Sunset Drive-In
1801 Samuelson Road,
Rockford,
IL
61109
1801 Samuelson Road,
Rockford,
IL
61109
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The Sunset Drive-In was one of three in Rockford (in addition to the Belford Drive-In and Robin Drive-In). All three date to at least the 1950’s, if not earlier. This was open as the Lin’s Air Drive-In in 1955. The single-screen drive-in, off Samuelson Road, was fairly good-sized, and could accommodate 700 cars. It was later renamed Sunset Drive-In and showed pornographic films towards the end.
Long ago closed, much of the drive-in has been demolished, but parts of it, like the concession stand and ticket booths, still stand, though ruined (by nature and vandals), with the property having become heavily overgrown.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Can anyone tell me when the old Sunset Drive-In Theatre closed in Rockford,Il?????????? Thanks,please email
Don’t forget about the River Lane drive in in Loves Park,Il. Also the Sunset was originaly called Lin’s Air Theatre. It had the largest outdoor screen in the area possibly the nation.
Jegn9kuy, the River Lane is already listed on Cinema Treasures: /theaters/8369/
Some people are trying to re-open the Sunset but there is neighborhood opposition see Rockford news paper Feb. 20,2007
A Buffalo Grove couple is trying to re-open the Sunset. At this point, the project looks like a go: View link
project killed…
View link
This opened as Lin’s Air Drive-In on May 30th, 1950 and closed in 1970. It reopened in June 1971 as Sunset Drive-In. I have uploaded an aerial and both grand opening ads.
After looking at the aerial view, I can see the concern of the neighbors about the location. Must of DI’s built back in day were out in the county with no neighbors that close. I would think that they would have been better off locating the DI in a more secluded location, instead of opening this one back up.