The old Airway Drive-In sign, 10634 St. Charles Rock Road, marks
the site of the former 1,000-car movie theater. The drive-in was
built around 1949. The theater's screens and concession stands
were torn down in 1986 after the theater closed, according to
Wehrenberg Theatres, which bought it in 1974.
But the neon majorette, twirling a baton, still
blinks, now inviting passersby into a shopping center.
The girl twirling her baton on the neon Airway sign on
St. Charles Rock Road at the site of the old Airway Drive-In
theater is one of several such landmarks in the St. Louis area.
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The Airway Drive-In sign is one of the last
relics in the metropolitan area recalling the fashion
for drive-in movies that peaked in the 1950s. It is also
one of the most imaginative of all commercial signs. The
drum majorette’s baton twirls when lighted. Officials of
the city of St. Ann recognized the sign’s importance in
1991 and approved its restoration by Shop ‘n Save
Warehouse Foods when the old drive-in was redeveloped as
a superstore. |
Click photo for larger Picture |
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