Admiral Twin Follow-Up
6/24/2005
This is a (late) followup to Novachild's announcement in February about the Hampton Inn "Save a Landmark" contest involving a HogBack Bridge (not sure of location) and my favorite Drive-In Theater, Admiral Twin. I wish I'd have posted it sooner, but I kept checking the Hampton site up to the end of April and still they hadn't announced it. But here it is....
Good news. Admiral Twin won! So now they get $20,000 to refurbish the place, hopefully starting with the bathrooms (though the screen itself does need a little work, too).
Here's the announcement:
Admiral Twin Drive-In Wins Hampton® Hotels’ Online Voting CampaignAmerica Has Spoken: Drive-In Theatre To Receive $20,000
Memphis, TN – April 2005 – After more than two months of online voting, the mouse clicks have been tallied and America has spoken. The historic Route 66 Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, Okla., is the lucky recipient of a $20,000 award from Hampton Hotels.
These funds were made available because Hampton received the prestigious SMITHSONIAN Magazine/Travelers Conservation Foundation (TCF) Sustainable Tourism Award in the preservation category in December 2004. After years of investing millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to preserve roadside landmarks, Hampton Hotels is the first hotel brand ever to be nationally recognized for its preservation efforts.
In return, Hampton rewarded voters for choosing their program by hosting an online vote which gave the public the opportunity to decide which historic attraction will be refurbished by the Hampton Save-A-Landmark™ program. The public cast online ballots from January 18 to March 31, 2005 on the Hampton “Hidden Landmarks” Web site, www.hamptonlandmarks.com. Both the drive-in and its runner-up, Hogback Bridge in Winterset, Iowa, will receive Explore the Highways with Hampton®, Save-A-Landmark assistance in 2005. The Admiral Twin will be awarded $20,000 toward its refurbishment in time for summer movie nights in late May.
The Admiral Twin Drive-In is one of eight drive-in theaters remaining in Oklahoma. The drive-in was featured in the 1980s movie The Outsiders as the ultimate 1950s teen hangout. It is Oklahoma’s largest drive-in with a capacity of more than 1,000 cars. “We’re thrilled to be chosen by America,” said Steve Peace, co-owner of the Admiral Twin. “Generations have been able to enjoy the experience of going to a drive-in, and Hampton is helping us continue this uniquely American tradition.”
Hogback Bridge, made famous by Robert Waller’s best-selling book, “Bridges of Madison County,” and the award-winning film of the same name, is one of five remaining wooden bridges of the 19 originally built in the late 1800s. Hampton will be helping to restore the wooden bridge in early May.
“These landmarks are important to our American cultural fabric and deserve preservation,” said Judy Christa-Cathey, vice president of Hampton Brand Marketing. “We’re overwhelmed by America’s voting response toward these landmarks and the passion people exude for saving our past.”
About the Save-A-Landmark Program The Save-A-Landmark program has spent the past five years preserving historical, fun and cultural landmarks across the U.S. Banding its hotels together in communities across the U.S., Hampton employee volunteers provide the labor while the Hampton brand provides the dollars to refurbish selected sites. To date, the program has come to the assistance of 21 landmarks.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Friday, June 24, 2005,
