Ever-Expanding Douglas Theatre Company Had a Difficult First Night bunded in 1953, Douglas F and Russell Theatre Herman Co. Brehm, was Gould. the Roman creation Hruska of Brehm, from Lincoln, was then a member of the Lancaster County Board. Hruska, an Omahan, was a former Douglas County Commissioner who had just been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and would later serve in the U.S. Senate. Gould, also from Omaha, had been in the theater business for years. Their first effort was a drive-in theater in Omaha at 84th and Center Streets. Though the location was then outside the city limits, the 84th and Center Drive-In was also far from distracting city lights, which made the site ideal. Opening day - July 1, 1953 was less successful than the owners had hoped. The screen tower, built of wood and designed to withstand winds of up to 80 miles per hour, blew down early in the evening, just as the first film was showing. Debby Brehm, daughter of Russell Brehm, was then 3 years old and in the audience that night. "We were watching the movie, and all of a sudden, there was no movie," she said. It took 10 days to repair the screen, which never toppled again. The next facility to open was the 84th and O By Howard K. Marcus 84 ATH DRIVE IN GRAND FRIDAY, JULY Drive-In Theatre in Lincoln. Its 1955 debut went smoothly. An extremely high wind would have been necessary to knock down that theater's screen tower, which was made of concrete. From time to time during its 43-year history, Douglas Theatre Co. has purchased other theaters instead of building them. Such was the case in 1958, when the company acquired the Lexington Drive-In in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Airport Drive-In in Carter Lake, Iowa. The theaters that the company had built or purchased seemed small when compared with the Q Twin Drive-In Theatre, which Douglas Theatres opened in 1961. Situated at 120th and Q Streets, the Q-Twin had room for up to 1,500 cars and was the largest drive-in theater between Chicago and the Pacific Ocean. Its massive concession area was designed to accommodate up to 5,000 people. "Drive-in theaters were still in their prime then, of course," said Ms. Brehm. It was the last drive-in that the company would open. A new era began for Douglas Theatres in 1967, with the opening of Cinema Center at 82nd and Center Streets in Omaha. The company's first indoor movie house, Cinema Center was situated next to the 84th and Center Drive-In. Having an indoor facility meant that the company could, for the first time, operate a theater on a full-time basis during the entire year. "That was a big change for us," said Ms. Brehm. Though it had only one screen, Cinema Center could seat 810 people - the largest seating capacity of any suburban Omaha movie theater. Two years later, the company added a second auditorium to Cinema Center. Known as OPENING could Cinema seat II, 500. the addition I ST The next theater to V Turn to Theatre Co., page 4S The 84th & Drive In was the company's first theater in Lincoln. It opened July 1, 1955. Photo courtesy of Douglas Theatre Co.