Glendale 9 Drive-In
5650 N. 55th Avenue,
Glendale,
AZ
85301
5650 N. 55th Avenue,
Glendale,
AZ
85301
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The newspaper ad may have celebrated the opening on June 17, but it opened on June 13. I work at the home office for the drive-in and all our internal documents show we opened with free movies on June 13, 1979. Newspaper ad from June 13 shows the same. (Uploaded)
Please correct, theatre opened June 17, 1979, Syufy/Century added expanded to 9 screen on June 15, 1984, ad in photos section and West Wind Drive In took over operation on April 20, 2007 from Century Theatres (ad in photos section.
Added bpnus: You can still see the skeleton ramps of the Old Bird next to thd Glendale in aerials! Cool!😍😍
There is an overhead photo on the page for the nearby closed Thunderbird Drive-in.
There is also a swap meet there too(according to one of the photos in the photos section).
The theatre is essentially one large city block. Google it and give it a look-see. Original a 7-plex, screens 1 and 7 were divided to make the newer screens, it’s painfully obvious from the aerial shot.
It would be nice to see an overhead view (like from a drone) of the field layout. I’d like to see how they got 9 screens laid out. How many acres does this theater have?
Opened on screen 1 with “The great train robbery” and “Rocky 2” and screen 2 with “Jaws” and “The car” and screen 3 with “101 dalmations” and “The love bug” and screen 4 with “Superman” and “The deep” and screen 5 with “Butch and sundance the early years” and “The Duchess and Dirtwater Fox” and screen 6 with “Deer hunter” and “The boys in Company c” and screen 7 with “Game of death” and “Circle of iron”.
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.
June 13, 1979 grand opening ad in photo section.
Opened June 13, 1979.
Their web site lists the drive-in as all digital.
Designed as a 7-screen drive-in by Vincent Raney for Syufy Enterprises. This is one of the last Drive-Ins built by Syufy on 6/13/1979. It was later expanded into its current 9-screen configuration.
It is now operated as a West Wind drive-in.
http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/aztglen