Tri-City Drive-in Theatre

Buccaneer Drive-In Theatre (Closed)
Photo courtesy Barry Wells

The Buccaneer Drive-In Theatre near Richmond, Kentucky, recalled the years when an evening at the movies could mean staying in the family car. Along old U.S. 25, its surviving structures suggested a place waiting for darkness and another feature, even after regular operation had ended. 11-10

The theater was operating by 1961, with trade listings giving a capacity of about 400 cars. A 1970 industry notice identified Harold Bryant and Harry Roadin as owners, with Tri-State Theatre Services handling bookings. Those details connect the quiet property with the practical business behind outdoor movies: acquiring films, maintaining projection equipment, and filling the lot.

UPDATE: The Buccaneer Drive-in is now closed. Many thanks to Joe Collett for update. 05-06

UPDATE: The Buccaneer is closed. Portions of the property survived well beyond its operating years, but their current condition has not been confirmed. No reliable final screening date has been established here. 11-26

Twin Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Atlanta, GA
Photo courtesy Tiger Jones

The highway-shield shape of the Twin Drive-In Theatre marquee made an appropriate landmark beside the South Expressway near Atlanta. Its large lettering announced the entertainment before motorists reached the entrance. This was a sign designed for the moving automobile, giving the theater a roadside presence beyond its screens.

The property opened in Forest Park on July 1, 1955, as the South Expressway Drive-In. Its opening program paired Bad Day at Black Rock with the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy 3 Ring Circus. Originally a single-screen operation, it later became a twin, extending its place in the Atlanta area’s outdoor-movie landscape.

UPDATE: The South Expressway Twin Drive-In has been demolished, and the property was redeveloped for commercial use. Its distinctive marquee is gone as well. The theater’s history belongs to the early expressway years, when new roads created opportunities for businesses built around customers arriving by car. 11-26

Movie Trailer AR Photo courtesy Stewart Isbell The Kenda Drive-In Theatre in Marshall offers a welcome reason to stop along Arkansas’s U.S. 65 corridor. Its roadside marquee points toward an evening of movies beneath the Ozark sky, with a giant screen waiting beyond the entrance. Bring the car, a lawn chair, or a pickup with room to settle in—this is still an outdoor movie experience. 06-06 Kenneth and Marilyn Sanders opened the Kenda in April 1966, naming it after their daughter. They also operated downtown Marshall’s Ken Theatre until fire destroyed it in 1968. The drive-in remained a family undertaking, with the children helping in concessions, projection, and maintenance. In 2003, the founders retired and passed the business to Kenda and her husband, Todd Dearing. UPDATE: This drive-in is called the Kenda Drive-in in Marshall, AR. Many thanks to David Hughes for update. 11-10 UPDATE: The Kenda remains open under the founding family’s ownership and celebrated sixty years in 2026. Its original speakers have been fitted with USB-rechargeable radios—not Bluetooth receivers—allowing the old equipment to receive the theater’s FM soundtrack. Good to see a drive-in updating its technology while keeping a familiar part of the experience. 11-26   Kenda Drive-in Theatre Marshall, AR Photo courtesy Stewart Isbell Screen Tower and Snack Bar Marshall, AR Photo courtesy Stewart Isbell Close up of the screen tower Marshall, AR Photo courtesy Stewart Isbell Projection Booth Marshall, AR Photo courtesy Stewart Isbell