A Fabick Cat dealership sits on the site as of 2024 so I am using the address of that lot even though that was probably not the official address of the drive-in.
The 2014 article below (highlighted section) contains much of what we know about the Marquette Outdoor Theatre. The matchbook cover pretty much proves it existed but there are no newspaper ads I can find mentioning what films were shown when it was open. Odd because the other outlets the owners were running did run ads in the papers. Ron Gross noticed the 1981 aerial of this area resembles a drive-in footprint. See the comparison below. Either way, the theater has long since been demolished.
From Michigan Drive-Ins
The Marquette Outdoor Drive-in Theatre did exist! It is not Evergreen DI, but it did have the same owners. Here's the press release from the Marquette Mining Journal:
New Outdoor Theater Open Tonight Mining Journal Friday August 20, 1954 The new Marquette Outdoor Theatre, located 700 feet south of the "Midway" on U.S. 41, will open tonight at dusk or at approximately 8 PM and will be open every night during the season, including Sundays. The theater, construction of which was recently completed, has an area of 10 acres and room for 500 cars. The screen is 60 feet from the for the new highway between Marquette and Negaunee. A tract of 80 acres was purchased by the company which sold to the state the area needed for the new highway. The new theater is owned and operated by Evergreen Theatres, Inc., of which Arnold Keskitalo of Republic is treasurer and general manager. It also operates the Evergreen.
The Outdoor Theatre was six miles west of Ishpeming. The first ad appeared on 8/13/1954 (the standard "Watch for the Opening..." ad) and the last (as far as l can tell) ad appeared on 9/23/1956. It appears that it was only Open for two (and a half) seasons. No idea why, but the more modern Airport DI in Negaunee opened eleven months later. I haven't found any photos, but the paper on 8/20/54 has dozens of ads by the companies that built the DI and congrats from the local community, (Andrew the Librarian 12/15/06)
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