The Black River Drive-in Theatre was built by Sylvan Leff, opening on August 18, 1950. Leff operated the drive-in into the early 70's at which time he leased the Black River to Panther Theatres, that subsequently became Country Wide Theatres. They operated the drive-in for a couple of years and then sold it to ATKO Canton Corp., out of Syracuse, that was owned by Charles Girrard and Anthony Kolinski. ATKO Canton operated several theatres including seven drive-ins across the northeast, including both the Starlite and Northside drive-ins in Watertown and the Midway Drive-in in Minetto.

Atko Canton operated the Black River until the mid-1980s, when they leased it to Jeff Szot, who currently operates the 56 Auto Drive-in located in Massena. Jeff operated the Black River for just one season. After closing in the fall, a fire badly damaged the concession building.

The Black River remained closed for about the next 20 years.

In the mid-1990s John Nagelschmidt, who owns and operates the Midway Drive-in in Minetto, purchased the Black River from Kolinski & Girrard. The long closure prohibited the drive-in's reopening until newer Health codes for water and sewer could be met.

When the Town of LeRay had the foresight to bring water and sewer service to the area, it made reopening the Black River Drive-in feasible. In August of 2005, John Nagelschmidt, and Loren Knapp, who was the long time projectionist at the Midway Drive-in, together formed Black River Drive-in, Inc. John and Loren worked diligently from that point on seeking various permits and approvals for rebuilding the drive-in practically from the ground up. On August 18, 2006 the Black River Drive-in Theatre reopened its doors to the public.

-- Courtesy of BlackRiverDrivein.com