Aust’s Open Air Theatre opened on May 21, 1948 with “Cheyenne”, “Half Wits Holiday” and a cartoon, “Catch as Catch Can”. They remained open for just under 60 years, closing its doors in the fall of 1989.
Those “in the know” will remember that this was one of the last remaining drive-ins that featured XXX movies. It did not start that way and after spending a day in the library, I tracked down when the change was made from family-friendly-fare to the risqué. Surprisingly, it was not at the beginning of a new season, rather, it was right near the end of a season of playing traditional B-grade fare.
One day in August of 1969 there was the double feature of “Hell’s Belles” and “The Young, the Evil and the Savage”…
…and the next pair of movies was, “Space Thing” (with a tagline of “Its Buck Rogers for Adults) and “The Swap”.
The drive-in also featured a mini-golf right next door that was open until 11pm. Like many of the drive-ins today, Aust’s also featured horror fests and other “special” events, as can be seen below.
Eventually the (non) eventful day came, and Aust’s showed its last pair of movies:
Here is an article that appeared in the “Post Star”:
Even though I was “of age” to be able to watch the movies offered here, I had never made it out to the theater. I love visiting the outdoor theaters just to check out their set up and to get a feel of their “vibe” as an outdoor theater. There are quite a few other ones that I never had the chance to get out to and obviously never will, so we will have to live through the memories and photos of others.
Come find the cache and get a little surprise at ground zero. Look around and let your imagination run rampant!