#Chief drive in theatre update#
#Chief drive in theatre trial#

The Victorian Greens – which has called for wholesale change – said the party would work constructively with the government once they have seen the bill but echoed concerns it did not go far enough. The parcel was later purchased by Colorado West health services for their campus.“We all want a bail system that keeps the community safe but doesn’t see people on remand who don’t represent a risk to the community,” Pesutto said. Like the location of most drive-in theatres, the area had grown up around it and the property was much more valuable as developable vacant commercial land than as a theatre. In the mid-1990’s Arcadia demolished the building and other improvements on the property to save on taxes and make it more marketable as vacant land. Since UA owned the equipment, they stripped it when the lease terminated thus effectively killing the property as a theatre. Sizemore and the successor to Westland’s property division). In 1991 United Artist Theatres opted to not renew their lease of the property from Arcadia Investments of Colorado Springs (owned by L.J. They opted to use the booth and concession stand for storage for the next few years while they mulled their options. Upon that assessment UA threw in the towel on re-opening the theatre.

#Chief drive in theatre trial#

Updating to an AM radio transmitter was considered on a trial basis but this too proved impossible as the system still needed most of field wiring to be serviceable. The 1952 vintage rubber covered wire was shorting out and the sound quality at the speakers was terrible especially if it rained.

The primary problem was the field wiring was shot.

#Chief drive in theatre update#

This was due to the very expensive improvements necessary to update the property.

It was merely shuttered after the 1989 season and not started back up.

The Chief Drive-In closed with little fanfare. Over time most of the original Simplex speakers were replaced with cast aluminum Reed boxes and the ramp light domes replaced with Reed caps and translucent white, green or red rings (depending upon their location on the field). The sound head was updated to a solar cell system, replacing the old tube photocell pickup. Illumination was updated to a Xetron lamp house. The right projector was removed and in its place a Drive-In Theatre Mfg. The field was wired with Simplex poles, domes and speakers. Sound was delivered by Simplex sound heads via Simplex tube amplifiers. Projection was initially via two Simplex XL projectors illuminated by Peerless Magnarc carbon arc lamp houses driven by a large Hertner TransVerter. It was moved to behind the concession stand but then later removed altogether. Initially there was a playground at the front of the field near the screen. The concession stand and restrooms were on the ground floor with the booth on the second floor. The concession stand and booth were located in a two story cinder block building in the middle of the field. The screen was at the far north end of the field and faced south. The neon and fluorescently illuminated sign was fashioned in the shape of an Indian head with an integral marquee behind the Chief’s head. The entrance and exit lanes were separated by a grassed north-south median directly behind the sign. It was located on an 8.3 acre parcel on the north side of street with access directly off North Avenue. It was built by Westland Theatres (of Colorado Springs) to complement their other hard-top offerings in Grand Junction. It was Grand Junction’s second drive-in, operated the most seasons and was the last to close forever. It ran every year until its closure on Septemwith “Star Trek V” & “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. The Chief Drive-In opened on Mawith Gary Cooper in “Distant Drums”.