Putnam Drive In Online Museum

Putnam Drive In Online Museum The Putnam Drive-In Museum was unable to open because of Covid. This page will remain online for now as a sort of "online museum."

The water tower you see in the background of this photo of Broadway Service Station (now Doc's Auto & Tire Center), buil...
06/04/2024

The water tower you see in the background of this photo of Broadway Service Station (now Doc's Auto & Tire Center), built and owned by my grandfather Jarvis Matheney, Sr. and his nephew/our cousin Ottis Phillips, Sr., stood at what is now Franklin Avenue Park, Cookeville, TN. My father has been taking me around Cookeville and Putnam County recently, sharing with me some great history tidbits. My father worked for the City of Cookeville for many years (years after he managed the Putnam Drive-In Theatre, after which this page is named), helping build many of our community’s current parks, including this one, for which he helped with the demolition/felling of the tower, and Cane Creek Park. Here’s dad in one of the photos that also show the remains of the tower: the concrete footings/foundations on which each leg of the tower stood. Happy history hunting, everybody!

There was a drive-in movie theater west of Cookeville prior to the better-known and longer-lasting Putnam Drive In Movie...
06/02/2021

There was a drive-in movie theater west of Cookeville prior to the better-known and longer-lasting Putnam Drive In Movie Theatre. Young's Drive In was originally located on Peach Orchard Rd, a few hundred yards northwest of what would become the location of the Putnam Drive In. Stacy Wilhite won the Young's Drive In business (but not the property) during a poker game from the original owner, Benton Young. Wilhite moved everything east to the location for which it was best known as Putnam Drive In Movie Theatre, which remained until 1993. This ad is from 1952, when it still had its old name, but it had been through a few owners at the second location. Most people remember the longest ownership of the drive-in belonging to one of Cookeville's most astute business people and community leaders, Leon DeLozier.

In 1993, upon hearing news of the Putnam Drive-In Theatre's property on the outskirts of Cookeville being offered up for...
09/12/2019

In 1993, upon hearing news of the Putnam Drive-In Theatre's property on the outskirts of Cookeville being offered up for sale, I flew in from NYC to do a professional shoot there using actors and vintage cars, all cast and managed by Cookeville's own Kathleen Gilpatrick. Here are some of those photos, along with information about how one of them wound up in an awe-inspiring exhibit in NYC, alongside photography legends Annie Leibovitz, David LaChapelle, and Peter Beard, to name a few.
These will be exhibited at Harper's Gallery, upstairs from Harper's Rare Books & Collectibles, located at 39 & 41 W Broad Street, sometime in late Summer 2021.

Address

39 West Broad Street
Cookeville, TN
38501

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