When Friend Jan and I passed through Logan, Ohio, in February, I mentioned that we stopped to take a photo the derelict Hocking Theater for my readers who are drive-in fans. You can click on the photos to make them larger.
This afternoon I was scanning a bunch of aerials I took while flying with a fire spotter in Southern Ohio in the spring of 1970. I couldn’t believe it, but here was a picture of the place in its heyday. The road under construction is what would become the four-lane Rt. 33 that links Athens to Columbus.
The way it looks today
Here’s a link to the story about passing the place (and our motel-hunting experience in Louisville)..
Other Drive-Ins
The Bloymeyer Drive-In looks like it’s being eaten.- The Jackson Drive-In and the 1938 swimming pool are long gone.
- The Hillcrest Inn was across the street from the Star-Vue. Both are history.
Playing on the swings under the projection screen, listening to the gong and hearing “Three minutes till show time”, singing along to “Let’s all go to the lobby”, ordering and buying the best food anywhere (even Mom’s), imagining if I could eat a whole Chilly Dilly pickle, sitting on the truck tail gait or laying on the blanket on the ground, watching previews to movies I new I would never get to see, going to sleep before the movie finished and watching in awe as polite drivers let each other into the exit lines. I don’t remember mosquitos until I started dating.
Frony took these pictures of the Star Vue Drive-In Theater in Cape Girardeau in 1954. “Johnny Guitar” was playing with Joan Crawford and Scott Brady.
http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/32152
The blog also has a link for the Cape Drive-In Theater that was south of Cape Girardeau on Highway 61.
Funny…I don’t remember the Hocking in Cape or Jackson…but that was a long time ago. But The Star View Drive Inn I do remember! Everyone in one car for a $1.00!…not all the time but, enough times to remember that my future wife and her two younger brothers going to sleep before the movie was over. My thoughts were of the part of the $1.00 I wasted on them sleeping and not seeing the movie. Cheap then, cheap now, some things don’t change that much.
You don’t remember the Hocking Drive-in being around Cape because it was outside Logan, Ohio. That would have been a LONG ride in the trunk of your buddy’s car.
You’ll be seeing more Ohio stuff showing up. I still have lots of pictures from Cape, but I don’t know how many years I have left and I’d like to dip into my next era of shooting, which I think was the best of my career.
If I can talk Kid Matt into setting up an Ohio blog, I’ll start posting that stuff over there. My long-term goal is to see each region’s blogs and files go somewhere they can be maintained for historical purposes.
I worked at the Star-Vue from 1958 to 1960 for 50 cents an hour. I quit to work for A&P at $1.09 an hour. One of my duties was doing the marquee which experience still comes in handy once in a while when I have to layout something that has to be centered perfectly. I worked for Mr Howard Bates and some of the others worked for Ollie Hipes in the concession stand. Because I worked there I didn’t get to watch a movie until I quit but I definitely remember watching “Psycho” there for the first time.
I am currently living in Somerset, KY, a small city in the Southeast part of the state and we have a double drive-in…two screens, two movies at the same time (four movies each night). It is open now on weekends with current films and later will be open every night.
Thank you so much for the photos! My husband and I used to go to the Hocking Drive In throughout our courtship back in the late 70’s. Great memories. We have now been married 35 years this summer.
I’m glad you enjoyed them. I’m not sure I ever went to that drive-in when we lived in Athens.
Nothing better than loading up a big truck from Bob Bishop’s family construction company, taking it to the Star Vue backing it in with lawn chairs on the bed. And a couple of cold ones.
Are you sure this is the Hocking Drive In? It truly looks like the one in Athens.
Across from Drive In looks like Charlie Hawks (junkyard/scrap) on the corner of st rt 13 & 550 which all tie into US 33.
It was open in the 70’s…there’s a Day Inn and WATH/POWER 105 radio station.
Curious about land marks…
I’m not going to claim that my memory going back that far is all that great, but I thought it was the Hocking.
I know the Days Inn well. That’s where I stay when I’m in Athens because I’m cheap. So far as I know, they haven’t found any bodies under the beds, unlike the motel up the hill from there.
Oh yes. I remember that. Eek!!
The junk cars had me question it…then I started looking closer…just thought I’d ask.
I think it was Valley View possibly…I’ve asked my Mom but no response yet.
Thanks!
Definitely can see the radio tower at WATH radio station on right side of photo near drive in.
You are right about the radio tower. I can’t swear if it’s WATH or not, but I’ll bow to your knowledge. It was darned hard to read street signs from the airplane.