Alabama Ruin: Clanton Drive-In Theater

In August 2012 my son Amos IV and I were tooling down I-65 South headed for Montgomery to see some historic sights there. Not long after we left Pelham, we were slowed to a crawl by a traffic backup and decided to use one of the Clanton exits to detour. 

We hadn't gone far when we passed this Great Alabama Ruin, the former Clanton Drive-In, located at 3404 7th Street North. We looked at each other, both saying wow!, so I turned around. The photos below were taken by my son and reveal what we saw on that hot summer day. 

The Cinema Treasures web site notes the drive-in opened sometime before 1955, was owned by a B. Clark and had 416 spaces for cars. That number would provide a lot of eyeballs to watch such late 1950's movies as Some Like It Hot [1959] a comedy with Marilyn Monroe; The Big Country [1958] a Western with Gregory Peck; the Ten Commandments [1956] with Charlton Heston; and Alfred Hitchcock's thriller North By Northwest [1959] with Cary Grant. We can also hope that in the 1960's such classics as Beach Blanket Bingo [1965] with Annette and Frankie also appeared on that giant screen.  

At the time this theater opened, the only places to watch a movie on a big screen were probably way up in big bad Birmingham or way down in Montgomery. After all, the only Over-the-Mountain community developed at that time was Vestavia. Wonder when the first movie theater opened there? Small town movie theaters were not unknown back in the day, however. 

No indication is given on the Cinema Treasures site as to when the drive-in closed. At some point S&H Mobile Homes opened there, and it closed in 2010. The only signs left of the original use are the screen, the empty marquee and the flat field for cars. We can only imagine the building that housed projection equipment, the snack bar and restrooms, and all of the poles for the little sound boxes to be hung on car windows.   

Some 86 open movie theaters in Alabama are currently listed on the Cinema Treasures site; a few are drive-ins. The site also lists 361 closed theaters in the state; many of those are drive-ins. That number includes the Whitesburg Drive-In in Huntsville, opened in 1949, closed in 1979, and since demolished. At least the people who watched drive-in movies in Clanton still have something tangible left in addition to their memories.

On his LiveJournal site, J.J. MacCrimmon provides a number of photographs of this drive-in that he took in 2011.

Anyone having more info about this site should feel free to comment below!

There I am, probably pointing out the obvious.

Here I am again, trying to grin in the heat.

Once a field of Tinseltown dreams, long ago and far away.

Another view of that field of dreams.

A Quick Visit to Tuskegee

In 2012 son Amos and I made a day trip to some historic sites in Montgomery. We saw a couple of other places as well, including the Clanton drive-in ruin I've written about here. I plan several posts on the Montgomery portion; in this one I cover our quick visit to Tuskegee.

Tuskegee became the seat of Macon County in 1833. Several Native American towns in Alabama, perhaps Creek, were given this name. In his book Historic Indian Towns in Alabama, 1540-1838, Amos J. Wright, Jr., notes four of them located on the Alabama, Chattahoochee, Coosa and Tennessee Rivers. Virginia O. Foscue in Place Names in Alabama says the name is probably a Muskhogean or Creek tribe and means "warrior(s)". There is a ghost town in Oklahoma of the same name. I've written about other Native American names from Alabama in Oklahoma here. 

Unfortunately, the town was at the end of the day before we headed home, so we didn't have a lot of time. We drove through the pretty Tuskegee University campus and saw the downtown square. Comments are below some of the photographs. 

The Macon County courthouse is an impressive piece of architecture. Built in 1905, the style as know as Romanesque and was popularized by Henry Hobson Richardson of Boston. Popular from about 1880 until 1910 for public buildings across the United States, the style resulted in a spectacular courthouse for a small rural county seat. The history of "one of the best-preserved turn-of-the-century courthouses in Alabama" can be found in Samuel A. Rumore, Jr., "Building Alabama's Courthouses: Macon County Courthouse," Alabama Lawyer 56(5): 207-209, 212, July 1995

Fred Gray has been called "the foremost civil rights attorney in Alabama history." Barclay Key's entry on Gray in the Encyclopedia of Alabama is a good summary of his achievements over many decades. 

Of course, two coffee lovers had to spend a bit of time in the Tiger Pause "coffee, tea and smoothies" shop. We found it to be a nice place to relax on a hot day.

Tuskegee's history dates to the mid-1700's when a French fort was established on the site. As several of these pictures demonstrate, a number of the downtown buildings have been restored. 

Also to be seen in downtown Tuskegee are signs of the ironies of history.

Built in the 1850's, Grey Columns now serves as the home of Tuskegee University's President. An older photograph can be seen below. More irony...

Tuskegee University has a pretty campus with striking architecture. I wish I had taken more photos!

Near the roof of the building to the left you may be able to read "John A. Kenney Hall." Kenney was an early black physician in Alabama, and served a number of years at Tuskegee Institute. He was personal doctor to Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. 

Grey Columns in the 1930's

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

A Quick Visit to Montgomery (2)

In August 2012 son Amos and I made a trip to Montgomery to see some historical sites. Along the way, as I've covered in previous blogs, we happened upon a great Alabama ruin, the Clanton Drive-In, and made a trip through Tuskegee on the way back. This post is the second of three devoted to Montgomery. Part one can be found here and part three here. 

Downtown Montgomery was quiet that day, since the legislature was not in session.

Comments are below some of the photographs. 

The front steps and entrance of the Alabama State Capitol at the end of Dexter Avenue. This Greek Revival building was constructed in 1851 on the foundation of the previous capitol, which had burned. The side and rear wings were constructed later.

All three branches of government were located here until 1940, when the Supreme Court moved to its own building on Dexter Avenue. The state legislature met here until moving to new quarters at the State House in 1985. The governor's offices remain here.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History has a number of historical photographs of the capitol in its digital collections.

These are two backside photos of the Alabama State House.

A shot from the balcony down into the Senate chamber. 

Stand in the rotunda and look up and this is what you see at the top of the dome. 

Artist Roderick MacKenzie painted eight panels depicting state history that hang in the Rotunda. Mackenzie began these panels in 1926 and finished in 1931. He also designed the plaster frames around the panels. 

MacKenzie, born in London, spent his youth and many adult years in Mobile. His long and fascinating career included art studies in Boston and Paris and periods in working in England and India.  He returned to Mobile in 1914 and painted many works with Alabama themes until his death in 1941.

A Quick Visit to Montgomery (3)

In August 2012 son Amos and I made a trip to Montgomery to see some historical sites. Along the way, as I've covered in previous blogs, we happened upon a great Alabama ruin, the Clanton Drive-In, and made a trip through Tuskegee on the way back. 

Downtown Montgomery was quiet that day, since the legislature was not in session. The previous two Montgomery posts are here and here. Comments are below some of the photographs. 

Riverfront Park was a pretty place on a hot August day. Close to The Alley and other locations around the capitol, the park has an amphitheater for concerts, the Harriott II riverboat and other facilities. The Montgomery Biscuits minor league baseball team play at Riverwalk Stadium nearby.

Amos and I had lunch at a restaurant at this venue. I don't remember the name, but we enjoyed it! The Alley is a complex of shops, eateries and bars near Riverfront Park. 

Located near the state capitol is the First White House of the Confederacy, and we did spend some time here. This house served as residence of President Jefferson Davis and family while the capital of the Confederate States of America was located in Montgomery. That period only lasted from February to May 1861, when the capital was moved to Richmond, Virginia. During that time, however, Mrs. Davis hosted many parties at the residence. 

This photo shows the house, built in the 1820's, at it's original location several miles away. Efforts to preserve the house began in the late 19th century, and in 1919 the legislature appropriated money to have it moved to the capital complex. 

The house is filled with furniture of the period and personal items of all sorts belonging to the Davis family. 

We encountered a fascinating example of the ironies of history that day. Apparently the only staff member working there when we visited and who greeted us as we entered was an African-American woman. In talking later we realized both of us had been tempted to ask her what it was like working in this temple of the Confederacy.