The Admiral Twin drive-in was built in 1951 and sits just off "Route 66". My parents lived off of Admiral street in Tulsa, OK back in the day, when they were a young married couple. The drive-in was a good value for their weekend entertainment!
They would all pile into the same car with my two aunts, their husbands, and the half a dozen kids between them. (They all lived within a block or so from each other). You paid by the carload back then, like $5/car if I remember my mom right. When my mom was still in high school she said they would cram into every nook and cranny of the car to get as many as possible into the movie on that $5, even some in the trunk!
They brought their own snacks and if you've been to these old fashioned drive-ins, remember you had to hang the little speaker on the rolled-down window glass so you could hear the movie.
I went to this drive in as a kid, and I have taken my kids to this drive in as well. The last movie we saw here was Madagascar I think, so it's been a few years. They didn't have the hanging speakers anymore, you tuned into a local AM station to hear the movie through your car speakers.
The last movie showing on last Friday as it burned? The Last Exorcism. Sort of freaky, right?
There's a grassroots campaign in place (already!) to fundraise and try to rebuild. This year was the 60th season of the Admiral Twin. The last movie scheduled for this season would have been the Outsiders, a local favorite since it was shot in Tulsa.
I do hope they're successful in their rebuilding efforts. Really, how much more wholesome can you get than a carload of family & friends and a drive-in movie...
