Route 3 Drive-In
Route 3,
Rutherford,
NJ
07070
Route 3,
Rutherford,
NJ
07070
1 person
favorited this theater
The Route 3 Drive-In was opened by 1955. An office building and parking lot now stand where the Route 3 Drive-In used to be.
Contributed by
John OConnor
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Recent comments (view all 36 comments)
I grew up in Rutherford and remember it well. There was a NJ DMV Inspection Station located there ( open air). This section of Route 3 had so many MV Accidents that the Rutherford First Aid Squad stationed an Ambulance by the U-Turn there on major holidays. I know for sure as I was part of some of the crews.
I lived in North Arlington which was only 2 towns away from this drive in and I grew up going there, then I took my kids there before it was gone. I went as a kid in my p.j’s and went on the swings and would end up falling asleep after the first movie of the “double feature.” It ended up going from the 1 screen to 2 and of course using the radio rather than the speakers. I remember the green coiled mosiquito Pic thing they would give when you went in. I remember as a teenager some of hiding in the trunk since we did not have enough money to pay for everyone. For awhile this also was used for the Route 3 Flea Market. Unfortunately, in this area of NJ the land is prime and it just did not generate enough income to support the very high real estate taxes in this area. I still go once a year to the only drive that is close enough to go to which is the Warwick Drive-In which is in Warwick NY. It takes me about an hour to get there but well worth the trip.
Does anyone remember when the movie “ Boys night out” played in the rt.3 drive in.
Thank you Al
Ah, yes! “West Side Story”! My favorite movie since I was 6. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it at one of Pittsburgh’s clasic downtown moviehouses several years ago and I would love nothing more than to see this 10-Oscar-winning classic on a drive-in screen and listen to it from the classic drive-in speakers.
Denny: I was 8 when I saw “West Side Story” at the Route 3. When I got older I regretted not seeing it first in a big indoor theater with speakers all over the place, but you may be right. The movie was so good, its impact was the same no matter where you first saw it. It may have even been heightened by having that music blasting at you from a speaker positioned just inches away from your ears!
Al: I don’t remember “Boys Night Out” playing there, but here are ads featuring two other 1961 attractions: “The Parent Trap” and “Homicidal”. I saw “Homicidal” at the Route 3, when I was 6 (!)
View link
View link
I goofed there: “Boys Night Out” was 1962. I’ll check my newspaper clippings tonight – maybe I have an ad for it.
Al: It’s not exactly what you asked for, but I found two ads for “Boys' Night Out”. The first is at the Hyway Theatre in Fair Lawn NJ. The date is August 4, 1962:
View link
The next one is at the Loew’s Jersey in Jersey City, which is, incredibly, still open and showing classic films one weekend a month except in summer. Look in the top left corner. Date is around July 7, 1962:
View link
I have this Drive-In in 1956 parking 350 cars and at that time was owned by Ligget-Florin.source 1956 Motion Picture Almanac,hope this helps in the History,Bill.
As a child I loved going to the Route 3 Drive-In, as it was then known. I known I saw several films there, but the one I remember best was “Planet of the Apes” in 1968. I still remember the shock when the Statue of Liberty appeared. I begged my mother to let us sit through another showing, but she had had enough. I remember staring at the screen, watching the film begin again, as we drove out.
In later years, like Belasarious above, I would bike over backroads to the drive-in.
Were drive-ins really that great? Or is it just the patina of nostalgia? still, I remember them with great fondness and miss them. Back in the day, they were the only theatres that served hot dogs and hamburgers and fries. And do you remember when you were buying snacks, there would be countdowns on the screen letting you know how much time you had before the film started?
later on (in the late 60’s) they used to show movies that were on the blue side – you could see them from the highway. oh my! they couldn’t get away with that now.