Common sights for motorists driving along U.S. 60-East in days long past were the Starlite Drive-in and its marquee sign displaying what’s showing on the two screens.
Starlite showed movies for generations of Hendersonians and many others who came from nearby towns. For many, it was as much a part of Henderson as the Twin Bridges or Central Park.
The theater’s opening night was on May 21, 1954, and its final night happened 51 years later, on Sept. 10, 2005, according to research provided by the Henderson County Public Library history and genealogy department.
Months later, in November, a photograph in The Gleaner shows screen #1 in the process of being taken down, and the caption says the screen would be shipped in sections to Holiday Drive-In in Reo, Ind., where the owner of that drive-in planned to use it for spare parts for its five screens.
A month after that, in December, an advertisement in the newspaper trumpeted Starlite’s restaurant equipment, souvenir speakers (those hung on a car door), or a package deal of two speakers with post, junction box and two baskets.
Soon, the land, bought by Ershig Properties, was sold to the city, and the development seen there now occurred—a city fire station, a bank, a dentist office and a medical/rehabilitation center.
The only remnant was the name—Starlite Drive, the street on which those buildings are addressed.
Or, so we thought.
When the city of Henderson bought the land, it took possession of the marquee sign that so long greeted passing motorists, said Holli Blanford, the city’s public information officer. She said it’s been sitting on Henderson Fire Department training grounds since.
Now, the city wants to get rid of it.
The city has put the sign up for auction on the website, govdeals.com. It’s common for local governments trying to get rid of surplus items to put them up for auction on govdeals.com.
(The Henderson County Fiscal Court last year placed old typewriters, among other office equipment, on the site.)
The starting bid for the sign is $100.
There are some conditions. For one, the successful bidder must come to pick up the sign and haul away themselves.
That’s something to think about for a would-be buyer; the sign is nine feet tall and 20 feet wide, and ten inches deep. There’s no mention of the sign’s weight.
Blanford said bidding increases in increments of $10. Bidding closes on April 9.
City officials hope a Henderson resident wins the bidding war.
“We’re hoping someone local will purchase it,” Blanford said in an email.
So, although residents can only relive the Starlite’s famous fried chicken, or the children at dusk on the playground under screen #1 before the first feature began, or the click of the speaker hanging on a car door is by reminiscing about the old drive-in, there’s still a chance for one lucky Starlite fan to own a piece of its history—if the price is right.
Click here to go to the Starlite sign auction: HISTORICAL STARLITE DRIVE-IN MOVIE SIGN | GovDeals