Playtime 3 Drive-In
6300 Blanding Boulevard,
Jacksonville,
FL
32244
6300 Blanding Boulevard,
Jacksonville,
FL
32244
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 34 of 34 comments
While the drive-in has indeed closed (heavy sigh), the flea market on the grounds will be ongoing on Wednesday until July 31, 2008.
Check out listings from the Playtime’s golden age
here.
So the Playtime is closing this weekend? Where did you hear this? What a bummer!
The Playtime started showing general release probably about 1991. I remember I was just graduating high school when they went legit and that was in 1991. They had an article in the Florida Times Union about the change and showed FORBIDDEN WORLD and THE GROOVE TUBE as they made the switch.
Forgot to mention.It was renamed the Playboy Drive In Theater in 1968,but the moniker incurred legal issues from the magazine of the same name and they changed it to the Playtime.
Playtime history final
Not sure when exactly Burchfield took it over from Accord in the 80’s,but in the 90’s the Playtime was running first run general release and has enjoyed some success.However in September of 2007,while working the ticket booth,Burchfiled was shot in the leg during a robbery.He is currently convalescing in his south Florida home and is in the process of selling the property.The last scheduled show is this Saturday, May 31,2008.
Playtime history cont…
It was at this time that they added the second screen behind the flea ,market stalls.The 60’s porn was rather mild by today’s standards,but by the 70’s they were showing Deep Throat,The Devil in Miss Jones and other popular titles.In 1981,hard core was outlawed in Jacksonville and the Playtime showed soft core until 1989 when they began running general release.
Actually the Playtime showed hard core from about the early 70’s to 1981 when hard core was prohibited in Jacksonville.Just prior to that Marilyn Chambers had made an appearance out there and signed autographs for her then new film Insatiable.
The Playtime was built in 1948 but didn’t start running movies until 1952 because blackout laws from the war were still in effect.It was owned by Cecil Cohen and at that time,it was called the Twin Hills Drive In.In 1968 Cohen sold it to Ray Accord in a loose partnership with it’s present owner,Furman “Dempsey” Burchfield.It was renamed the Playboy and showed X rated fare.
There is a commercial realtor sign out in front. Uh-oh.
Opened in 1948.
I should say they were edited hardcore films. They did have some issues with law enforcement watching the films and busting them when hardcore scenes slipped through. That info is per an article in The Florida-Times Union right around the time they went to mainstream offerings.