station, and restaurant came from the indispensable items on his list. His vision resulted in the Camden (New Jersey) Drive-In, which opened on June 6, 1933.

Due to the difficult economic conditions of the 1930s, drive-ins were slow to spread throughout the country. The Sky-Way Drive-In was Chattanooga’s first, opening in 1942. After the end of World War II, however, drive-ins were opening at a rapid pace. They appealed to the families of the baby boom era, and their automobile-based lifestyle.

As the area near the giant screen wasn’t appealing for viewing the movie, many theaters installed playgrounds there for children. Others constructed stages which featured entertainment before the movie started.

The Sky-Way once staged the “Wizards of the Air,” a trapeze act. A few drive-ins installed dance floors in front of the screen, with the hidden agenda of sending a thirsty crowd of teen rock-and-roll dancers to the concession stand afterwards.

Advertisements proclaimed the freedom that the audience could experience by being in their car. They could talk without bothering other guests at the theater and didn’t have to dress up. In fact, many families brought their children in pajamas and saved the cost of a baby-sitter. The Red Bank Drive-In offered a bottle warmer for those with infants.

Drive-in theaters peaked in 1958, with more than 4,000 screens across the U.S. Here’s a recap of what was playing on July 4, 1958, in Chattanooga, and the location of the theater:

BROAD STREET – between the foot of Lookout Mountain and the Tennessee River - “Legend of the Lost;” John Wayne and Sophia Loren in - you guessed it - a Western titled “Chief Crazy Horse;” and Victor Mature in the title role in “Fox Fire,” a Western starring Jane Russell

41 HIGHWAY – 6612 Ringgold Road, where the East Ridge interchange on I-75 is today - “Jet Pilot," a Cold War-era movie with John Wayne and Janet Leigh, who played a defecting Soviet pilot. The trailer said that the movie was “exploding with the power of the jet age... with all the passion of a daring love story!” Also,
“Bombers B-52,” starring Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

58 HIGHWAY – 2100 Crutchfield Street in East Chattanooga
“Mismatched” and “Gunslinger,” which starred Beverly Garland (later, the mom on “My Three Sons”) as a sheriff.

RED BANK – 4705 Dayton Boulevard, location of a Food Lion today -
“Fort Massacre,” Forrest Tucker (star of TV’s “F Troop”) and Joel McCrea defend a fort from the Indians; and “Cross-Up” – a British crime/drama.

SKY-WAY – Brainerd Road, present site of Eastgate Town Center
“A Farewell to Arms,” based on the Ernest Hemingway novel, with Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones

STARLIGHT – McFarland Avenue in Rossville - A science-fiction triple feature: “Vampire,” “Monster,” and "Love Slaves of the Amazon." The Starlight also once hosted a “Spookathon,” with free passes if you stayed for all four scary movies.

23RD STREET – where BI-LO is today
The Disney canine classic, “Old Yeller, and “Devil’s Hairpin,” a racing movie. The 23rd Street, like many drive-ins, once lost its screen in a high wind storm. The marquee apologized to patrons that their screen was “Gone with the Wind.”

The Lookout Drive-In was located near the intersection of Cummings and Birmingham Highway, but appears to have been in business a very short time. The Marbro Drive-In, on Lee Highway where the Sam’s Club is now, was both the last Chattanooga drive-in to open (1964) and to close (1984).

After 1958, drive-ins began to close in increasing numbers. Many were originally built on sizeable acreage at the “edge of town,” which eventually became urbanized and targeted for shopping centers, freeways, and subdivisions.

Other factors, such as the less spacious interiors of small cars, the popularity of television, and fewer family-oriented movies figured into their decline.

While there are no drive-ins remaining in Chattanooga, two area cinemas still attract a large number of faithful customers: the Dunlap Drive-In (Dunlap, TN) and the Swinging Mid-Way (between Athens and Etowah, TN). My family has enjoyed each of them on several occasions. Seeing a double feature of “Mars Attacks!” and the remastered “Star Wars” is a memory to cherish.

If you have memories of the Chattanooga area drive-ins, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.

Broad Street Drive-In
Broad Street Drive-In
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