Corral Theater was Bismarck-Mandan’s first drive-in movie theater.
It debuted April 22, 1949, premiering “Homestretch.” The Schultz brothers of New England established the theater.
The theater was located on U.S. Highway 10 – then 1 mile east of Bismarck city limits, near where present-day Main Avenue bisects with Bismarck Expressway.
Construction estimates were more than $70,000. The movie screen was 60-feet high, with the picture itself being rough 42×31 feet. The 12-acre plot could accommodate 520 vehicles. Initial admission was 50 cents per person.
Corral closed in fall 1968. New owners had planned to re-open the theater, but this apparently never materialized.
