Spokane
Drive-ins
Spokane is a smaller town that had lots of vacant land just outside the city center when drive-ins were being built, so it seemed to have a high concentration of theaters in the immediate area, especially on North Division Street. Outside of that neighborhood, most of the theaters seem to have been uncreatively named after their street location though they were also named after their neighborhood at the same time.
Starlite
N 10404 Newport Highway. Here you could see movies against a background of powerlines. Now a Regal Cinema. The marquee for the new theater seems oversized for a new theater built in these days of smaller sign requlations, so it could be the drive-in's sign:
USGS Dartford, 1974, 1986
Y Drive-in
N 8804 Division. A theater just a stone's throw away from the sewage treatment plant. Now a car dealer, though it appears they kept the original marquee:
USGS Spokane NW 1974, 1986
Auto Vue
N 6800 Division. Just north of a drivein' range (heh, heh).
By the time this aerial photo was taken, in 1978, the right side and back center rows had been taken over for what looks like self-storage lockers. Now a Lowe's Home Improvement Center
USGS Spokane NW 1974, 1986
See the three above theaters on one map. The Y is at the top center, the Auto Vue is near the botom center and the North Cedar is in the lower left corner.
West End
S 2800 Geiger Blvd. Another theater lot with power lines, this time over the north corner. Demolition seems immenent here too, with new chain link fence posts around the lot, but no fence when I came by in September 2001. Workers were dismantling the screen anchor then.
More recent satellite image, from MapQuest.
USGS Spokane NW 1974, 1986
East Sprague
E 6200 Sprague. It is reported that a freeway widening wiped out this theater. Actually, it is mostly the required storm retention pond that covers most of the site now. Some row landscaping, and one light tower are left. Ticket booth and other rubble could still be at the west edge of the property.
Satellite image, from MapQuest.
USGS Spokane NE 1974, 1986
East Trent
E 11201 Trent. The marquee is still up, and much of the lot is undeveloped.
I Hated Tonto (Still Do), essay by Sherman Alexie, with a brief mention of the East Trent.
Satellite image, from MapQuest.
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