The Silvermoon Drive-In is a

drive-in theatre A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, c ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. Established in 1948, it is the last remaining drive-in of

Polk County, Florida Polk County () is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as ...

History

The Silvermoon was founded on April 14, 1948. Admission was only 35 cents per person. The opening attraction was ''

Up Goes Maisie ''Up Goes Maisie'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is the ninth of 10 films starring Ann Sothern as ex-showgirl Maisie Ravier, characterized as "that double trouble doll with the sas ...

'', starring

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s ...

and

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to ...

. The Theatre was owned and operated by I. Q. Mize and M. G. Waring. On May 23, 1950 the screen was damaged in a tornado, but the theatre was reopened on July 1, 1950. In 1952 I. Q. Mize and M. G. Waring sold the theatre to Carl Floyd owner of Floyd Theaters, a successful chain of theatres across Florida. Floyd Enterprises was acquired by Burnup & Sims in the late 1970s, but they retained Harold Spears, who Carl Floyd had appointed the president of Floyd Theatres. In 1985 another screen was added. In the 1990s Burnup & Sims merged with

Mastec Mastec, Inc. is an American infrastructure engineering and construction company based in Coral Gables, Florida. The company provides engineering, building, installation, maintenance and upgrade of energy, utility and communications infrastructur ...

. When in 1996 Mastec told Mr. Spears to close the remaining drive-in theatres, he formed Sun South Theatres and bought the Silvermoon Drive-in and two other drive-in theaters. One of those theaters, the 28th Street Drive-In in St. Pete was closed down in 2000. The other theater, the Joy-Lan Drive-In in

Dade City Dade City, officially the City of Dade City, is a city in, and the county seat of Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Tampa Bay Area, northeast of Tampa and southwest of Orlando. The population was 7,275 as of the 2020 c ...

is still operating. The cinema celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala in 1998."Silver Moon turns golden," ''Tampa Tribune,'' April 11, 1998. In 2022, both of the Silver Moon's screens were upgraded to laser projection systems.

References

External links

Theatre Website
{{Coord, 28.0350, -82.0154, type:landmark_region:US-FL, display=title Cinemas and movie theaters in Florida Drive-in theaters in the United States Buildings and structures in Lakeland, Florida

History

See also

References

External links