Boulevard Drive-In
14311 Biscayne Boulevard,
North Miami,
FL
33161
14311 Biscayne Boulevard,
North Miami,
FL
33161
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The Boulevard Drive-In opened on December 24th, 1948 with Red Skelton in “Southern Yankee.” Grand opening ad posted.
Opened with two colour cartoons(not named), and “Southern Yankee”. Site also occupied by Tires Plus.
I actually went there during the adult film tenure with my then-girlfriend because we thought it might be fun to watch the flick and do it in the car. Instead, we were so bored with what was being shown that we went on home. No handi-wipe either!
The location is now a Costco warehouse.
The Boulevard was mentioned in Boxoffice in January 1949:
http://tinyurl.com/ydguprb
That aerial shows the screen facing away from Biscayne Boulevard, allowing for x-rated material without too much controversy.
If it was still open today FIU might have something to say.
Here is a 1986 aerial view:
http://tinyurl.com/y8vbvkc
Picture of Boulevard Drive-In marquee
here.
Who is stupid enough to leave a half-eaten hot dog in a crime scene? You’ll get caught easier that way.
POLICE SEEK CLUES IN SECOND BREAK-IN AT DRIVE-IN
Miami Herald, The (FL) – August 11, 1983
Author: Herald Staff
A half-eaten hot dog that someone left behind during a
break-in at the concession stand of the Boulevard Drive-In , 14301 Biscayne Blvd., attracted a large scorpion that nearly stung a member of the theater’s cleaning crew Saturday, police said.
Police said North Miami Beach Officer Theodore Miller, who responded to the burglary report, killed the scorpion.
Police said someone entered the concession stand between 2 and 11 a.m. The intruder broke the locks on the refrigerator, freezer and cabinets but took nothing.
The burglars did eat several hot dogs that had been left out but dropped one on the floor, police said. That attracted the scorpion.
A similar break-in occurred at the theater two months ago, police said.
The Golden Glades Drive-In did indeed have two screens; one on opposite ends of the property parallel to the Palmetto. My father used to take us there quite frequently. Saw MASH and Tora Tora Tora during that time. Later as a teenager I used to sneak into the drive-in frequently via the house adjacent to the property (had a friend who lived there). Saw The Omen, Lipstick, and Star Wars more times than I care to count during this time.
The property now sits on a self storage lot…
Have vague memories of the Boulevard Drive-In. Don’t think I ever saw a movie there…
The Golden Glades drive in was HUGE! I remember it spanning quite a bit of property. If memory serves me right, I believe the entrance was on Red Road 57th Avenue and it went west almost to the big curve where the Palmetto Expressway becomes a north south highway. The last movie I ever saw there was MASH and Marriage of a Young Stockbroker with Richard Benjamin. Not sure of that title, because that was quite a while ago. I remember that theatre had a playground where the kids could play while the adults watched the movies. That was the last time I was there, but it certainly was a very big theatre. I think it boasted 2 screens, but I can’t swear to that, I am sure Al will remember!!!
That Golden Glades marquee was a keeper.
There you go! I guess I was older when I saw these. It’s funny how we gauge things later in life.
I do remember those marquees being quite large but then I was also smaller then. I know what Harvey means about things looking smaller as you get older. Since each title letter was about a foot tall with extra copy about half that and a blank row in between, that should give you some perpective.
They were able to fit wording that mentioned taglines, stars, and air conditioning so I guess they were huge by today’s standards. I seem to recall the 27th Ave and the Golden Glades Twin drive-in being very dramatic.
On a personal basis, I don’t remember either the 27th Avenue Drive, or the Boulevard having a Marquee that was larger than the usual. They did have a lot of neon, the 27th Avenue Drive in had the larger of the two. The Boulevard’s entrance was right on Biscayne, it was an ok sign, but I can’t remember anything remarkable about it, or different that makes it stand out in my memory. It will be interesting to see if Al chimes in. Al is what I consider an authority in Miami theatres! He may have some better insight into this.
Anybody have a picture of the marquee? I remember it being incerdibly huge, like the 27th Ave. Drive-In’s. Then again, I was a kid and after driving past the Southland in 2005 and struck dumb by how small the theatre really was, I may be in for a let down.
This was actually a family drive in the 1950’s up until about 1964 or so.. There were so many mosquitoes that a truck used to drive between the rows spraying insecticide
Louis, Wometco was careful to only screen soft porn at the Boulevard Drive-In and Town (downtown) as their company charter did not allow any other. The films the Boulevard Drive-In showed in its last days would be rated R today and in some cases PG. They often promised more than they delivered. (Think Russ Meyer and nudist camp nudies). The theatres attracted straight couples, not lone males as XXX did.
The Boulevard screen faced the Interama swamp land so exposure to Biscayne Boulevard was not a problem. Other drive-ins had to install special screens where the inage faded with distance so as not to cause accidents on the expressways.
The handi-wipe, alas, was not urban legend. I remember how funny we thought it was when we got one, for the buttered popcorn, I presume.
Al I think the handiwipe thing was an urban legend, then again I never knew anyone who really went there. There were many “stories” of kids who said they sneaked in via a trunk of a car, etc. Every time I passed this theatre there were no cars waiting in line.
I have to wonder how they got away with X rated films in a drive in? Keep in mind back in those days all of those films were XXX. I don’t think that soft porn came to be until services such as OnTv and The Private Channel Network came to be. I believe The Private Channel was the early name of what is now HBO. OnTv was a scrambled version of Channel 51 after it went belly up as an english speaking station, WSMS.
Soft porn is a 2nd filming of a porn flick that takes place while the XXX version is being filmed, the soft porn camera just uses a different angle. That type of porn flick is all new, at the time there was no market for that type of porn. The porn theatres actually played the bonafide “pervert friendly” flicks. Today there is a demand for “soft porn” this are the Strong R rated pics shown on Showtime, Cinemax, and HBO late at night. These are also titled and promoted as “female friendly” porn, there was no request for this type of film in the late 60s and into the late 70s. All the porn theatres were male dominated, rarely would a female be found in one of these, at least this is what I have been told by an aquaintance who is in the industry. I had to ask, because I always thought that a porn drive in theatre was a tad strange. I wonder how many of these every actually existed?
The Boulevard was operated as a soft-core porn location by Wometco in its later years. Admission included a handiwipe.(!!!)