Sands Drive-In
Mesa, Arizona1955-1972
Browse Sands Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Mesa, Arizona, drive-in opened on May 13, 1955, out in the desert, and about two months in a desert whirlwind flattened its screen tower. Boxoffice and the Motion Picture Herald reported that fall that it had reopened with a new all-metal screen 46 feet by 96, and the new one held. Pick a style below, then read the full Sands 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.
4 products
Sands Drive-In History
The Sands Drive-In in Mesa, Arizona, opened on May 13, 1955, with Betty Grable in Three for the Show and Philip Carey in Wyoming Renegades. It stood at 2305 East Main Street, then out in the desert east of town, with one screen and room for 400 cars.
It lasted about two months. A desert whirlwind flattened the screen tower that summer. Boxoffice and the Motion Picture Herald reported that fall that C. K. Cargile, manager-owner with the Harry L. Nace circuit, had reopened it with a new all-metal screen 46 feet by 96.
The new one held. The Arizona Republic listed the Sands under the Nace and Forman-Nace banners through the 1960s. It ended as a triple feature house at $1.25 a carload and closed in January 1972. The theater is gone. Its name survives on the Sands Apartments, whose entrance marks the spot.