Tri-State Drive-In
Chesapeake, Ohio1959-1981
Browse Tri-State Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Tri-State opened in 1959 on old Route 52 in Chesapeake, Ohio, across the river from Huntington, West Virginia. Its box office floor sat 18 inches below ground so the cashier was at eye level with each car, and the theater ran speaker wires to eight houses overlooking the screen. Pick a style below, then read the full Tri-State 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.
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Tri-State Drive-In History
The Tri-State Drive-In in Chesapeake, Ohio, opened on June 18, 1959, with Fred MacMurray in The Shaggy Dog. It stood on old Route 52, across the Ohio River from Huntington, West Virginia, and took its name from the three states that meet in that corner of the river: Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Louis Marcks, listed as owner in the 1961 Motion Picture Almanac, built it for a reported $190,000 with room for about 800 cars. Boxoffice gave it a feature in March 1960, and the details were particular. The floor of the box office sat 18 inches below ground, so the cashier was at eye level with the people in each car. Eight houses overlooked the screen, and the theater ran speaker wires to them.
The color scheme was aquamarine. A triangle bearing the theater's name stood on top of a lit yellow and blue marquee, and Boxoffice noted that it could be seen from both banks of the river and from the Huntington bridge.
The Tri-State closed on September 8, 1981, after a double bill of The Unseen and An Eye for an Eye. Aerial photos agree that it was running into the early 1980s. The Chesapeake Flea Market now uses the property, and the old exit road serves as its main entrance.