Queen City Drive-In
Springfield, Missouri1974-1985
Shop Queen City Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. Commonwealth Theatres took Springfield's nickname literally, with a crown of purple and yellow plexiglass on an entrance sign about 45 feet tall that made the cover of Boxoffice in June 1974. Opening night ran Magnum Force and The Getaway on one screen and Westworld and Soylent Green on the other. Browse the styles below, and the full Queen City 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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Queen City Drive-In History
The Queen City Drive-In in Springfield, Missouri, opened on March 29, 1974, at 3630 East Sunshine Street, the last drive-in to open in the Springfield area. Commonwealth Theatres built it with two screens. The first night ran Magnum Force and The Getaway on one screen and Westworld and Soylent Green on the other. Boxoffice gave the combined capacity as 1,000 cars; Cinema Treasures lists 800.
The name is Springfield's own. Local papers were calling the town a queen city by 1870, and the longer Queen City of the Ozarks followed later that decade. Commonwealth took it literally. The entrance sign stood about 45 feet tall on fluted columns and carried an eight-foot plexiglass crown in purple and yellow. Boxoffice put the sign on the cover of its June 14, 1974, issue. Milton Costlow and Associates drew the plans and Aton Brothers of Springfield built it.
A former manager remembers a brown brick building with turquoise and white trim, and a projection booth upstairs over the concession stand. The bookings were mostly second-run pictures and themed marathons. After the Springfield Drive-In closed in 1978, the screen facing away from Sunshine Street took occasional R-rated marathons. The final month included a Labor Day dusk-to-dawn program of exploitation and horror films, with a free breakfast for anyone still there at the end.
Commonwealth closed the Queen City on September 29, 1985. The last bill was Six Pack and Stroker Ace on the screen facing the road, and Campus Teasers and Sugar Lips on the other. The screens and equipment went elsewhere. A Sam's Club stands on the site.