Corral 4
Built in 1980 and closed in the late 1990s, the Corral 4 was the very last Drive In Theatre in the Calgary area. Instead of one screen, they had four (hence their name). It was located at the far eastern edge of the city, an area today that is now mostly developed. In total, there was room for a couple thousand cars.
The Corral 4 was closed due to a big fire at an oil refinery located right next door. Initially it was thought the theatre would reopen after some cleanup, it wasn’t that badly affected after all, but that never happened. I guess business was in decline anyway, falling off badly I understand in the last few years preceding that event, and this gave them a good excuse to call it day. The screens and most everything else were demolished over the next few years.
The only evidence left of this operation, strangely, is the lane guide sign at the former entrance way. Why it was left behind is a mystery. This paved area here is sometimes used to store excess truck-trailers but none were seen this day, allowing us a good view of this unique connection to Calgary’s past.
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Notre Dame de Savoie Church.
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Date of adventure: April, 2015.
Location: Calgary, AB.
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Hi Chris and Connie, update August 26, 2020…The gate is still standing.
Thanks for the update. Your comment has interesting timing. We just went past there a few days ago, for the first time in a long time.
There used to be two drive ins in the area of BC I lived. One in Kimberley and the other in Cranbrook. Both are long gone.
I lived in Cranbrook, in the 1980s and recall both. Evidence of Kimberley (Meadowbrook) theatre can still be seen on Google Earth.
They never should have closed it.
I guess they had their reasons.
They closed it because the adjacent refinery exploded in 1997, burned for days and contaminated the area.
Yes, but I think business wasn’t doing that well either.