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Home » Theater Guide » Location » United States » Minnesota » Bloomington » France Avenue Drive-In

France Avenue Drive-In

Bloomington, MN
7800 France Avenue South
, Bloomington, MN 55435 United States
(map)
Status: Closed/Demolished
Screens: Single Screen
Style: Unknown
Function: Unknown
Seats: Unknown
Chain: Unknown
Architect: Unknown
Firm: Unknown
Add a photo for this theater!
The France Avenue Drive-In opened June 15, 1966. Opening day movie was "Our Man Flint". This drive-in had a capacity for 1700 cars. The France Avenue Drive-In closed around 1982 and was demolished in 1986.
Contributed by Lost Memory

YOUR COMMENTS

 
Drive-Ins.com has the France Avenue Drive-In listed with three screens. Since no other listing that I have seen has it as a triplex, I added it with one screen. Maybe someone that has attended this drive-in can clear this up.
posted by Lost Memory on Mar 10, 2005 at 4:30pm
There was originally only one screen (facing west, oddly) but at some point in the mid 1970s, they added two more, somewhat smaller, screens on the west edge of the parking area, with the projection building / snack bar being the centre point of all three.
posted by dale jensen on May 16, 2005 at 10:26am
Here is a photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ognf2
posted by ken mc on Mar 4, 2006 at 5:49pm
That was party central until they ripped it down.
posted by Michele I. on Jul 8, 2007 at 6:43pm
Wow - that screen was 15o ft. wide, and curved for Cinerama:

http://cinerama.topcities.com/france.htm
posted by Bill Huelbig on Oct 8, 2007 at 11:59am
I meant 150 ft., of course ... sorry.
posted by Bill Huelbig on Oct 8, 2007 at 12:00pm
Jensen has it right, they started as one screen big house. (I worked there from 66-69.) It was built on an old dump, and the concession stand and attached projection booth kept settling. In the mid '70s when they had to rebuild the booth, they added screens in the NW and SW corners and added west directed projector and converted it to a tri-plex. In my day, it was open 365 days a year and in Minnesota that meant pole mounted car-heaters. Lots of maintenance...
posted by MarkCampbell on Oct 30, 2007 at 3:18pm
The Edina Historical Society is looking for more information, stories and photos about France Avenue Drive In for an upcoming exhibit on early suburban Edina. (Yes, the theater was located in neighboring Bloomington, but just over the border, and was a part of community life here.)

Please call the Edina History Museum at 612-866-4581 with your contact info. Thank you!
Marci Matson, Director
posted by Edina History Museum on Nov 5, 2008 at 8:01am
The year given for this photo is 1966.

posted by Lost Memory on Mar 6, 2009 at 4:23pm
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