TULSA – It took only minutes to burn down the screen that’s over 60 years old. Gary Filby was a projectionist here.
“This is 15, 20 years of my life out here that I spent and to see this in shambles is really disheartening and sad, ” he says.
Strong winds fueled the fire and shot smoke and embers across I-244. The highway was shut down for a while westbound from memorial as grass fires sparked along the road. It took firefighters about 45 minutes to put the blaze out. Blake Smith is the owner.
“It broke my heart, it’s still breaking my heart and it’s hard to look because that tower was such an icon of Tulsa, he says. It goes with so many other great things with this city and even if we rebuild it, it will never look the same.”
This drive-in theater was one of the longest running in the country, mostly known for a scene in the classic movie The Outsiders. That movie was supposed to play next weekend for the close of the season. There is now the possibility it may never open again.
My wife and I used to go to the Admiral drive-in twice a week before we got married over 50 years ago. It was sad, but it may be rebuilt by donations.
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