Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DRIVE-INS
DRIVE-INS. Dubuque entered the drive-in business later than many communities. The Dubuque Drive-In opened in July 1949 along John Deere Road. Due to its position on a steep slope, it had two terraces above the main field. The main field could hold 500 cars, and the terraces could hold 50 cars on the lower and 200 cars on the upper terrace. (2) It was managed by Don Schaller, later owned by Nickas J. YIANNIAS, and closed in 1985. (3)
Dubuque's second drive in, the Super 20, was built in 1964 by James N. Yiannias and his son N. J. Yiannias at an expected cost of $250,000. (4) The owners stated that the theater could be accessed by the "new" Kennedy Road, University Avenue and Dodge Street. The 14-acre site offered a 110-foot screen, snack bar, and a kiddie's playground with a variety of equipment. It had one screen and a capacity of 900 cars. (5)
When KENNEDY MALL opened, Yiannias moved the drive-in west on Highway 20 and added a second screen. The theater was equipped with a 70mm projector, one of only a dozen used in outdoor theaters across the nation at the time and the only one in Iowa. The Super 20 Twin was located at 14674 N Cascade Rd, Dubuque, IA 52003. The last drive-in in Dubuque, Super 20 Twin, closed in 1988. (5) In 2017 the area was a trailer park.
By 1984 the two Dubuque drive-ins were among fifty-one remaining in Iowa and an estimated 2,900 still in operation in the United States. The peak of the drive-in business came in 1958 when an estimated 4,063 were in operation.
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Source:
1. Cinema Treasures. Online: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/47474
2. Japsen, Bruce. "Dubuque Drive-In Bows Out," Telegraph Herald, June 1, 1988, p. 3
3. "$250,000 Drive-In Theater Planned," Telegraph-Herald, April 19, 1964, p. 16
4. "$250,000 Drive-in Theater," Telegraph-Herald, April 19, 1964, p. 16
5. Japsen