Fly-In Drive-In
1675 New Jersey 34,
Asbury Park,
NJ
07727
1675 New Jersey 34,
Asbury Park,
NJ
07727
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Approx. address for this drive-in was 1675 New Jersey 34, Wall Township, NJ 07727
What a concept.Pretty cool idea.
This location fits all the descriptions above. At the airport, and the lot looks like it has a projection booth right in the center of it. Certainly could have been a multiple screen drive-in.
View link
Another 1949 LIFE image of the Fly Drive-In,
View link
I didn’t even know that Fly-In Theatres had even existed.
Wow, that is pretty cool, I didn’t know they had a boat area too.
The Woodbridge Fly-in, Sail-in, Drive-in Theater was unique in that it was intended for use by Boats as well as automobiles and planes. It’s interesting that no one else mentioned the sail boat section. Does anyone else remember it?
Many thanks to all for sharing your memories of a very different time in America. It’s amazing how quickly these things get lost.
I didn’t post that one because I wasn’t sure either.
This 1949 Life Photo may be the Asbury Park drive-in. The theater is not identified:
http://tinyurl.com/5hpa2c
Does anyone else remember the Fly-in, Sail-in, Drive-in at Woodbridge, New Jersey?
Was mentioned in the documentary “Drive-In Movie Memories” in 2001.
The comment above by Lost Memory mentions the Belmar Fly-In. This is (was) the Fly-In mentioned in the main post. It was located in Wall Twp (Wall had a Belmar mailing address for many years), on Rt 34 at the airport. There was no drive-in in Asbury Park.
As mentioned above, the red brick screen foundation exists as a sign, and the concession and projection buildings are there, you’d recognize them for what they were when you see them!
Mechanix Illustrated (or) Popular Mechanics ran an article on the place in the late 50’s, I believe.
Brown owned a second “Fly-In Drive-In” which was located just west of the Manahawkin Drive-In on Rt. 72 in Manahawkin. If you stood at the back (last ramp) of the Manahawkin and walked about 100' into the surrounding pine trees you came on the last ramp of the Fly-In.
It was called “Fly-In Drive-In #2” It’s entrance was off of Rt. 72 about a quarter mile from the entrance of the Manahawkin’s entrance.
The Manahawkin was at the intersection of Rt. 72 and Rt. 9.
Brown also owned another drive-in (not a fly-in) called the Bay Drive-In which was located on the north side of Rt. 37 a few miles east of Toms River and very close to the bridge that took you over to Seaside Heights. The Bay was sold to Walter Reade who operated it into the 60s or 70s.
Mike H
There are some photos of this theater at the following link:
http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/njtflyi
One of the photos shows the entrance to this theater.
I wish someone had pictures of the planes parked watching the movies.
This has got to be one of the coolest theaters and probably most unique, I have heard of until this point.
I don’t know when this drive-in closed but Ed Brown still owns the property and he is currently in the process of selling the airport (which includes the land where the drive-in once was) to Monmouth County. Except for the screen tower being torn down, and the parking rows leveled, all the elements of this drive-in are still there. This was the first Fly-In Drive-In theater but not the only one. I have found four others:
1953 The Roxy Fly-In and Drive-In, St. Ansgar, Iowa
1950’s “no name” Fly-in, Belmar, New Jersey (75 cents admission for planes)
1950’s The Air-Sho Fly-in, Mobile, Alabama
1950’s “no name” Fly-in, Spearman, Texas