Bright Leaf Drive-In
Mount Airy, North Carolina1950-2010
Shop Bright Leaf Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Bright Leaf took its name from the leaf tobacco grown around Surry County, and the Mount Airy theater on U.S. 52 was torn down in 1953 for a new highway before it was rebuilt in 1955. The rebuilt version had one screen and a long arrow sign over a changeable marquee. Pick a style below, then read the full Bright Leaf history further down. Down Home Apparel is an American small business remembering the best places and teams of yesteryear, and every shirt is printed to order in the USA.
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Bright Leaf Drive-In History
The Bright Leaf Drive-In in Mount Airy, North Carolina, first opened on August 11, 1950, on U.S. 52 south of town. The name came from the leaf tobacco grown around Surry County. That first theater lasted about three years. It was torn down in 1953 to make room for the new U.S. 52.
In September 1954 the Mount Airy News reported plans to rebuild, and a new Bright Leaf opened in 1955 on another stretch of the same highway. That is the one most people remember, at what is now 150 North Andy Griffith Parkway. It had one screen and room for 150 to 200 cars, depending on the source. Don Davis owned it for many years, until his death in 2005. Its sign was simple: a long arrow reading BRIGHT LEAF DRIVE-IN on top of a changeable marquee.
The Bright Leaf closed in March 2010, when the landowner chose not to renew the lease and the land was expected to be sold. A group tried to raise money to reopen it, and that did not happen. A carport business later moved onto the lot. The screen was still standing in early 2017.