Established in 1956, the Southwest Twin Drive-In was Memphis’ second-ever drive-in. Back then, it was called the 61 Drive-In until Malco Theatres purchased it in 1965, adding a second screen and growing its capacity to 600 cars. It closed in 2001, and after a brief stint as a flea market, the property sat unused and vacant until 2022 when the city of Memphis and Shelby County each committed $1 million to reactivate and revitalize the site.
“It all started with a big push from community members for the city to do something with the site,” says Ashley Cash, director of Housing and Community Development for the city. “It’s been blighted for decades, so there’s been a lot of discussion around what should happen there.”
The plan, so far, is to establish a library and police precinct on the site, but with 20 or so acres of property and two screens, its uses could extend far beyond just those two facilities. “It’s a community anchor,” Cash says. “And so our whole strategy around anchors is to come in, invest in the anchor, to encourage the private market to either reinvest or invest around it and really support and stabilize neighborhood.”
Still during the planning phase, with construction not set to start until the beginning of next year, Cash says, “we also wanted to make sure that [the site] remained a vibrant community space, and community members could see themselves there. They can still have opportunities to provide input and they can ask someone for additional information.”
That means programming that engages neighbors before everything is even rebuilt. Last quarter, Southwest Twin focused on cleanups, rehabbing and reinvesting in the site. In the coming weeks, it’ll be host to a series of community days with a focus on “setting roots” — pun intended, as the days are gardening-centric, with workshops provided by Everbloom Farmacy.
In addition to activities, games, and giveaways, attendees will be able to pot seedling starters at each community day. Saturday, August 10th, kicked off the programming season with 1,368 seeds sowed; Southwest Twin partners have a goal to hit 3,000.
At the next community day on August 24th — titled Grow Basics for Gardening at Home — attendees can listen to an overview of basic garden considerations and watch a demo of grow methods. Plus, Memphis City Beautiful will hold a free mulch and compost giveaway, where folks can fill their own bucket or container to bring home and garden or compost themselves. There will also be chess, basketball, arts and crafts, trivia and games, and music and movement led by musician Ekpe Abioto and instructors Ayanna Campbell and Kaila Matthews throughout the morning. Youth of Westwood, which gives food to the Westwood community twice a week, will provide food.
Upcoming community days include Planting Your Fall Garden on September 7th, Managing Your Garden & Your Health on September 21st, Harvesting & Eating From Your Garden on October 5th, and the Community Harvest Celebration & Festival on October 19th. More information on these events can be found at southwesttwin.com.
Grow Basics for Gardening at Home, Southwest Twin, 4233 South 3rd St., Saturday, August 24, 9-11 a.m., free.
