South Park Drive-In
Route 88, Library Rd.,
Bethel Park,
PA
15102
Route 88, Library Rd.,
Bethel Park,
PA
15102
3 people
favorited this theater
The South Park Drive-In was opened in August 1940. It was located on Route 88/Library Road in Bethel Park, just before the entrance to South Park.
Since the movie screen faced the road, a curtain was built on the road shoulder to prevent passing pedestrians and cars from free view of the movies. This was later replaced with a green sheet metal fence.
The South Park remained open all year round for most of its years. On September 1, 1985, Pittsburgh’s very first drive-in came to a very wild end. It was estimated that approximately 2,000 people showed up by car and foot. The crowd didn’t even wait for the start of the last feature before they started tearing out the speakers and parts of the screen for memorabilia.
By the next morning, the drive-in looked like it had gone through two twisters. Today, the site where the South Park Drive-In once stood is now occupied by a Taco Bell restaurant and office building complex, South Park Commons.
There are no traces or indications that a drive-in even existed there, only the memories remain.
Contributed by
Denny Pine
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
The films playing at the South Park Drive-In on the date of the aerial photo above were “One Million Years, B.C.” with Raquel Welch and “The Quiller Memorandum” with George Segal.
Denny Pine cleared up a memory I have of seeing a movie on the South Park screen while headed for the skating rink — I couldn’t figure out how I could remember that, if it was Winter, why would a drive-in be open? But it was open year-long. Denny mentions the green fence to hide the screen, though. Anyone know how I could remember being able to see the screen from within a passing car?
Ron3853 knows what was playing on the screen. Anybody know how I might track down what was playing circa ‘74-'75?
Also, I wonder what was playing on Sept 1 ‘85, the night it was torn down?
I was actually there the night it closed. If you dressed in 50’s attire or drove in with a classic vintage car you got in for free. I drove my 58 Edsel. The movie was Rocky 4.. Eye of the tiger.
Doug
Eye of the tiger was Rocky 3, 1982. Rocky 4 was 1990.
If I recall, the last night was a WDVE-sponsored showing of Three Stooges shorts. After which, the patrons totally wrecked the place.
I grew up just up the street from the drive-in, although I was not living there in 1985. As a kid, we could see the screen from our porch in the winter when there weren’t any leaves on the trees. And you could hear the sound late at night when enough people left and put the speakers back on the posts without turning down the sound.
This was back in the days of “Cleopatra” with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
As a senior in high school I remember practically freezing to death watching a double-bill of “Downhill Racer” and “Little Fauss & Big Halsy” with a high school buddy whose car had no heat over Christmas vacation.
At one point we kids from the neighborhood built a treehouse on the hill opposite the screen in the woods behind Joe George’s Mercury dealership on the otherside of Route 88. It was 40 feet up and had a great view of the screen. We thought about trying to run a wire for sound through the sewers but never was able to. The Bethel Park police later on had the Fire Department do a CONTROLLED burning due to the noisy partying and incessant underaged drinking by kids a generation or so after mine in and under the treehouse.
Rocky IV came out in 1985. Rocky V was 1990.
To lost memory, Thanks for your back up.
Doug
To Ron3853,
I remember the treehouse!!! Was that mid to late 70’s?
Beautiful idea.
doug
Yes, it was!
i spent alot of time at south park drive inn and the eat and park right next to it. i rememeber going into south park drive inn one night in the trunk of a 55 merc, with two other guys. hey,we were broke. hahahahahahah