West Side Drive-In
Brookpark Road & Rocky River Drive,
Cleveland,
OH
Brookpark Road & Rocky River Drive,
Cleveland,
OH
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Another General Cinema ozoner that bit the dust, this one in the mid-60s – expansion of the Cleveland Hopkins Airport was the culprit here. When it was open though, the little speaker that you hang on the car window to hear the movie was no match for the roar of the jet engines on the other side of the fence.
Contributed by
dave-bronx
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The West Side Drive-In had a capacity for 600 cars in 1975.
The June 19, 1948 issue of Boxoffice magazine had a story about the growing presence of drive-ins in the Cleveland area. At that time there were about 50, which was worrying the indoor theater owners. The West Side was one of the drive-ins on the list. Owner at that time was Phil Smith.
My parents used to take me to this drive-in when I was a young boy. I remember that there was a playground in front of the screen and they had pony rides before the show started.
I seem to remember that the place closed in 1959 to make way for airport expansion. I don’t think it could have still be open in 1975 as mentioned above. Maybe someone can confirm the exact close date.
The drive-in can be seen in this 1952 aerial view, but it was gone by 1970.
http://tinyurl.com/yg46cs3
this opened on July 4th, 1940. ad: View link
Before the airport expansion, the drive-in would have been 2 blocks south of Hwy 237 SB on-ramp. Rocky River Dr. extended further south when this was open.