Old Missoula

First Drive-In Theater – Mtn-Vu Drive-In (8/17/1948)

Premier of the Mtn-Vu Drive-In theater, which has been under construction for several weeks, will be Thursday night when two showings of “Homestretch,” a Twentieth Century-Fox motion picture starring Maureen O’Hara, will be presented, announced Bill Fowers, manager.

The initial program will be shown at 8 p. m. and 10:15 p. m., which hours also will be starting times for subsequent shows. The 400-car theater is located just off U. S. highway No. 10 at the west city limits.

The theater is home-owned by B. J. Barrett, Bill Stein and Mr. Fowers. The latter was manager of the Fox theaters here from 1940 to 1944, when he went to Butte for the same firm. He has been in the theater business a quarter-century, mostly with Fox.

Future bookings will be composed of the outstanding hits of all the major companies, according to Mr. Fowers. He said that the finest sound and projection equipment has been installed. Drive-in theaters have proven to be popular with families, especially those with baby sitting problems, and with invalids, he said.

This is the second drive-in theater in Montana as the first was opened at Billings last June, he revealed. The United States now has 1,600 theaters of this type.

The theater will operate from eight and one-half to nine months depending on weather conditions, the manager stated. Rain doesn’t bother vision and cars can be completely closed with the type of speaker system that has been installed, he said.

A 38 by 42-foot picture will be show on a 40 to 50-foot screen. It is on a 65-foot tower.

Ten ramps at varying heights, have been built for the theater thus enabling car occupants in both front and rear seats to have a clear view of the screen. The theater has been equipped with 200 speaker poles and 400 speakers so that each car will have an in-the-car speaker with individual volume controls.

The theater has been designed from a plan used in the country’s larger drive-ins, he said. A snack bar and projection booth are in the center of the field.

The above article appeared in The Missoulian on August 17, 1948.

The theater sat close to what is now the corner of Mullan Road and West Broadway. You watched the screen looking East, with the sun at your back.

 

Second Drive-In Theater – State Drive-In (7/12/1949)

Newest Theater To Open Tuesday

Opening of Missoula’s newest theater – the State Drive-In – will be Tuesday night. It is a few miles south of the Garden city off U. S. highway No. 93.

A novel feature will be a miniature electric train on which children will be given free rides. The train is to be located in a playground, directly in front of the screen.

“Blood on the Moon” with Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Gedes and Robert Preston, will be the motion picture for the theater opening. Disney cartoons have been chosen to fill out the bill.

Capacity of the theater will be 450 automobiles. It is arranged in 10 ramps, the first holding 12 vehicles and the last 78.

The name of the new amusement center was taken from the Treasure State Amusement corporation which owns it. Bill Fowers, who has supervised construction and installation of equipment, said the theater is equipped with many new and modern features. Among them are a snack bar, an aluminum enclosure, nonglare glass in the ticket booth, a rapid exit arrangement. A snack bar has been provided and ramps have been graveled.

This will be the eighth drive-in theater in the state, according to Mr. Fowers. The others are located at Miles City, Lewistown, Great Falls, Kalispell, Billings and Helena, with Missoula having two.

Gates will open at 6:30 p. m. and there will be two complete shows each evening, at 8:45 and 10:45. Cartoons are to be a feature of each change, he said.

Contractors included the Pew Construction company, the Electrical shop, Ray Pew, C. W. Schmid Plumbing & Heating shop and the Montana Ready Mix company.

The above article appeared in The Missoulian on July 10, 1949.

 

You watched this screen looking North. I had forgotten the playground in front of the theater, and the wait in a line of cars for the gates to open. This theater sat between what is now South Russell Street and Brooks Street.

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