Welcome to CinemaTour!  Sign In

CinemaTour
 
Cinema History Around the World  
 HOME ·· CINEMAS ·· LINKS ·· BOOKS
 Contact Cinematour ·· Help & Hints ·· About Cinematour
 

Airline Drive-In Theatre

4412 Newcastle Rd
Oklahoma City OK

Demolished Outdoor Theatre
Record #16406  
 Opened: June 9, 1950
 Closed: September 15, 1973
 Demolished: Yes (date unknown)
Capacity: 600 cars
Architect(s):
Architectural Style(s):
National Register:
Current Organ: none
 Also Known As:
 Previously operated by: Barton Theatres, Gulf States Theatres

Information for this tour was contributed by Wesley Horton.

The Airline Drive-In was located at Newcastle and Meridian and opened on Friday, June 9, 1950 with "Wagonmaster" starring Ben Johnson and "The Gal Who Took the West". The 600-car theater was owned by Barton Theaters and was leased to Gulf States Theaters from 1970 to 1972.

The theater closed with "Bullitt", "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Shootout" on September 15, 1973.

The Airline Drive-In closing corresponded with the insolvency of Greater Oklahoma City Amusement Corp. They ceased operations in the city on September 15, 1973, closing not only the Airline Drive-In, but the North Penn Twin Drive-In, Northwest Highway Drive-In, the Soldier Creek Drive-In, the Sooner Twin Drive-In, and the 77 Drive-In Theatres. The Northwest Highway, Sooner Twin and possibly the Soldier Creek drive-in would be operated briefly under different ownership.

The Airline Drive-In was located on Newcastle Road near Will Rodgers Airport. During the 1950s and early 1960s its location placed it in a rural area midway between the city and the airport. One of the things which doomed this drive-in was an expanding highway system in the city area. Part of the drive-in was taken by imminent domain for use as a highway to the airport. Although the state took a small part of the land located at the back of the lot, this was enough to doom the drive-in during the 1970s. Today, a drive down Newcastle Road to Meridian reveals the former site of the Airline only by the presence of several large evergreen trees which formerly lined the screen.



 External Links

---
---

Return to the top of this page   or   Return to the main page


Last featured 8/27/2002. Last edited 9/4/2022.


The content of this website is a research work in progress and is being provided to the public for informational purposes only. As such, articles may contain errors, bias, duplication, or need to be cleaned up. Some documents, images and logos contained in these documents belong to various organizations and corporations. Their inclusion here is for the benefit of the reader and for the benefit of the particular organization, but they are, in fact, the copyrighted property of those organizations. Their presence here does not imply any endorsement of CinemaTour by those organizations. CinemaTour is not affiliated with any cinema or circuit.

© 1995-2024 Vision Entertainment Services. All rights reserved.
Use of this site signifies agreement to terms of service.

cinematour.com :: 0.62 MB :: 6.32 MB