Sheridan Drive-In
7901 S. Harlem Avenue,
Bridgeview,
IL
60455
7901 S. Harlem Avenue,
Bridgeview,
IL
60455
4 people
favorited this theater
The Sheridan Drive-In opened in 1960, on Harlem Avenue, at 79th Street in southwest suburban Bridgeview. This single-screen drive-in had a large, stylish early-1960’s style marquee topped by a neon-lit star with a zig-zagging tail.
This large 1,500-car capacity drive-in was popular, but closed in 1986 and demolished shortly afterward. A shopping center is on the site today.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
Was the Harlem Corners Theatre located here (or at least in the same strip mall)?
Catherine, the Sheridan was located at 79th & Harlem. Harlem Corners was located at 87th & Harlem. So they weren’t in the same strip mall, but they were down the street from one another. I don’t think Harlem Corners existed while the Sheridan was in operation (or even still standing!) though.
Harlem Corners is still standing but it is closed.
Harlem Corners was one of those theatres that you needed to ware you old shoes cuse the floor was stickey your shoes stuck to the floor.
So true. And there was a truly rotten element there. Lots of gang scum. I remember going there once and people had to be searched. Lots of punks yelling and acting out. I demanded a refund and never went back.
The thing I remember most about the Sheridan wasn’t so much the movies I saw. It was my dad dragging me there every Sunday morning when I was a little kid for the flea market. At that age I could never understand why someone wanted to buy someone elses used crap. But as long as he let me play in the little playground behind the consession stand all was good. :)
The Sheridan Drive-In is listed in 1975 with a capacity for 1,500 cars.
I remember going to the Haunted Trails miniature golf course in the mid-70’s and looking over the fence at the movie being shown. It was perfect viewing, as the screen faced Southwest, directly facing the Northeastern section of the course. I also remember that huge sign quite well. You could see it from blocks away, that’s for sure.
Above address is incorrect. Approx. address was further north @ 7750 S. Harlem Avenue.
I live just a few blocks behind from were the drive-in was. Saturday mornings they had fleamarkets. Sometimes at night while the movie was going you could hear some of the stuff from the movie. If you were driving east on 79th you could see the movie screen from the top of the bridge in Bridgeview. After the drive-in was taken down, Ventures and Awshawns was built there and a bank and pet shop. The pet shop is still there but one of the buildings was demolished. Haunted Trails is still in the area where it always was and running. Spent many a time at the drive-in and flea market. Good fun!
In the noval THE BOOK OF RALPH by John McNally, he tells a story about the Sheridan Drive-In. The book is about a kid growing up in the south suburban Burbank/Bridgeview/Chicago area in the 70’s.