You Are Here: Corral 4 Drive-in Calgary

You are here: standing at the Corral 4 Drive-in Theatre in Calgary and looking down the entryway. Screens one, two, three or four? You pick’em. Imagine this same view but many decades ago and on a summer Saturday night. The cars, the chaos, the anticipation, the noise, the smell of popcorn in the air and good times ahead. It’s all done now and this sign becomes a final reminder of it all. The Corral 4’s closed and thanks for all memories.

Presenting a slight variation on the Then & Now theme. The old photo’s from 1982 and the ours something fairly recent.

The Corral 4 held title as both the last drive-in movie place in Calgary to open and similarly the last to close. There were once many such theatres in the city over the years (the count stands at seven or eight depending on the source) but by the time this one came on the scene, only a couple remained. A dying business and we’re looking at the final one.

Drive-ins were on their way out at the time and within a short few years it became the only one left. There was enough demand to keep it going but certainly not for others. As the most modern of all it had one distinct advantage that set it apart from the rest and that’s multiple screens. It’s perhaps this that assured its place as the last of its kind in the city.

Instead of a single screen they had four (hence the name) and this allowed a greater variety of movie offerings all accomplished without a huge increase to staffing levels.

At the time it operated the Corral 4 stood at the far eastern edge of the city and flanked by fields on one side, train tracks on the other and within sight of many auto wrecking yards, a city dump, industrial plants and the big trailer park across 17th Avenue SE. By the time the theatre closed, the city surrounded the property. The fields are gone and replaced by Elliston Park directly east, but the other stuff mentioned remains.

The immediate area, then as now, is industrial based mostly and a specialized refinery business directly north would ultimately lead to the Corral 4 closing. More on this in a moment.

It’s possible they had intent to shutter the business anyway and the incident described shortly perhaps just the excuse needed. Business was on the skids near the end and that it ran seasonally didn’t help either. It’s hard to turn a profit in an expensive city like Calgary but doubly so when thanks to winter you’re closed half the year. Also most drive-in theatres are weekend things and this further exacerbated the problem.

The Corral 4 officially opened in early 1980 and announcements to that effect easily found. However, it appear they also opened for a short time late the year before for a few showings, as trial runs perhaps. The Canadian Odeon chain and later Cineplex Odeon owned the theatre.

For the official opening, four double-features played and the night seemingly a big success. That March 1980 evening, the following were screened: The Changeling and Piranha on one, 1941 and National Lampoon’s Animal House on another, Silent Scream + Search and Destroy on a third, and finally The Jerk and More American Graffiti on the last. Something for everyone.

For the first decade a packed house happened often enough but later business seemed to trail off. One last kick at the can and it seemed to work for a time but later interest waned. This can be attributed to many factors and while skyrocketing costs were clearly in play, there were others also in the mix.

Going to the drive-in wasn’t the event it used to be and then there’s the hassle factor. Waiting in line, traffic jams at the exit…yeah, no fun. Then add in unexpected rain, late starts (in summer it’s not dark till 10ish) and that’s enough to turn people off. And busy lives got in the way and you know, we could go on forever.

By late the 1990s and with patronage down the business went up for sale but no buyers came forward.

The property had a square-ish shape and each of the four screens set up at a corner of the property. A combo projector building and concession could be found at the centre of it all and they had space for around twenty one hundred autos. This got divided almost equally among the four screens, but one had slightly less capacity.

From the start, they used radio broadcasts to stream to cars or portable radios and not the traditional speaker on a pole setup typically in use before. They advertised it as a “revolutionary new drive-in theatre sound system…high fidelity sound thru your AM car radio!” Later they’d go to FM band which offered better clarity.

An entry lane channelled vehicles to the appropriate screen and its far end our shooting position. Family BIGDoer, I think, visited once, near the end, and the consensus is The Phantom was the movie playing. Kids choice and had us adults had a vote we would have saw something different.

BTW, one could see an adjacent screens from certain positions which could be a little distracting. Radio cross talk from movie to movie is also recalled.

An earlier Corral Drive-in was located elsewhere in Calgary from 1964 to 1978. It had a single screen (typical at the time) and the coming of the first LRT line in the city doomed the business. It’s where Calgary Transit’s Anderson Garage is today. The time line and the name suggests that Corral Theatre and this Corral Theatre were connected, but we’ve not found conclusive evidence of this yet.

The Corral 4 ultimately closed due to a big fire at an oil refinery located right next door. You can see that business directly north of the theatre in the aerial photo (that comes thanks to the City of Calgary) and when we say it burned, we mean spectacularly. It went boom and shook dishes and rattled windows in neighbourhoods all around the area.

People from all over east Calgary recall being startled by the initial explosion. It happened about noon on August 9th, 1999 and for days flames licked the sky. A thick plume of acrid smoke was visible all over Calgary and black soot rained from above. Two people at the plant perished and given the refinery’s close proximity to busy 17th ave SE, it’s amazing there weren’t more deaths. What if it had happened with the theatre open? A potential disaster averted.

Tacking the fire and resultant clean up would take some time and remediation of yucky stuff in the soil perhaps still not complete. They recycled oils and antifreeze at the plant – toxic stuff all.

Initially it’s thought the Corral 4 would reopen after some cleanup and while not badly damaged, that never happened. Business was in decline anyway and this incident a good excuse to call it day. The screens and most everything else were demolished over the next couple years.

The only evidence left, strangely, is the lane guide sign at the former entrance way. That it survived the explosion and resultant fire only a short distance away over the fence is amazing and that left behind afterwards also curious.

It’s said one screen, presumably the closest one to the fire in the northwest quadrant, got damaged but to what extent not said. It’s enough that they had what they needed to close down.

The paved area seen has since been used as a parking spot for truck-trailers or for snow storage in winter. When nothing’s there it afford us a good view of this unique connection to Calgary’s past and that’s great. The sign might be all that’s left but it’s enough to make the memories come flooding back.

Some reports have the Corral 4 closing in 1997 and we’re not sure the source. Anything we found seems to confirm the explosion in 1999 as the cause, although recall, we did find chatter suggesting the owners entertained the idea of shutting down or selling out about this time anyway. One way or the other, it would close.

We know the first movies to play at the Corral 4, but for the very end there’s no confirmed record. No newspaper ads were found around this time and perhaps they were only online at this point. And now lost. By piecing together bits from online discussions we can get an idea. American Pie, Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me, the Blair Witch Project and Eyes Wide Shut are all mentioned as some of the last to play here.

It appears the last showing of movies happened the weekend before the explosion/fire and that’s a bit sobering.

Most of the old Corral 4 land has been redeveloped and there’s some big warehouses just to the left and off frame in the old parking area. A chunk of the land remains untouched, however and nature’s reclaiming that area.

At one time a drive-in theatre was located not far from present day BIGDoer HQ in the years 1954-1979 (or ’80). On 17th Avenue SW and the screen stood right where the AMA building is today. Condos occupy the former parking area and there’s zero evidence this drive-in ever existed. It’s closed after a fire.

Know more about our subject: (new tab): Corral 4 Drive-in Calgary.

They’re saying…

”Chris & Connie? One word: influential!” John Sharpe, Photographer (RIP).

Two active Drive-in Theatres (in Saskatchewan) we’ve visited…
Twilite Drive-in Wolseley.
The Clearwater.

Then & Now time…
27 Years Apart with Alberta Prairie Ry #41. Our son and grandson in the same locomotive.
Silverton BC Waterfront (SS Slocan). A ship and a lake
Grain Elevators at Carbon Alberta. There were many and now none.
Loverna SK Then & Now (x2). A favourite forgotten town.

Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: Contact Us!

Date of adventure: 1982 (original aerial photo) and 2024 (Team BIGDoer).
Location: Calgary, Alberta.
Article references and thanks: City of Calgary, CinemaTreasures.org and Calgary Herald Archives.

The Corral 4 Drive-in Calgary 1982 and 2024. Hub Oil at top.

Open 1979-1999 and these are the only remains.