Tascosa Drive-in closing, offers supporters a farewell night Friday
As twilight fades into darkness Friday night, the glow of a huge screen will come to life for the last time, possibly. The owners have announced that after 25 years of running the show, the end is sadly, here for the Tascosa Drive-in, on Dumas Drive, unless a buyer is found who wants to continue the business. The drive-in is the last of its kind to be still operating in Amarillo and most of the surrounding area, and countless families and individuals were able to savor the beautiful Amarillo nights under the stars in the comfort of their own car. And have their favorite snack and a great movie.
According to their Facebook page, a Farewell Party will be hosted at the well-loved drive-in, located at 1999 Dumas Drive, with gates opening at 7 p.m. Friday and an appropriate “Halloween family favorite” having a PG-rating, being shown. Admission will be $10 a carload and concessions will be only $1 each for the “End of an Era” night. Co-owner Jean Burns said, “It has been an honor and privilege to serve most all of you. Your support has allowed me to do what I truly loved for a quarter century."
Burns asked anyone who loves the Tascosa Drive-In and would like to keep it running, to contact her. She said she would sell to the right person. As of this article, attempts to sell up to now have not been successful, but maybe some like-minded person will pick up the mantle and keep some priceless nostalgia going.
For Baby Boomers, the summer season was synonymous with drive-ins, swimming pools, baseball games, picnics, snow cones and, of course, no school.
According to “Cinema Treasures,” The Tascosa Drive-in opened on May 2, 1952, with Charles Coburn starring in “The Highwayman” and Bill Elliott in “The Longhorn.” It was operated by W.O. Beardon, who also operated the Trail Drive-in and Sunset Drive-in. Tascosa Drive-in operated twin screens from 1967 and was closed by 1994. Part of the lot became an RV Park. The outdoor theater later reopened with one screen showing first run double features.
As small kids, most of us who grew up in the 50s – 60s loved the drive-in culture. A playground was normally in the front, under the screen, for early arrivers with kids. Some drive-ins had seats placed by the conveniently located Concession Stand or Snack Bar where people could sit in the open, under the stars and enjoy the show. Speakers dangled from poles and it was always wise to check them out before you made a commitment to a parking spot. Speakers had a short-life span and were regularly pulled off by a car leaving too soon or damaged in some way. The newer Tascosa Drive-in had state-of-the-art digital outdoor theater features and boasted the largest screen in Texas.
As teenagers, we piled into the car and got in as a carload for a reasonable price. If there was a limit on car members, some lucky kids got to ride in the trunk until the car was safely inside the gate and everyone piled out. Most of us spent our time roaming the parking lot looking for friends or just having fun. It was also a rendevouz spot for some romantic older teens and adults but during the heyday of the drive-in, most of us were watched like hawks by our parents.
The best drive-in movies were of the scary genre, even Grade B movies like Sun Demon, who actually appeared “live” at one of the local drive-ins. A tall stage had been built for the appearance and people were warned of the danger of the vicious Sun Demon. Lights dropped and suddenly a spot light caught the vicious Sun Demon on the stage. Women shrieked and kids cheered as he ran wildly up and down the stage in his fake fur outfit. It was wonderful. Other drive- ins hosted live appearances of the Creature of the Black Lagoon, which smelled of wet rubber, and other scary figures.
Memories of watching the best Hammer movies with vampires and other monsters still remain among those moviegoers’ favorites. Once a group of us watched the whole series of "Planet of the Apes" until the very wee morning hours. Concession stands often had special features of their own. Tascosa had fried cheese sticks and japapenos and then even boasted roasted corn. Delicious food can be seen on their website.
The Sky-Vue Drive-in that opened in LaMesa in 1948, could hold 583 cars. for a long period had what they called a “Chihuauhua” which was a taco filled with meat and tomatoes and covered with pimento cheese and cole slaw which stuck out over the taco, like its namesake. There was also a Midway Drive in which was built between Turkey and Quitaque in 1955. It was closed in the 80s, as many were, and then restored to play current movies in 2000. It enjoyed some fame in Texas Country Reporter in 2003 and ran for five more years until it closed again. Another family started a second restoration and reopened the theater that was still running as of 2011, but was forced to close due to the lack of available 35 mm film prints when Hollywood turned to digital distribution.
Known as the home of the Double Feature, Tascosa Drive In had features like a fireworks show, serving fresh grilled corn on the cob, giving away free passes and other enticements to go to the show. The drive-in faced some rough patches but always seemed to get it taken care of and go on with the show.
Other drive-ins that decorated the Amarillo landscape included the Sunset Drive In, off Amarillo Boulevard West, the Twin, Palo Duro, Trail and Skyway. All were part of the summertime craze that allowed families to drive up in their cars, park and hook up a speaker for sound and relax in their car. It was a safe and fun summer tradition.
The first inception of a drive-in theater was built in 1933, actually, according to “Drive-In Theaters, A History from their inception in 1933,” by Kerry Segrave. “It is almost uniquely American, given our wealth of vacant, accessible relatively cheap land and the advent of the automobile. Suburban families were favorable to not getting dressed up and going to the city, but having a family outing. Babysitters were not required, kids could just sleep in the car. Families could take in their own food, although most loved going to the concession stand for drinks, hot dogs, popcorn and other favorites.”
We all hope it’s not the end of the reel for the Tascosa Drive-in and the end of an era. Hopefully, “That’s All Folks,” will not be the epitaph engraved on its tombstone and new generations can enjoy the joy and freedom of the outdoor screen.
The co-owner and operator, Rhett Butler Burns, was originally in the medical field as a Registered Nurse, according to a story in the Globe-News Archives. After 15 years in the field, he was looking for a change when he saw an old run-down drive-in on his way home from Dallas and jokingly said, “That would be a cool business to build in Amarillo.” But when nobody laughed, he began to take it seriously.
“I started a business plan and began researching the idea. The towers and screen were not in good shape. But the easy part was the cleanup and construction. The hard part was trying to get the renovations refinanced.” Burns said he went to every bank in town and “got the same answer which was no.” He was about to give up when he was told his business plan was good but Amarillo was too conservative for a drive-in theater. He said he wasn’t looking to change the political landscape of Amarillo but just start construction. “Thankfully, the last bank on our list granted us the funds we needed.”
After securing the financial means, Burns rebuilt the theater, changing the look of a piece of local history whose façade had faded over time. He kept the name Tascosa, in honor of the local tie-in and because people had memories of the place. What made it different was being family owned and operated and the fact they offered two movies or the price of one.
Because the movie studios receive the bulk of the money, he concentrated on concession stands and offered traditional theater fare but added root beer floats, funnel cakes, friends pickles and Oreos and snow cones and a lower price. He added that they had the same digital projector as the big theaters but the atmosphere of an outdoor movie theater.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Tascosa Drive-in makes sudden announcement of last day Oct. 27
