Mesa Drive-In celebrates 75th anniversary with opening night
Bradley Davis
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – For the 75th time, the Mesa Drive-in off of US Highway 50 in Pueblo will open for the season.
After over seven decades of tradition, it will be a first for the new owners, Kelly and Chris Lally.
Chris proposed to Kelly at their favorite drive-in spot in Indianapolis. 10 years later, they managed the same drive-in.
Their bosses, Jon and Marcella Parkin, also owned the Mesa Drive-In. That is, until earlier this week.
“We came out here last year, fell in love with it for ourselves in person, and we just had to make the 17-hour cross-country drive out here to live here,” Chris said.
The two moved to Colorado full-time to operate the Theater. They said they are planning a 75th birthday celebration in August by screening Walker Texas Ranger, featuring the late Chuck Norris. It’s the first film the Drive-In ever showcased in 1951.
There are fewer than 300 drive-in movie theaters nationwide. Kelly and Chris said most are independently owned and operated, like the Mesa Drive-In. There are only two in Southern Colorado. The Mesa, and the Cammanche Drive-In theater in Buena Vista.