Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 11, Number 1, Spring, 1999 Page: 50
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STARLIT SKIES AND MEMORIES
BY SUSAN AND DON SANDERSt one time it seemed they were everywhere.
Ask anyone who frequented drive-in
movie theaters in the 940S, '5os, '6os, and
'70S, and they will tell you that outdoor movie theaters
were everywhere. In fact, in the early i96os,
Texas claimed the largest number of drive-in
movie theaters in the nation-475 to be exact.
And the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area
was home to forty-three of those, boasting such
memorable names as the Buckner, the South
Loop, the Hampton Road, the Jefferson, the
Lone Star, the Cowtown, the Pike, the Downtown,
the Southside Twin, and the Riverside.
Attending a drive-in movie theater was more
than just an experience; it was a ritual. Familiesbought food at the concession stand (popcorn,
pizza, and hotdogs) or brought it from home.
Playgrounds enticed young children with swing
sets and slides; Texas drive-in pioneer Claude
Ezell even installed live monkey jungles at his
fifty-four theaters.
Established movie stars made personal
appearances at drive-ins. Frankie Avalon
appeared amidst throngs of screaming teenage
girls at the opening of Dallas's Gemini Drive-in
on April i5, 1965. And John Wayne also appeared
at the Gemini for the premiere of "True Grit."
Wayne made the evening even more memorable
by shooting off his six shooters from atop the concession
stand.The Northwest Hi- Way Drive-In was thefirst drive-in movie theater in Dallas.
It opened in 1942 near the intersection ofNorthwest Highway and Hillcrest.50
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Dallas Historical Society. Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 11, Number 1, Spring, 1999, periodical, 1999; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35102/m1/52/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Historical Society.