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Stockade Auto-Torium
US 60 at Ironbound Rd., Williamsburg, Va.
capacity: 240 cars
years of operation: 1941-63
currently: part of "restaurant row"
One of the first drive-ins in Virginia, its founder Cecil Houck conceived it as largely a tourist draw; its decor was in keeping with the Colonial Williamsburg theme, featuring high stockade fencing around the lot (hence the name). It was one of the first drive-ins in the country to install in-car speakers.
Below is part of a 1963 aerial photograph depicting the drive-in, wedged between Route 60 and the railroad tracks to the east; note the above-described fencing around the lot, and what looks like a very visible partition between white and "colored" viewing areas.
Photocopy of weekly flyer from July 1945.
This UPI file photo from June 1943 reflects the reality of wartime rationing
-- dwindling attendance due to the scarcity of gasoline forced the Stockade's
manager to cancel movies for a time.
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or stories about this drive-in
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