Fiesta Four Drive-In
8462 Whittier Boulevard,
Pico Rivera,
CA
90660
8462 Whittier Boulevard,
Pico Rivera,
CA
90660
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I came to the Fiesta Four regularly during the last couple of years of its life with my girlfriend (who eventually became my wife). I brought her here to see “Bowfinger” & “Runaway Bride” back in Summer 1999. That experience single-handedly made her a drive-in fan. We were shocked to see that it closed…and were very thankful we found our way to the Vineland and Mission D/I’s after it closed.
Yet another industrial complex now.
Believe it or not the Fiesta once used an automated changeover system on it’s eight projectors that used six thousand foot reels. One night vacation relief projectionist Jerry Cheney had this happen to him: Within a few seconds time all four theatres had a changeover at almost the same time. Needless to say this really freaked Jerry out and he was never the same after that. Honest!
The October 1, 1949 issue of Boxoffice Magazine announced the impending opening of the Whittier Drive-In in Pico, California. It was the 14th drive-in for the Pacific chain. The cost of construction was given as $350,000.
The January 7, 1950, issue of the same magazine gives more information. It names the architect as J. Arthur Drielsma, and gives the capacity as 1,225 cars, making it the second-largest outdoor theater in the world. The Whittier was equipped with Motiograph projection equipment and in-car speakers, the screen was 51'x68', and the marquee was produced by the Wagner Sign Company.
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/62yeoh
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From socaldriveins.com:
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The drive-in hosted a swapmeet during the day on the weekends. Nothing is left of the theater now and has since had a warehouse built on the north east side of it. It was suppose to be develpoed into a Krikorian Premiere Theatre, but I have seen no construction as of yet.
The Whittier Drive-In opened on October 12th, 1949, it’s architect was Arthur J, Drielsma. The original screen size was 68 feet across. The size of the lot was 900' x 800'.