Workers on Thursday removed the decaying sign for the long-closed Bel Air Drive-In theater in Mitchell, Illinois.
Local resident Charles Alexander, who snapped a few photos of the sign being taken down and posted them on Facebook, said the sign is making way for a new truck stop going into the area.
Alexander also stated the two-sided sign’s halves are being transported to Chicago and North Dakota.
Several other passers-by noting the sign’s abrupt disappearance commented about it Thursday on Facebook.
The sign stood at 1117 E. Chain of Rocks Road, aka Route 66.
Although other evidence of a drive-in theater existed had disappeared, the sign stood sentinel more than 30 years after the venue closed. Images of the Bel Air Drive-In sign made its way into books and countless websites, despite a few of its letters falling off over time.
The Cinema Treasures website posted this history of the theater:
The Bel-Air Drive-In opened in the mid-1950’s as a single-screen drive-in, situated off the historic Route 66. It was originally part of the Mid-America Theatres chain, based in St. Louis. In the 1970’s, a second screen was built. At one time, the Bel-Air Drive-In could accomodate about 700 cars.
Its concession building also housed a tiny indoor seating area, with a large picture window, for when the weather was bad (since it was originally open year-round).
BAC Theatres ran the drive-in from 1982 until it closed in 1987. The Bel-Air Drive-In was completely demolished by the mid-1990’s except for its colorful and classy marquee (a large, bright red bell is behind the name of the drive-in), still in fairly good shape (except for the “R” in the “Air” part of the theater’s name is missing).
Anyone taking that much trouble to remove the sign instead of bulldozing it for new development indicates a collector or museum is going to stop the sign’s decay or restore it.
It’s a shame the Bel Air Drive-In sign no longer will be available for photo ops for Route 66 travelers, but it’s good someone is going to care for it.
UPDATE: The Alton Telegraph reports longtime sign collector Nathan Lippe of Hanover Park, Illinois, purchased half the sign. The other half went to a man in North Dakota.
- The developer, Larry Manns, had hoped the “major oil company” that bought the property where the sign sat would have included the sign in the development, but it refused.
- Lippe said he discovered the sign during a business trip about a year ago and paid “five figures” for it.
- The sign purchase was completed in January, but removal of the sign was delayed because power lines had to be moved and other complications.
- In a text, Lippe said decay and storms had made the sign increasingly fragile. He said it “damn near fell over” while dismantling it.
- Lippe told the newspaper it probably will take $10,000 to $20,000 to restore the neon tubing alone. He described it as an “iconic” sign.
- Lippe said he’s looking at building an event warehouse and having the Bel Air sign restored and displayed there “in the next year or so.”
- Lippe said he’s looking for old photographs to help restore the sign. He can be emailed at nathanlippe(at)gmail(dot)com.
(Image of the Bel Air Drive-In sign being taken down by Charles Alexander via Facebook)
Hopefully it is going to a collector or museum. I agree with you that it possibly is, based on how it was dismantled and not ripped down and cut up. If it was going to be scrapped, there would be less expensive ways to take it down.
I’ve had the last 3 vehicles photographed with the Bel-air sign, I’m gonna miss it but good to hear it’s going to a museum.