From Cinema Treasures
Opened June 11, 1954, owned by Richard Bandeau. Known to have been open until at least 1962. Although often listed as Munising, eyewitness accounts confirm that it was actually in Wetmore, which is immediately east of Munising.
I have been obsessed with finding this drive-in lot since I started this site over 20 years ago. I just checked Cinema Treasures and a poster named Kenmore made a great point in a 2020 submission. M-28 was on a different route when the drive-in would have been open. The folks who have posted on my site disagreed on whether the DI was North or South of M-28. I believe the reason for that is due to the re-routing of M-28 which is not obvious looking at the current map (2022).
When you reconcile those facts, they are in a sense both right. The drive-in was SOUTH of where M-28 sits NOW, but NORTH of where it was routed THEN which is basically Prospect St. Looking at the 1953 aerial, that newer section of M-28 did not exist. The PROBLEM with the 1953 aerial is that there is no sign of a drive-in being constructed that I can see.
So, if the 1954 opening date is correct, it must have been a hurry-up job to get it up and running. Unfortunately there is a gap on historical aerials between 1953 and 1981. The other thing working against this theory is the 1959 Topo Map shows nothing in terms of a shape or designation of a drive-in theater. Topo maps USUALLY noted both as Drive-Ins were great landmarks for aviation due to their distinctive footprint as viewed from the air.
In the end, I am positive this place existed but there is still mystery surrounding the location.
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