Bel Air Drive-In Theater Sign

E. Chain of Rocks Rd at Bel Air Dr., Mitchell, IL
Phone:

East < GO > West

The sign was all that was left of the old Bel Air Drive-in Theater when we snapped these photos in 2012, even the sign is gone now. It stood one block west of Hwy. 111 at the corner of E. Chain of Rocks Road and Bel Air Drive in Mitchell. The sign was taken down on July 19, 2018. Half of the sign was sold to a sign collector from the Chicago area, the other half went to a collector from North Dakota.

GPS: 38.761342, -90.068209

The theater started out as part of the Mid America Theater chain. Beginning in 1980 it was run by BAC Theaters which operated it until it 1987 when it closed for good. The theater opened in the mid 1950s and in the 1970s a second screen was added. It held as many as 700 cars. All but the sign was demolished in the mid 1990s.

Because the theater was originally open all year there was a small indoor seating area in the concession building where movie goers could sit in cold weather and watch the movie through a large picture window.

Here's a little better look at the sign, tattered and worn as it is. It would have been nice to see it restored and relit. I'm not sure of the significance of the bright red bell behind the name on the sign, but there it is.

Photo(s): 2012