Drive-In #12: And Then There Were Two
The first stop on day two was the recently closed
Oakley Drive-In in Cincinnati. The latest in a long
list
of drive-in closings by National Amusements. Sadly, the demolition of the Oakley has begun and we
missed the snack bar by just a few days. The screen, marquee and box offices remained. National Amusements has gone
from 69 drive-ins, to just two, the
Kenwood in Kentucky and the
Miracle Twin here in Michigan.
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Entrance
Entrance
Box Offices & Screen
Box Offices
Box Offices
Box Offices
Box Offices
Box Offices
Box Offices
Box Offices
Box Offices
Office
Screen & Field
Screen & Field
Screen & Field
Screen
Screen
Screen
Screen
Field
Screen
Field
Screen
Speaker Poles
Exit
Detour #3: Neon Big Boy
On a southwesterly course down Hwy 125, we ran across a vintage Big Boy neon sign we couldn't resist in Bethel, Ohio.
Detour #4: Big Bird
A vintage '59 T-Bird was spotted on a classic car lot in Amelia, Ohio as we closed in on our next target,
it would make a great drive-in car.
Drive-In #13: Starlite Amelia
After the depressing look at the Oakley, the next stop was much more positive. The amazing
Starlite Drive-In, southwest of Cincinnati.
The photos say it all, the Starlite is a very well maintained theater with a large enclosed screen tower. Beautifully
landscaped with a pond out front, this drive-in is definately earmarked for a return visit in the summer. A large pile
of speaker poles at the back of the lot made us wonder if a second screen is in the plans.
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Pond
Pond & Entrance
Entrance
Entrance
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Drive-In Field
Box Office
Screen Tower
Box Office
Screen Tower
Box Office
Drive-In Field
Field & Snack Bar
Box Office & Screen
Parking Sign
Box Office
Screen Tower
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Screen Tower
Snack Bar
Screen & Snack Bar
Screen & Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Speaker Poles
Speaker Poles
Drive-In Field
Screen Tower
Snack Bar
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Drive-In Field
Screen Tower
Exit Road & Pond
Screen Tower
Drive-In #14: More Ruins
Another drive-in graveyard, the
Lake Drive-In, in Mt. Orab, Ohio.
The screen is history, the as is the marquee. The box office and snack bar remain. This one looked to be abandoned
for many years, and as usual, the vandals have made a mess of it. More Lake Drive-in photos are on
Forgottenoh.com. As we now head back towards
Cincinnati, a wreck on I-275 that closed the freeway, and the resulting detour knocked about an hour out of our schedule,
sweet.
Marquee Pedestal
Entrance
Box Office
Box Office
Screen Supports
Box Office
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Projection Booth
Restroom
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Detour #5: The K-Pre Motel
Another cool roadside neon sign, this one for the Capri Motel in Fairfield, Ohio.
Drive-In #15: Breakin' The Law?
We originally planned to catch a show at the normally year-round open
Holiday Drive-In, in Hamilton, Ohio.
But, the Holiday was closed when we visited, maybe it was better that way. After reading the multitude of
negative comments on
Drive-Ins.com, I wasn't too excited about
spending much time here. This joint sounds just like another Bengies Drive-In, especially after reading the nearly
identical "House Rules"
on the Holiday Website. I was amazed to see a
sign on the restrooms doors indicating there
are video cameras IN the restrooms, hope you're not shy when you go in there....geez!! Apparently, the Holiday
is for sale, maybe the new owners won't be so uptight.
Marquee
Entrance & RULES!
Entrance Sign
Box Offices
Box Offices
Screen & Field
Drive-In Field
Projection
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Snack Bar & Screen
Say What?!
Drive-In #16: Too Late Once Again
Another unplanned stop, we decided to hunt for along the way was the
Valley Drive-In, not far from the Holiday.
Terra-Server and Horror-wood.com both indicated the screen tower might still be standing.
We found the site, but we were a little late. The Valley screen was history, replaced by a church. We
didn't bother taking any photos of the church, but here's one of the screen from
Horror-wood.com
Drive-In #17: Keep On Truckin'
Next up, another graveyard. This one was basically complete, and was being used for a heavy truck auction
business. The screen, snack bar and box office all remained, the marquee was gone. The adjacent Towne East
indoor theater that closed a few years ago, was being used as a retail TV store. The
Starglow Drive-In could probably be revived
without to much work.
Box Office & Screen
Box Office
Screen & Field
Snack Bar
Screen
Snack Bar
Exit Sign
Screen & Indoor Theater
Drive-In #18: Yes Mr. President
The awesome Chakeres Skyborn Drive-In, right next to
Wright-Patterson Air Force base, was the next stop. And what a stop it was. We didn't see any of the UFO's they
supposedly keep at the base, but we did see Air Force One fly over the drive-in as we stood next to the snack bar!
According to Curt Daltons Greater Dayton Drive-In Theatres book,
in the 50's, the roar of the jets was so loud, the Air Force made a short film for the Skyborn, to be shown
before the first movie. The film explained the jets were doing an important job and advised the drive-in patrons
to simply turn up the volume on the speaker whenever a jet went over. The classic Skyborn is a must see!
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Air Force Base
Screen Tower
Snack Bar & Field
Screen Tower
Snack Bar
Air Force One
Snack Bar & Screen
Snack Bar & Screen
Snack Bar & Screen
Screen Tower
Projection
Entrance
Drive-In Field
Box Office
Box Office
Box Office
Box Office
Drive-In #19: Park Layne
Then next Chakeres Springfield-area ozoner we hit was the
Park Layne Drive-In. About 10 minutes
from the Skyborn, we were still listening to the jets roar while here. The Park Layne is a nice big drive-in,
oddly, there's no name on the marquee or screen.
Box Office
Marquee
Marquee
Box Office
Box Office
Field
Screen
Field
Screen
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Screen
Screen
Screen
Drive-In #20: A Great Melody
One more Chakeres joint, and this one was simply amazing. The
Melody Cruise-In, east of Springfield, quickly
became another fav of ours. The Melody features an enourmous screen tower, vintage neon marquee, and a nice big lot.
There's also a second screen, with a separate projection booth. This is another summer destination for us.
Entrance
Marquee
Marquee & Screen
Marquee
Big Screen!
Marquee
Box Office
Screen Tower
Box Office
Screen Tower
Rear Screen
Field
Rear Screen
Rear Projection
Rear Projection
Rear Projection
Field
Rear Projection
Snack Bar & Screen
Snack Bar
Projection
Snack Bar
Big Screen!
Snack Bar
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Field
Fence
Screen & Marquee
Screen & Marquee
Drive-In #21: Drive-In Alley
Directly across from the Melody, was the
Show Boat Drive-In graveyard.
We missed finding any real ruins at
this one as well. From online research, we expected to find a snack bar and box offices. We only found the snack bar
foundation, and not much else.
Drive-In #22: Lost Drive-In
Heading back towards Michigan now, we arrived at the
Piqua Drive-In graveyard,
just west of Piqua, Ohio on Route 36. Here's another exclusive, as we couldn't find photos of this one
anywhere online. Which is surprising, since it's located right in a main highway, and it looks like it
could still be operating. Unfortunately it's not open, the snack bar is gone, replaced by a pole building.
Box Office
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Box Office
Box Office
Pole Building
Drive-In #23: In The Dark
We've got one more stop, the still-operating
Auto Vue Drive-In just off
I-75 near Sidney, Ohio. Darkness and rain meant the photo op wouldn't be good, but here it is anyway.
Back on the e-way, we sucked semi spray in the fast lane all the way home, sweet. The Welcome to
Michigan sign is always a welcome sign!
Final Detour: The Side Of The Road
What's a road trip without at least one speeding ticket?! And getting one less than 15 minutes from home!
I was only popped for doing 73-mph in a 55-zone, nothing serious. But a once in a lifetime encounter with
a unusually friendly police officer netted a no-points/5-mph over ticket, sweet! My wallet will be now
105 bucks lighter. At least it didn't happen in Ohio, I'm sure the outcome would have been much different.
End of road trip!
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