Tulsa’s historic Admiral Twin Drive-In, its iconic double screen destroyed by a fire in September 2010, will reopen with its new double screen the night of June 15, confirmed the Tulsa World on Wednesday night.
The theater will screen “Rock of Ages” and “Men in Black III” on one side, and “The Avengers” and “Snow White and the Huntsman” on the other on opening night. Tickets will be priced at $7 for adults; $3 for kids ages 3-11; and free for children age 2 and younger.
A new concession stand, part of the new double-screen structure, will serve pizza and hamburgers as well as the usual drive-in fare. The Admiral Twin also will have inflatables for kids to romp on opening night.
More tidbits from the report:
- The new double screens cost $700,000. However, $30,000 in donations from the public after the fire persuaded local banks to lend money for the rebuilding.
- The new structure contains rest rooms that are air-conditioned.
- A local architectural firm donated its services to design the new double screen.
- A grand reopening probably will be scheduled in a few weeks, after the operational kinks are worked out.
- Owner Blake Smith says he’ll likely extend the Admiral Twin’s season to late November or longer, depending on weather conditions.
The Admiral Twin’s Facebook page hinted Wednesday it would soon announce its reopening date. However, several people tweeted the date that day, including Urban Tulsa Weekly’s account executive, Christina Apostolide.
The drive-in initially opened in 1951, and the second screen was built a year later. Even as the number of drive-ins in the United States dropped over the decades, the Admiral Twin continued to show first-run movies. The Admiral Twin sits very close to the Admiral Place alignment of Route 66 in Tulsa.
The Admiral Twin also was used in a prominent scene in the movie adaptation of “The Outsiders.”