Sumner Drive-In
Gallatin, Tennessee1950-1998
Browse Sumner Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. Its neon sign ran SUMNER in tall orange letters over DRIVE-IN on a long red arrow, and by its last years it was the only drive-in left in the Gallatin and Hendersonville area. The Nashville Scene reported in 2019 that a family night out there in 1998 helped inspire the Stardust Drive-In at Watertown. Pick your style below, and the full Sumner history follows 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
Sumner Drive-In History
The Sumner Drive-In in Gallatin, Tennessee, stood at 1401 Nashville Pike, with about 300 spaces and one screen. Nobody has pinned down its first night. Cinema Treasures has it running since at least 1950, and the Gallatin chamber of commerce, which made it the subject of a 2012 ornament, gives its years as 1950 to 1998.
By its last years it was the only drive-in left in the Gallatin and Hendersonville area. A contributor's photos show that sound had gone to radio, with four rows of speakers kept for those who wanted them. Cinema Treasures also says it appeared in a Hank Williams Jr. video made for Monday Night Football. Its sign was neon, SUMNER in tall orange letters over DRIVE-IN on a long red arrow, and one commenter says the pieces were split up after it came down.
The end came around the 1998 season. A contributor to Drive-ins.com says it closed that winter and was torn down in the spring of 1999. Wilson Living Magazine says it closed after the 1999 season. The Nashville Scene reported in 2019 that a family night out there in 1998 helped inspire the Stardust Drive-In at Watertown. The Stardust's owner recalled that the site was bulldozed, a road named Memory Lane was cut through it, and a car wash and a liquor store went up.