Shipyard Drive-In
Allens Avenue,
Providence,
RI
02905
Allens Avenue,
Providence,
RI
02905
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The Shipyard Drive-In opened in August 1957 and closed in 1976. This drive-in had a capacity for 1,700 cars.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
I noted the comment that the address, 1 Washington Avenue, was incorrect. I can assure you that the correct address was, indeed, 1 Washington Avenue. Washington Avenue in Providence runs from Broad Street to Michigan Avenue. During WW II, the main gates and Administration Buildings of the Walsh-Kaiser Shipyard were located at the intersection of Washington and Michigan Avenues. The Admin building and all of the property was officially located at 1 Washington Avenue. The theater itself was actually at the spot where the six ship building and launching ways were located. The Admin building and an office building from WW II are now being used by the Johnson And Wales Culinary Arts School, and I also believe they still use 1 Washington Avenue as an address. http://www.jwu.edu/prov/dir_harb.htm
Number 10 on the J&W map was the Admin building, and number 1 was the location of Selective Service until the 70s.
Obscenity problems in 1972:
http://tinyurl.com/2a7ugf
Although I never worked at The Shipyard Drive In, I did work at the Seekonk Twin which was owned by the same company. I remember when they showed the movie “Billy Jack” they had a tremendous opening night and didn’t have nearly enough speakers for the numbers of cars they expected. We had to pull speakers off the back rows at the Seekonk Twin, rush them down to the Shipyard, and get them installed for Saturday night. Before radio sound I recall several times where speakers were transferred between drive-ins.
In September 1964, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow played in first-run at the Shipyard Drive-In, day-dating with the downtown Majestic Theatre. The Italian-made film, starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, was very popular.
My band “The Van Goghs” played a gig here in the mid-late 60’s before and between movies. The gig was lousy, but I was with my college sweetheart Patricia “Irish” Finnerty, so it waasn’t so bad…
I saw movies at the Shipyard (~1960-68) It was a great way for families to have a night out.. Just hang a speaker in your window and you were good to go.. Also in that same vicinity was the Atlantic Mills discount outlet, where we shopped every year getting ready for school.. A friend of mine and I, also frequented the Shipyard Ice Skating Rink every Saturday for a couple of years.
Years later (~1978), I worked at RI Imports (owned by Jake Kaplan) who either owned or leased the grounds of the old Shipyard Drive-In. We parked new imported cars (Nissan, Saab, Mitsubishi), driving up and down the rolling slopes which, years before, held carloads of families facing the big screen. The screen was still up when I worked down there.
Lost Memory’s image references in Feb 2005, have changed slightly.. Everything is the same except lead the number with a zero.. e.g. “ritship12.jpg” is now “ritship012.jpg”
Item announcing building of Shipyard Drive-In by Berry Hill Corp., Boxoffice magazine, September 8, 1956.
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Item announcing the recently opened Shipyard Drive-In, including the promotion for the new theatre, in Boxoffice magazine, August 17, 1957.
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Maybe I’m off my rocker, but looking at the current Google Map would suggest the layout of the area has changed some. If you search for 134 Harborside Avenue, and drop the Street View marker at the corner of Shipyard Street & Harborside Avenue, you can see the former field. Maybe Allens Avenue ran there at one point…but not anymore. Just my two cents on it.
Not much left – just the faint impression of the rows. And I know it’s the right location because I compared with Lost’s satellite image – the bends in the riverbank match.
I would love to hear of any insights on the concert by IRON BUTTERFLY at the Shipyard. I have a nice print of the poster, made by the mad peck.