The Mission Road Drive-in Theater opened on the Southside of San Antonio at 3100 Roosevelt Avenue, just north of Mission San Jose on March 27, 1948 with a showing of Pirates of Monterey, quickly becoming a popular fixture in the neighborhood. Its colorful marquee with neon lighting welcomed cars full of people to watch the latest run movies from their cars or under the stars of the Texas sky until its closure in 2000. Cinemark reopened the theater a year later as a four-screen drive-in, closing in 2003.
In 2007 the City of San Antonio acquired the property and in 2010 signed an agreement with the Texas Historical Commission to “establish a partnership that would foster effective historic preservation of this important icon of Texas heritage.”
The marquee and its vibrant mural depicting Mission San Jose was carefully restored with a few changes to make it culturally sensitive, omitting the original characters wearing sombreros. New LED lighting replaced the outdated neon tube lighting. The pavement was replaced with grass and a new parking lot, restrooms, a large stage, and projection room were also added. The Park now hosts family movie nights and other community events.
Mission Marquee Park would officially be dedicated in June 2014 after waiting a year for the newly planted grass in the former parking area to be sufficiently established to allow use of the large park. The Park is also home to the Mission Library and the Najim YMCA branch.
As far as I can determine, this is the only remnant of the drive-in movie theaters in San Antonio. Fond memories for many of us when going to the drive-in was a fun, family night out – and very cheap!
Thank you, Beth! What a fun place to visit! I am glad to know its history. I googled it and saw it hosts Farmers Markets and cultural events, too. Should we visit the area, (which I believe we will), I will check this place out. btw – You might want to check the date the park was dedicated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, yes. That is a typo, fixed now! Thank you and I do hope you get to visit San Antonio and our Missions and everything else to see here! Too hot right now though!
LikeLiked by 1 person
There aren’t many of these left anywhere these days! They must have been doing a special promo with all the milkmen and their trucks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wondered if they gave them free admission to the movie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Curious about the movie “The Milkman,” I went to Wikipedia to see what it was about. I think I would have enjoyed this one.
“Roger Bradley (O’Connor) is the son of the owner of a milk company. He wants to get a job as a milkman at his father’s company, but his father denies it because of Roger’s after-war trauma: when he gets stressed or frustrated, he quacks like a duck. Roger gets upset at his father and does not see any problem with the quacking. In revenge, he gets a job with his father’s arch-rival, Breezy Albright (Durante) at another milk company. He becomes very successful and quickly falls in love with the boss’s daughter, Chris Abbott (Laurie).”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had the same thought when I read the description! Had to have been funny!
LikeLike