Lone Tree Drive-In
Victoria, Texas1957-1985
Order Lone Tree Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Lone Tree in Victoria, Texas, had a 120-foot screen, a kiddieland with a motorized ferris wheel, a concession stand that sold a Frelsburger and a small grocery store at one end for forgetful shoppers. Rubin Frels had the screen tower pulled down in 1992, calling it an eyesore. Browse the styles below, and the full Lone Tree history is 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.
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Lone Tree Drive-In History
The Lone Tree Drive-In in Victoria, Texas, opened on March 8, 1957, on Lone Tree Road east of town. Frels Theatres built it on 79 acres that Rubin S. Frels is said to have spotted from his small airplane. Harvey A. Jordan was the architect and contractor, and planning and construction took about two years.
Boxoffice gave it a three-page spread in May 1957 and described a 120-foot screen. Cinema Treasures lists room for 900 cars. It was laid out for a second screen that was never built. There was a kiddieland with a motorized ferris wheel and merry-go-round, a cafeteria-style concession stand that sold a Frelsburger, and a small grocery store at one end for forgetful shoppers. Hurricane Carla damaged the screen in 1961, and it was repaired.
The family trade did not last. Cinema Treasures says R and X rated films began in the 1970s. A neighbor who lived half a mile away remembers only adult films for several years in the 1980s, and a former employee has written that the staff found it bizarre. Cinema Treasures and Drive-ins.com both give June 1985 as the closing.
Frels sold his theater chain to Cinemark in 1989 and kept this property. He had the screen tower pulled down on December 18, 1992, calling it an eyesore and a safety concern, and went on with his pipe organ restoration business. The concession building has since been torn down, and the land is overgrown.