San Antonio bought the old Mission Drive-In on Roosevelt Avenue in 2007 and has been building on it ever since, adding one public facility every few years. On Saturday, Nov. 21, Mission Marquee Plaza closes its free 2026 season with a holiday market in the morning and Elf on the 1948 screen that night. Behind the screen, on land that used to be drive-in parking, the city is preparing the next addition. It's a public pool, and it was part of the plan from the beginning.
So the finale does two things. It ends a season, and it's one of the last weekends before the campus grows again.
Seventy-Eight Years on One Screen
The Mission Drive-In opened in March 1948. The first film on its screen was Pirates of Monterey, a 77-minute Western. The theater shut down in 2000, came back for a few years, and closed for good in 2003, according to a MySA history of the plaza published in May 2026. Colleen Swain directs the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office, which runs the plaza. She told MySA how the city stepped in:
"It was the last drive-in theater in San Antonio to go dark. It closed, and then it reopened, and then it closed ... So the city purchased it in 2007, and we did a master framework, and the Mission Branch library was the first facility to go in."
The important phrase there is "master framework." The city wrote a plan for the whole property and has been filling it in ever since. In the same MySA piece, Swain said "the idea is to make that campus ... a community."
The Campus, Built in Layers
Here's how the property has filled in, using dates from the city and from MySA:
- 1948: The Mission Drive-In opens a short distance from Mission San José.
- 2003: The drive-in closes for the last time.
- 2007: The city buys the property.
- 2011: The Mission Branch Library opens as the first building on the site, along with a playground and exercise equipment.
- 2014: Mission Marquee Plaza opens with the restored marquee and screen, a large stage, and year-round cultural programming.
- 2017: The Harvey E. Najim YMCA opens. The campus also has a 60,000-square-foot green space.
- Next: The Mission Marquee Complex Aquatics Facility, projected to finish in 2027.
The World Heritage Center sits next door at 3106 Roosevelt Ave. The city's plaza site also points to access from the campus to the Mission Trails and the Mission Reach. The San Antonio River Authority describes the Mission Reach as an 8-mile linear park with more than 16 miles of walking and biking trails and a paddling trail.
Since 2007, the city has added a new public facility to the property every three to six years. Each addition gives people another reason to visit the others.
Two Saturdays Left on the 2026 Calendar
The plaza's Farmers & Artisans Market runs March through November on the first and third Saturdays of each month. The Outdoor Family Film Series runs May through November. Everything below is free, and the plaza has on-site parking and allows pets.
| Date | Event | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Día del Árbol, Mission Marquee Plaza | 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | City Parks and Recreation gives away trees first come, first served starting at 10 a.m., plus a Tree Care 101 session |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Solar Fest, The Greenline at Brooks | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Free family festival about saving energy and water and about solar power |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | End-of-Season Holiday Market & Tree Adoption | 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | More than 50 local vendors. Holiday Zumba starts at 9 a.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Elf, Outdoor Family Film Series | Venue opens 6 p.m. | Movie starts 15 minutes after sunset. Food trucks on site |
Nov. 21 fills the whole day. According to the plaza's market calendar, the holiday market lineup includes:
- Los Texmaniacs and the Guadalupe Dance and Mariachi Academy, courtesy of AARP Texas
- ¡Qué Sabor! Lotería
- A hands-on cooking demonstration with Chef Ambassador Stephannie Beyers
- "Feria de los Libros"
- "Buy Local" resources and family activities
- Free tree adoption from City Parks and Recreation while supplies last
That gives you two chances to pick up a free tree from the city in eight days. One is the Día del Árbol giveaway on Nov. 14. The other is the adoption table at the Nov. 21 market.
For the evening show, the film series page welcomes blankets, lawn chairs and picnics. MySA's May writeup said to expect a packed parking lot around the lawn, and Swain recommends getting there early for a good spot.
The Lot Behind the Screen
The next addition is going on a vacant lot at 3110 Roosevelt Ave., at the corner of VFW Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue. That land used to be part of the drive-in's parking area. The San Antonio Express-News reported in January 2026 that it will be the city's 25th free public pool. The project costs $5.2 million and is paid for mostly with 2022 bond money. The paper also reported that the center was originally supposed to include a pool and other amenities such as a splash pad. The pool fills in a piece of the original plan.
My Neighborhood News went through the city's project materials. They show a facility of about 28,679 square feet with:
- A 3,309-square-foot swimming pool
- A zero-entry child lagoon and accessible pool entry
- Sunbathing platforms and lifeguard stations
- A bathhouse with family restrooms and infant changing stations
Rialto Studio designed it to look like the Mission-area buildings around it. The plans call for textured plaster, natural stone, decorative blockwork, wood beams and a metal roof, arranged as a secured compound around the pool. At about 19 feet tall, it stays well under the height limit for the Mission Protection Overlay District. State filings put the projected completion date at Sept. 30, 2027.
Roosevelt Avenue is changing too. KSAT reported in April 2026 that work had started on a traffic light near Socorro Street. It's part of a Texas Department of Transportation project covering Roosevelt between Loop 410 and Sava Street. The plan adds flashing beacons at Santa Rita Street, San Casimiro Street and East Estancia Street, along with medians, sidewalks, crosswalks and other pedestrian upgrades. TxDOT expects to finish at the end of 2026.
Between Seasons on Roosevelt
The screen goes dark after Nov. 21, but the buildings around it stay open. In December, the World Heritage Center at 3106 Roosevelt Ave. has two free programs:
- ABCs of World Heritage, Wed., Dec. 9: For young children and their caregivers, 10 to 11 a.m., with open play starting at 9:45 a.m.
- Artist Workshop with Marcos Medellin, Thu., Dec. 17: 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is required, and it's recommended for ages 16 and up.
Details for both are on the World Heritage Office events page. The YMCA and the Mission Branch Library are on the same campus, and the trail connections to the Mission Reach work in any season.
If you want to eat before the Nov. 21 market, Nicha's Comida Mexicana is at 3119 Roosevelt Ave., on the same stretch of Roosevelt as the plaza. Its posted hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so it's open two hours before the 9 a.m. Holiday Zumba. Monday through Thursday it's open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Mission Road, Sit & Sip with ME at 3244 Mission Road made the Express-News list of top San Antonio coffee shops for 2025. The paper reported that Marta and Ed Alonzo opened it in November 2023.
The plaza's next season starts in March.
If you own on the South Side and want to talk through what the new pool and the Roosevelt Avenue work could mean for your property, Scott Alexander follows these projects as they move from plans to construction. Schedule a Free Consultation, and we'll go over the corridor block by block.
