Camden Drive-In
2901 Admiral Wilson Boulevard,
Camden,
NJ
08104
2901 Admiral Wilson Boulevard,
Camden,
NJ
08104
1 person
favorited this theater
The Camden Drive-In located in Camden, NJ was the first drive-in theater in the U.S. In 1933 Richard Hollingshead received the first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537). It was issued on May 16, 1933.
With an investment of $30,000, Richard opened the first drive-in on Tuesday June 6, 1933 in Camden, New Jersey. The opening film was a British comedy “Wives Beware”. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.
The drive-in did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted the RCA Victor company to provide the sound system, called “Directional Sound”. Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
Here is a 1933 photo
View link
When I was in college in the early 1980s, Admiral Wilson Boulevard was notable for the astounding number of adult businesses as well as ladies of the evening that would board the municipal buses trolling for customers. Ah, memories.
Here is an interesting article about the Camden and drive-ins in general:
http://www.matchflick.com/column/1021
This is an interesting lawsuit. It looks like Hollingshead shut down the drive-in in 1936 alleging that Paramount was trying to force him out of business. Perhaps the studios felt that outdoor theaters were a threat to their existing indoor business. Richardson Dilworth, plaintiff’s attorney, later became mayor of Philadelphia:
http://tinyurl.com/25523v
Does anybody know if there is a marker or a sign on the site where Mr. Hollingstead’s creation once stood? If not, it would definitely make an excellent 75th anniversary gift next June 6.
This is an old article about the Camden Drive-In.
Here is a 1940 aerial photo:
http://tinyurl.com/y9mbxe5
Here is a 1933 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/252two2
NOW PLAYING AT THE CAMDEN DRIVE-IN, Greta Nissen stars in “SPY 77” 25 cents per person and here is a new one,“No charge for car”.
Also this movie played here, “REFORM GIRL” and second feature, Betty Compson in “GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY”.
The entry for Camden architect Howard E. Hall in the 1962 American Architects Directory of the AIA lists “1st Drive-in Theatre, original, Camden, N.J, 33” among his works.