66 Drive-In Theatre: A Real, Working Drive-In on Route 66

66 Drive-In Theatre

Where Is the 66 Drive-In Theatre?

Address: 17231 Old 66 Boulevard, Carthage, MO 64836

Phone: (417) 359-5959

Email: [email protected]

Website: 66drivein.com

Season: Seasonal — typically April through September or October. Check 66drivein.com or the theater’s Facebook page for the current season calendar.

Show Nights: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings

Gates Open: Typically 6:30 PM Friday and Saturday; 7:00 PM Sunday (verify current times at 66drivein.com)

Showtime: Approximately 8:00 PM (at dusk). Double feature runs back-to-back.

Admission: $8 adults (ages 13+), $4 children ages 6–12, free for ages 5 and under. CASH ONLY at the ticket gate. Debit accepted at the concession stand.

Audio: Tune your car radio to the broadcast FM frequency posted at the theater. Bring a portable radio if you prefer to sit outside.

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Driving Context: The theater sits on Old 66 Boulevard on the western edge of Carthage, approximately 1 mile west of downtown. From I-44, take Exit 18A west toward Carthage on Highway 96, then follow the Route 66 alignment signs onto Old 66 Boulevard. From Joplin (13 miles west), take I-44 east and Exit 18A. The theater is approximately 75 miles southwest of Springfield on the Route 66 / I-44 corridor.

The History of the 66 Drive-In Theatre

Opening Night: September 22, 1949

The 66 Drive-In was built and opened by local businessmen William D. Bradford and V.F. Naramore. Bradford also operated the Roxy Theater in downtown Carthage. The drive-in opened on September 22, 1949 — four years before the first local television stations went on air in the Joplin-Springfield market. In an era when car radios were not standard equipment, the theater installed a field of pole-mounted speakers: a speaker hung at each car’s window, delivering sound with the characteristic tinny quality that anyone who remembers the original drive-in experience will recognize instantly.

The nine-acre property was laid out with the screen at the rear facing away from the road, and the entire front of the property — entrance drives, ticket booth, and neon marquee — facing Old Route 66. The original screen stood 66 feet tall. The ticket booth was built in the Art Deco Streamline Moderne style, with glass block construction. The concession stand and projection booth occupied a central building in the parking field.

The Television Era and the Widescreen Screen

When television began drawing audiences away from movie theaters in the early 1950s, Hollywood responded by developing widescreen formats — Cinemascope among them — that could not be replicated on a small TV screen. The 66 Drive-In’s original screen was widened sometime after 1953 to accommodate the new format. The original 4:3 aspect ratio screen was replaced by the wider version that still stands today, giving the theater its current profile against the Missouri sky.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, the drive-in operated as a genuine Route 66 attraction — travelers on the highway could see the neon marquee from the road and pull in for an evening’s entertainment before continuing west or finding a motor court for the night. The Dickinson theater chain, which operated multiple drive-ins in the region, eventually took over operations.

Closure, the Salvage Years, and the Goodman Restoration

The theater closed in 1985, following a nationwide collapse in drive-in attendance driven by the VCR, cable television, and the multiplex theater boom. After closure, the property was converted into an auto salvage yard — a bleak chapter for one of Route 66’s most distinctive properties. The original structures survived the salvage years, though in deteriorating condition.

Mark and Dixie Goodman purchased the property and undertook a restoration that the National Park Service has called one of the most ambitious drive-in revivals in Route 66 history. The theater reopened on April 18, 1998. The Goodmans maintained and operated it for nearly two decades, during which it became one of Route 66’s most celebrated seasonal attractions. The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

The McDonald Family Takes Over (2017)

In 2017, the Goodmans sold the 66 Drive-In to Nathan McDonald, his wife Amy, and their three children. McDonald had worked at the theater for the previous decade, running security and helping with maintenance. The family-run operation continues the Goodman tradition — the theater runs Friday through Sunday throughout its seasonal calendar, shows double features, maintains the original structures, and charges cash-only admission at the gate.

The Cars Connection

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What to Expect When You Visit

Arriving at the 66 Drive-In in the hour before showtime, the experience begins at the neon marquee sign on Old 66 Boulevard — one of the best-preserved original drive-in signs on Route 66, with the current week’s double feature displayed in changeable letters. The ticket booth ahead is the original glass-block Art Deco structure from 1949. You pay cash at the window and pull through into the parking field.

The field is large and the screen is distant — this is a genuine wide-field drive-in experience, not a parking lot with a projector. The forest of speaker poles is still standing throughout the field, stripped of their actual speakers but evocative of the original setup. Park, tune your car radio to the broadcast frequency posted at the theater, and settle in. Lawn chairs and portable radios are welcome for those who prefer to watch from outside the car.

The concession stand is well-stocked and reasonably priced. Bringing outside food may not be permitted — check current policy at 66drivein.com. The theater programs a mix of family films and adult titles; the ratio runs roughly 50/50 across the season. Programming is driven by studio availability requirements, which means some films run multiple weekends in a row. Check the current schedule at 66drivein.com or on the theater’s Facebook page before planning your visit.

Honest caveats: the theater is cash-only at the ticket gate (debit accepted at the concession stand). Arrive at least 30 to 60 minutes before showtime on busy summer weekends — parking fills and good spots go early. The theater is seasonal and weather-dependent; outdoor screenings can be cancelled for rain. And while the speaker poles are atmospheric, the actual audio quality through an FM car radio is modern and clear, not the tinny crackle of the original speakers.

Best Time to Visit and Photography Tips

The 66 Drive-In is open seasonally, typically April through September or October. The most atmospheric visits are on warm summer evenings when the sky is still light at gates-open time and turns dark over the first 30 minutes — the transition from twilight to full dark with the screen lit against the Missouri sky is the defining visual of the experience. Weekday visitors (on the rare occasions the theater runs weekday programming) find shorter lines; summer Saturdays are the busiest nights.

• The neon marquee sign on Old 66 Boulevard is the essential exterior photograph. Shoot from across the road at dusk when the sign is fully lit and the sky still holds color — this framing places the sign against a warm sky and includes the old highway alignment in the foreground.
• The speaker pole field is the interior detail that most directly echoes the theater’s history. A wide-angle shot from ground level looking toward the screen, with the poles receding into the distance, captures the scale of the original drive-in experience in a way that a straight-on screen photo does not.
• The original ticket booth — glass block, Art Deco, 1949 — photographs well in the pre-show light as cars queue at the window. Include the queue in the frame for a sense of the theater’s ongoing community life rather than its historic shell.

Tips for Visiting the 66 Drive-In Theatre

• Cash is required at the ticket gate — debit and card are accepted only at the concession stand. ATMs are available in Carthage; plan ahead.
• Arrive at least 30 to 60 minutes before showtime on Friday and Saturday evenings in peak summer season — prime parking spots fill early.
• Bring a portable FM radio if you want to watch from outside the car, and a lawn chair or blanket for comfort. The outdoor option significantly improves the sky-watching experience between features.
• Check the current double feature schedule at 66drivein.com or on the theater’s Facebook page before making the drive — programming can change and some weekends run repeat features.
• The theater is seasonal and can cancel screenings in bad weather. Check the Facebook page for same-day updates if the forecast is uncertain.
• The theater is open to the public lot, which means visitors can photograph the exterior structures and marquee without purchasing admission — useful for daylight photography visits when the theater is not operating.
• Accessibility: the parking field is unpaved gravel. The concession building is accessible from the parking area; the ticket booth window is drive-through. Contact the theater in advance for specific accessibility needs.

2026 Route 66 Centennial Connection

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 66 Drive-In Theatre really on Route 66?

Yes. The 66 Drive-In is located on Old 66 Boulevard in Carthage — the original Route 66 alignment through the western edge of Jasper County. The National Park Service has designated it a Route 66 Corridor property and lists it as the oldest and most intact historic drive-in theater directly on Route 66 in Missouri.

When is the 66 Drive-In open?

The theater runs seasonally, typically from April through September, with screenings on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Gates usually open around 6:30 PM (Friday/Saturday) or 7:00 PM (Sunday), with showtime at approximately 8:00 PM (at dusk). Check 66drivein.com or the theater’s Facebook page for the current season schedule and any weather cancellations.

How does the audio work at the 66 Drive-In?

Sound is broadcast over a local FM radio frequency, posted at the theater. Tune your car radio to the listed station to hear the movie. If you plan to watch from outside your car, bring a portable FM radio. The original speaker poles are still standing throughout the parking field as a historical feature, but individual speakers have not been used since the theater’s 1998 restoration.

Is cash required at the 66 Drive-In?

Yes — cash is required at the ticket gate. Debit and card are accepted at the concession stand inside. Admission is currently $8 for adults (ages 13+), $4 for ages 6–12, and free for ages 5 and under. Verify current pricing at 66drivein.com before visiting.

Is the 66 Drive-In the inspiration for the drive-in in Cars?

Possibly in part. The drive-in depicted in Pixar’s 2006 film Cars shares specific design features with the 66 Drive-In — including the original 4:3 screen ratio, pole-mounted speakers, and neon marquee. Pixar drew from multiple Route 66 sources in creating Radiator Springs, and has not officially identified the 66 Drive-In as the specific model. The parallels are specific enough that Route 66 historians and Cars fans consistently make the connection.

Final Thoughts on the 66 Drive-In Theatre

The 66 Drive-In works as a Route 66 stop because it is genuinely functional — not a relic you visit, but a place you attend. Buying a ticket at a glass-block Art Deco booth, parking in a field of speaker poles, and watching a double feature while the Missouri sky turns dark behind you is an experience with almost no equivalent on the modern American road. The National Register designation confirms what the experience makes obvious: this is one of the most intact examples of Route 66 commercial culture still operating in its original form.

Nearby Route 66 Highlights

• Jasper County Courthouse, Carthage — 1 mile east — an 1894 Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse built from Carthage stone, one of the finest county courthouses in Missouri and the anchor of the historic downtown square.
• Red Oak II — 4 miles northeast off Highway 96 — artist Lowell Davis’s recreation of the Missouri town of Red Oak, relocated building by building to a private property; a genuinely surreal Route 66 side trip.