The “Bar-Len” was listed in Lenwood in the 1964 Film Daily Year Book. It was also listed, with a capacity 460 cars and in Barstow in the 1972 International Motion Picture Almanac, so it survived until at least 1971. By the 1984 edition, it was gone.
A 1963 Barstow High School yearbook photo calls it the “Bar Len,” though the poster uses a hyphen.
For the clincher, this Flickr user posted “A single frame from the policy trailer shown at the Bar-Len Drive In.” It clearly shows a hyphen in the name.
This article from The Sonoma County Press Democrat says the Lakeport has been open since 1974.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6474023-181/drive-in-movie-theaters-gone-but?artslide=0
This changing name business is pretty confusing. The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists the Madera Drive-In as under construction. The 1949-50 edition lists the El Rio in operation, as does the 1952 and 1955-56 editions.
The 1956 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures lists, for Madera CA, both the El Rio Drive-In and the Madera Drive-In. The 1964 edition lists only the El Rio, so I’m guessing the second drive-in in ‘56 was a crossed wire.
On the other hand, the 1984 International Motion Picture Almanac shows the only drive-in in Madera as the single-screen Park Vu Drive In, owned by R. Gran. And the 1995 edition of Goodridge’s Guide to Flea Markets also mentions the Park Vu Drive-In Flea Market at 201 Lincoln. It was definitely known as the Madera by 2004, so the Park Vu must have been an intermediate name.
From its Facebook posts and its old web site captures on Archive.org, the BDRP only showed movies for that one season and may have been completely out of business by 2012. In any event, it’s long gone now and should be moved to the Closed category here.
The Santa Maria Valley Historical Society Museum has a web page with a timeline of notable local dates. Fortunately for us, it includes the following line:
October 14, 1949 Park Aire Drive-In opened in the 200 block of east Donovan.Road
See http://santamariahistory.com/timeline.html
The Park Aire is listed in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog but not in the preceding 1948-49 edition, so that opening date looks good.
DavidZ, thanks for the article link. It says the place opened as the Paramount, but don’t be fooled. Every contemporary reference I’ve seen calls it the Roadium. The article mentions that “it shut down in 1992,” so that might be a good closing date.
Now that it’s the only operating drive-in in Arizona, the Glendale would have to be the largest. :) Like the others in the West Wind chain, they’re smart about offering periodic free movies, typically on Thursdays, to draw in new customers.
Now that it’s running digital, a couple of the shiny old film projectors are mounted like museum displays in the concession stand area.
Is that a photo of the old Fiesta? When I check Google Street View, I don’t see anything like that hill on the right, nor the ridge behind the screen. And this photo doesn’t show the 6+ foot fence that surrounds the viewing area.
In a 2015 article in the UTEP student newspaper, The Prospector, the Fiesta manager says it “has two motion picture screens with a maximum capacity for 500 cars.” Looking at Google Earth images, I can’t find a second screen.
In a 2015 article in the UTEP student newspaper, The Prospector, the Fiesta manager says it “has two motion picture screens with a maximum capacity for 500 cars.” Looking at Google Earth images, I can’t find a second screen.
Somebody applied to the local zoning board for a variance to reopen the Moonlite. The previous owners had sued the West Wyoming Borough over alleged sewer mishaps, and now the borough owns the drive-in.
Many more details and links: http://carload.com/2017/01/pa-man-applies-to-revive-the-moonlite/
I don’t see a listing for the Graham in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog drive-in census. It appears in the following edition (1949-50) with Exec: E. L. Williamson. The listing also says it ran 7 days, 12 months, with room for 300 cars.
Theatre Catalogs list it as operated by Glen Underwood (1949, 1952), then the Bancrofts in 1955 as Ken says. It wasn’t listed in the 1948 catalog, so 1949 might be its opening date.
The Dubbo Youth Council has arranged to reopen the West-View (according to the Daily Liberal newspaper) for a weekend in April 2017. The place is still for sale, and the sign looks even worst than the photo here. See http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/4391944/movies-to-return-to-dubbos-drive-in/ for the story, and http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/862369/return-of-the-drive-in/ for the way the sign looked in 2010.
The Paonia was not listed in the 1955 Theatre Catalog, so that gives us a narrow range for when it probably opened, thanks Chris1982.
Thanks for the link, Kenmore. Google Earth from 2016 still shows the sign there. From the layout, my guess is that the screen bordered the highway, patrons looped along the tree-lined drive to the south maybe past those ponds, then back to the main parking area?
According to a Flickr user, the other drive-in in Blanding was the Kigalia. There’s a photo of its weathered sign here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33237475@N05/5855645912/
The “Bar-Len” was listed in Lenwood in the 1964 Film Daily Year Book. It was also listed, with a capacity 460 cars and in Barstow in the 1972 International Motion Picture Almanac, so it survived until at least 1971. By the 1984 edition, it was gone.
A 1963 Barstow High School yearbook photo calls it the “Bar Len,” though the poster uses a hyphen.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/mojavegirl1216/4300343906/
For the clincher, this Flickr user posted “A single frame from the policy trailer shown at the Bar-Len Drive In.” It clearly shows a hyphen in the name.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23731559@N07/4357654129/
I can’t tell which city it belonged in, but I think the name really ought to be hyphenated.
This article from The Sonoma County Press Democrat says the Lakeport has been open since 1974. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6474023-181/drive-in-movie-theaters-gone-but?artslide=0
This changing name business is pretty confusing. The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists the Madera Drive-In as under construction. The 1949-50 edition lists the El Rio in operation, as does the 1952 and 1955-56 editions.
The 1956 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures lists, for Madera CA, both the El Rio Drive-In and the Madera Drive-In. The 1964 edition lists only the El Rio, so I’m guessing the second drive-in in ‘56 was a crossed wire.
On the other hand, the 1984 International Motion Picture Almanac shows the only drive-in in Madera as the single-screen Park Vu Drive In, owned by R. Gran. And the 1995 edition of Goodridge’s Guide to Flea Markets also mentions the Park Vu Drive-In Flea Market at 201 Lincoln. It was definitely known as the Madera by 2004, so the Park Vu must have been an intermediate name.
From its Facebook posts and its old web site captures on Archive.org, the BDRP only showed movies for that one season and may have been completely out of business by 2012. In any event, it’s long gone now and should be moved to the Closed category here.
The Santa Maria Valley Historical Society Museum has a web page with a timeline of notable local dates. Fortunately for us, it includes the following line:
October 14, 1949 Park Aire Drive-In opened in the 200 block of east Donovan.Road
See http://santamariahistory.com/timeline.html
The Park Aire is listed in the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog but not in the preceding 1948-49 edition, so that opening date looks good.
DavidZ, thanks for the article link. It says the place opened as the Paramount, but don’t be fooled. Every contemporary reference I’ve seen calls it the Roadium. The article mentions that “it shut down in 1992,” so that might be a good closing date.
Now that it’s the only operating drive-in in Arizona, the Glendale would have to be the largest. :) Like the others in the West Wind chain, they’re smart about offering periodic free movies, typically on Thursdays, to draw in new customers.
Now that it’s running digital, a couple of the shiny old film projectors are mounted like museum displays in the concession stand area.
Is that a photo of the old Fiesta? When I check Google Street View, I don’t see anything like that hill on the right, nor the ridge behind the screen. And this photo doesn’t show the 6+ foot fence that surrounds the viewing area.
In a 2015 article in the UTEP student newspaper, The Prospector, the Fiesta manager says it “has two motion picture screens with a maximum capacity for 500 cars.” Looking at Google Earth images, I can’t find a second screen.
http://www.theprospectordaily.com/2015/02/10/hot-and-heavy-at-the-drive-in/ https://goo.gl/maps/iDfkXUvide72
(Sorry that I first entered this as a comment on a particular photo. I’ll learn.)
In a 2015 article in the UTEP student newspaper, The Prospector, the Fiesta manager says it “has two motion picture screens with a maximum capacity for 500 cars.” Looking at Google Earth images, I can’t find a second screen.
http://www.theprospectordaily.com/2015/02/10/hot-and-heavy-at-the-drive-in/ https://goo.gl/maps/iDfkXUvide72
Somebody applied to the local zoning board for a variance to reopen the Moonlite. The previous owners had sued the West Wyoming Borough over alleged sewer mishaps, and now the borough owns the drive-in.
Many more details and links: http://carload.com/2017/01/pa-man-applies-to-revive-the-moonlite/
I don’t see a listing for the Graham in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog drive-in census. It appears in the following edition (1949-50) with Exec: E. L. Williamson. The listing also says it ran 7 days, 12 months, with room for 300 cars.
Theatre Catalogs list it as operated by Glen Underwood (1949, 1952), then the Bancrofts in 1955 as Ken says. It wasn’t listed in the 1948 catalog, so 1949 might be its opening date.
Now I notice that only the 2010 story used a hyphen in the name. The 2017 story agrees with the spelling here. And I left a typo. Oops!
The Dubbo Youth Council has arranged to reopen the West-View (according to the Daily Liberal newspaper) for a weekend in April 2017. The place is still for sale, and the sign looks even worst than the photo here. See http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/4391944/movies-to-return-to-dubbos-drive-in/ for the story, and http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/862369/return-of-the-drive-in/ for the way the sign looked in 2010.
The Paonia was not listed in the 1955 Theatre Catalog, so that gives us a narrow range for when it probably opened, thanks Chris1982.
Thanks for the link, Kenmore. Google Earth from 2016 still shows the sign there. From the layout, my guess is that the screen bordered the highway, patrons looped along the tree-lined drive to the south maybe past those ponds, then back to the main parking area?
According to a Flickr user, the other drive-in in Blanding was the Kigalia. There’s a photo of its weathered sign here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33237475@N05/5855645912/