Katahdin Drive-In
Mattawamkeag, Maine1955-1980s
Order Katahdin Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. Named for the highest mountain in Maine, it put its name inside a black mountain with snow along the top in its ads. The same mountain topped an Italian double bill in July 1958 and, in another ad, a double bill billed as adults only xxx. Scroll past the styles for the full Katahdin history. We are an American small business bringing back the signs and logos of places and teams that are long gone but remembered fondly.
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Katahdin Drive-In History
The Katahdin Drive-In in Mattawamkeag, Maine, was open by 1955, when L. Bilodeau and Daytz Theatre Enterprises operated it. A trade item of August 7, 1954 said it was to open in late August of that year under owners Charles Moscone and Leo Bilodeau, with Daytz Theatre Enterprises booking it. It stood on Route 157, the Medway Road, with one screen. Listings give it anywhere from 175 to 300 cars, and the 1955 theater directory gives 175. Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine, and the theater's ad logo put the name inside a black mountain with snow along the top.
It kept unusual company for the north woods. An ad of July 3, 1958, shows an Italian double bill, a Rossellini picture with a Gassman picture. A commenter's old listing shows Airport with The Million Dollar Duck next. Another ad, under the same mountain, offers a double bill, a show time of 8:15, and the words adults only xxx. Drive-ins.com also records that it ran adult films.
No closing date has turned up. Cinema Treasures says the 1980s. A 1984 aerial shows the drive-in whole, and it was gone by the mid-1990s. Photos from 2011 show a split in the road where the screen stood, one piece of speaker pole, some patches of asphalt and young trees across the field.