Thursday, May 28, 2020

Burnet Drive-In Theatre, 1950-1976

If you are a history nut you know how it goes: research on an old Republic of Texas pioneer leads to curiosity about an old drive-in theatre.

I was doing research on George Washington Davis, who in 1841, received a land grant of 3,154 acres from the Republic of Texas for service at the Battle of San Jacinto. His grant straddled land on either side today’s MoPac. He had a home, granite quarry used for building the capitol, and family cemetery, all near Northwest District Park.

Doing research on the Davis house location using old aerials photos (extant until it burned in 1944) I found myself drawn to something completely unexpected: an old drive-in theatre on his grant, not far from his home, now the site of a self-storage business: Burnet Road Storage at 6400 Burnet Road.

I was sucked in and wanted to know more: What was the drive-in called? When did it start? When did it end? Is there anything left?

Who of my generation of Baby Boomers doesn’t have fond memories of drive-in theatres! As kids our parents took us, and we played on playgrounds at the foot of the big screen. Later with a driver’s license we learned of their function as “passion pits”. Then as young parents we took our own kids to drive-ins until they went the way of the dinosaur.

The 1950 “gala” opening of the Burnet Drive-In (aptly named) featured fireworks and a double bill: South Sea Sinner and Sitting Pretty, plus a cartoon. Here’s an ad from the Austin American-Statesman, June 22, 1950 (article used the alternate spelling "theater"):

“Austin's newest drive-in theater, the Burnet, on the Burnet Road, will open Friday at 6:30 p.m., rain or shine, Karl Stroud, manager, said Thursday. Under construction for the past several months, the Burnet represents the latest developments in modern drive-in theatre engineering.

It will be the first theatre equipped with the new electric traffic control system … An indicator board at the head of each ramp will let persons know at a quick glance if there are speaker vacancies. This feature was invented and patented by Albert H Reynolds, general manager of Ezell Drive-In Theaters, operators of the Burnet Theater as well as the Chief Drive-In.

There will be 750 latest type In-car speakers, and the newest model projection machines throwing the most powerful light beam yet developed for the large screen. The new theater will feature a children's playground equipped with two merry-go-rounds, elephant slides and a number of other playground devices. The snack bar, 25 by 50 feet, will be located in the center of the grounds, using the double cafeteria system around a horseshoe counter.”

The Burnet Drive-In was state-of-the-art and had a good run from 1950 until 1976 when its closing was mourned in the paper: "Another Austin drive-in bites the dust, but the memories will remain".

The final question: does anything remain of the old Burnet Drive-In? Indeed. The snack bar appears to have been repurposed as the office of the Burnet Road Self Storage. So, the next time you are by Burnet Road Storage, pull into the parking lot down to the old snack bar, close your eyes and imagine up on the big screen South Sea Sinner. Perfect drive-in movie fare (but maybe the kids should go to the playground?).

Photos

Click on photos to enlarge.

Gala opening advertisement. Austin American-Statesman, June 23, 1950

In the advertisement above, notice reference to location being specified as Burnet Hwy, another ad says "the Burnet Road". These reflect the old naming of roads based on their destination. "Burnet Road" originally got its name as being the road that goes to Burnet, Texas (one of two), not after David G. Burnet, Texas' ad interim president. Click here to read more about the other Burnet Road.