309 Drive-In
1210 Bethlehem Pike,
Montgomeryville,
PA
18936
1210 Bethlehem Pike,
Montgomeryville,
PA
18936
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Raymond, rg i’d like to get a hold of you, interested in the history of the
Budco chain of theaters. Tried your aol address and was blocked.
My email is
This drive-in was located at what is now the Gwynedd Crossing Shopping Center. The screen was where Whole Foods Market stands. Approx. address is 1210 Bethlehem Pike now in North Wales.
Car capacity given for 1975 was 350.
The only Goldman Theatres that I know were Goldman Theatres, outside of Center City, were Bryn Mawr, Orleans and Andorra. Other than the 309, the Plymouth and the drive-ins (which are not Goldman’s, but Budco, and the Hatboro, which was acquired by Budco in 1973) Who owned The Anthony Wayne, The City Line Center, The Doylestown Barn, The Doylestown County, The College, The Community, The Ellisburg Circle, The Esquire, The Exton, The Gateway, The Springfield Cinema, The Surburban, and The Ritz in Oaklyn, NJ?
mikera: Budco Theaters was from Doylestown, Pa. Budco did not really own theaters, it managed, booked and operated theaters. Many of the theaters were independently owned. Budco owned several small groups of theaters. One was Schlanger theaters which operated the Plymouth cinema, Norris theater, Ridge Pike D-I, Valley Forge D-I. The Ply., Ridge and V.F. were owned by the Sabaloski family from Norristown ( which and one time operated 5 theaters in Norristown). Budco Theaters bought the Goldman chain to get a foot hold in center city.
The name Budco is a part nickname BUDDY. If you have any questions about the early days of Budco let me know. Will try to help you. Most of the theaters under the Budco banner were D-I’s. When D-I’s were king. We had some great times and some great promos with WIBG radio. Hope this helps.
Budco and Goldman started out as different companies. Budco bought the Goldman theaters sometime in the ‘70s.
The 309 Cinema started as a single-screen theatre, then it was twinned. Around the late 70s, another screen was added on the right side of the existing building, thus calling it 309 Cinema 3. Then two more screens were built on the left side of the existing building. Around 1986, four screens were added on the north side of the building.
More history & photos at this link:
http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/pat309t
MikeRa, The 309 Cinema at the front entranceof the drive-in (entrance drive, box office and main office). They WERE NOT OPENED BY GOLDMAN. The drive-in was built by the Smith family and run by Budco. Budco built the 309 Cinema. I opened this theatre as a single screen house. It was twinned and then went (9). Budco was the largest chain to RUN D-I’s in the tri-state area.
The 309 Drive In, and its sister theatre, The 309 Cinema, shared the same parking lot, and were riginally opened by William Goldman Theatres. today, the 309 Drive-In is a shopping center and a parking lot for the AMC 309 Cinema 9 Theatre.
http://www.amctheatres.com