Albuquerque Six
Cactus
Circle
Duke City
Silver Dollar
Sixty-Six
Star
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Terrace
Tesuque
Tri-C
Wyoming
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| Location: | 500 Pennsylvania NE, 3 blocks N of Central |
| Open: | 19??-19?? |
| Capacity: | 656 |
| Owners: | Cliff Butler (19??-19??); listed under "Albuquerque Theatres" in 1966 Yellow Pages |
I've never seen the Tesuque listed as a "Route 66" drive-in, but in my book, it has to qualify. The theatre was located in the heart of a residential area, just three streets north of the Mother Road. There had to be a marquee on Central (old 66). Does being slightly "tucked-away" warrant denying this cold-war entertainment megaplex its rightful connection to its heritage? I...think...not.
Ahem. Anyway, "Tesuque" is Spanish-bastardized Tewa for "spotted dry place" -- apparently the river near the actual Tesuque (north of Santa Fe) tended to be try most of the year, but would come to the surface in the form of wet spots here and there.
The drive-in, not surprisingly, is gone...but there's a very nice public park on the location, with a little circle of benches near the center that we feel would be a perfect location for a bronze statue of Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., the inventor of the drive-in theatre. Or at least an old Buick or something.