Gloria Drive-In
Lima, Ohio1946-1988
Browse Gloria Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. Horace and Eunice Shock opened it with Eddie Cantor in Show Business, and by 1948 its RCA speakers had been swapped for ones from their own company, Lima Speaker. High winds destroyed the wooden tower on October 12, 1959, and it was rebuilt in time for summer 1960. Pick your style below, and the full Gloria history follows further down. We are an American small business bringing back the signs and logos of places and teams that are long gone but remembered fondly.
4 products
Gloria Drive-In History
The Gloria Drive-In in Lima, Ohio, opened in May 1946 on North Dixie Highway with Eddie Cantor in Show Business. It was the second drive-in for Horace and Eunice Shock, who named it for their daughter. The architect was George M. Peterson of Cleveland, and it held 576 cars. Its first speakers came from RCA. By 1948 they had been swapped for ones from the Shocks' own company, Lima Speaker.
A 70-foot screen went up for CinemaScope in the 1950s. In November 1954 Horace Shock leased the Gloria and his other two Lima drive-ins to Selected Theatres of Cleveland so he could spend more time on real estate, and that firm ran the Gloria until 1982. On October 12, 1959, high winds destroyed the wooden tower and shut the theater for the winter. It was rebuilt in time for summer 1960.
Selected Theatres drew complaints in 1978 for booking R-rated films at the Gloria and the Sharon. Horace Shock had died in 1975, and Eunice carried on. The Gloria closed on September 5, 1988, with a double bill of family comedies. A truck and trailer repair shop stands on the site.