5th Avenue Drive-In
1604 5th Avenue,
Bay Shore,
NY
11706
1604 5th Avenue,
Bay Shore,
NY
11706
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According to a map on the website that lostmemory linked to above, the drive-in was located to the north of the sand pits that are now operated Hubbard Sand & Gravel. Looks like the drive-in was situated on the west side of 5th Avenue between Connecticut and Massachusettes Avenues. The Suffolk County Police Department’s Third Precinct, an auto salvage yard, recycling yard and various other related businesses (tire shop, auto glass repair, etc) are located on the site.
Google mapping on this is not accurate. It was further north on 5th Ave where Hubbard Sand & Gravel now is. North of Southern State and nowhere near Sunrise Highway (the current Google street view).
This site has some information. Address given is 1604 5th Avenue. Status is demolished.
The 5th Avenue Drive-In was built in 1952 by Michael Redstone of Boston, Mass.
NY Times Jul 7, 1953
“DRIVE-IN THEATRE SOLD IN BAY SHORE; Parcel With 900-Car Capacity Is Conveyed' by Builder -Other Long Island Deals
The Prudential and Playhouses Operating Company, headed by Joseph M. Seider, has purchased the 900-car Fifth Avenue drive-in theatre in Bay Shore, L. I., in a sale negotiated by Berk Krumgold, brokers. The seller, Michael Redstone of Boston, Mass., built the theatre last year".
The theater may have been north of Southern State Pky. on the West side of 5th Ave near the Sand Pits- Not by the auto salvage yards as I stated. When I was a child in the 50s Most of that area was still scrub pine.
I remember going to both the 5 ave and Bayshore Drive ins quite a lot in the 50s- early 60s. The 5th Ave. was located on the west side of 5th ave near where the auto salvage yards are or used to be, (I lived in Brooklyn but visited relatives in Bayshore who always took me there frequently.I reside in North Carolina now. The 5th ave was older than the Sunrise I remember the snack bar was really old looking and painted brown. There was a playground in front of the screen. This theater did stay open for awhile and didn’t close right away when the Bay shore Sunrise opened because we visited both. The Bayshore Sunrise did have a neat little amusement park which I and my older brother prefered over the 5th ave. I was very young in the 50s, but I remember playing at the mini golf course which was added around 59 or 60 i believe. roughly around 1959 or 60 Iremember sunrise Hwy was a two lane road with the farmer’s market next to the theater(it always had christmas lights strung up even in summer and was a long quonset hut like structure like the barracks on Gomer pyle) There was an amusement park with a ferris wheel like ride that had old biplanes attached about a half mile west on Sunrise and the Peter Pan Diner, which is still there today. I was supprised to stumble across their website! Our favorite drive in had to be the 110 in Melville which had the best amusment rides -even a full scale monorail. Please forgive me if i’ve spelled that wrong.) Oh what wonderful childhood memories. Who thought back then we would be emailing others with our thoughts in 2006! Charlie S.
5th Avenue would have been earlier than the Sunrise Drive in. I know that in the mid tro late 1960’s we went to the Sunrise Drive in. 5th Avenue is located closer to the South Shore Mall and the old Bay Shore High School.
I don’t have an opening date for the Bay Shore Sunrise. There is some info on this drive-in under the Bay Shore Sunrise Drive-In listed on here:
/theaters/4676/
Read the messages posted by Orlando.
Yes Prudential became UA, just like Randforce and Skorous Theatres. You mentioned above the 5th Ave closed after Bayshore opened but when did Bayshore open? I always assumed late 50’s early 60’s.
Okay. Chamber of Horrors was from 1966 or was it the 1929 version? (just kidding) Didn’t UA take over Prudential at some point? Maybe this drive-in was a UA theater for a brief time.
The main feature was Chamber of Horrors which was first run on Showcase, Baby Jane was the second feature.
It is listed as a Prudential theater. They were showing Whatever Happened to Baby Jane here in 1966? Didn’t that movie come out around 1962? No wonder this drive-in closed.
Was this also a UA?
This drive-in is listed as being located at 5th Ave & Sunrise Hwy in Bay Shore. It closed after the Bay Shore Sunrise Drive-In opened.