In 1948, two widowed ladies petitioned the zoning board in Hanover Township, IL, to open an “outdoor theater”. Rose Picone was my great-aunt, my grandmother’s oldest sister. Petrina Leonetti was my great grandmother. While Petrina passed before I was born, I remember Aunt Rose from when I was a child. I believe this property was previously part of the Leonetti family farm, of which I have heard many colorful stories.
July 8, 1948
Aunt Rose’s husband, James Picone, passed away in 1940. My great grandfather, Petrina’s husband, Louis, passed in 1941. In 1948, Rose would have been 52, and Petrina 67 years old, mother-daughter business widows. Rose’s daughter, my wild, red–haired to the end Aunt Eleanor, took over her father’s transportation business when he died – at 22 years old.
I come from a long line of strong women.
The Starview Drive-In opened its gates on October 15, 1948.
The last regular film to be played at the Starview was “Trackdown” during the first week of September 1976 before becoming an all-adult film drive-in.
…The Starview closed for the final time at the end of the 1987 season.
After closure, traces were easily visible to see on Google Earth until houses began building at the site in 2000.
Source Comments at Cinema Treasures
X-Rated Crashes
After the drive-in had long been sold off, it was a part of a bizarre story. As the area grew, and new roads were built-and Drive-Ins began to fall on hard times, the Star-View started showing X rated films. Route 59 in particular had a route that had unintended consequences after dark.
This drive-in opened in November 1948, located on Route 59 near Lake Street, Streamwood, to the southeast of Elgin. It had a capacity for 500 cars. By its last years in operation, it was showing pornographic films. (Which were the cause of several car crashes on Route 59, as the skin flicks on the large screen were clearly visible to drivers).
The Starview Drive-In closed in 1984 and was allowed to fall into ruin until it was demolished a decade or so later. Townhomes have since been built on the site of the drive-in.
If you want to learn more about my Leonetti paternal line, there is a permanent page here, Leonetti Family. It’s also accessible via the main menu, Other Family Lines.