Governor Ritchie Drive-In
6716 Ritchie Highway,
Glen Burnie,
MD
21061
6716 Ritchie Highway,
Glen Burnie,
MD
21061
2 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: E.M. Loew's Theaters Inc.
Previous Names: E.M. Loews Richie Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The Governor Ritchie Drive-In opened May 14, 1939 showing the movie “Gunga Din” starring Cary Grant. It was owned by E.M. Loew Theaters of Boston. This single screen drive-in had a capacity for 500 cars. The Governor Ritchie Drive-In closed on December 18, 1983 with “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “48 Hours”, and has been demolished.
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Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
6716 Ritchie Hwy, Glen Burnie, MD 21061
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in.
Here is a 1966 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS.
If I remember correctly, it officially closed in 1982 or 1983.
I lived just around the corner from this theater on Furnace Branch Road and you could see the entire screen from my backyard. I can’t count the number of nights I sat on the hill in my yard and watched Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, The Incredible Melting Man and who knows how many others, all without sound of course. I think the only time I officially went there was to see the original Rocky with a friend and his mom. She wanted to beat the traffic out so we left 5 minutes before the movie ended and she told us, “Don’t worry, he wins”. At school the next day, everyone treated us like idiots because we thought he had won the fight. Man, what memories.
By the way, it closed a week before Christmas in ‘83. Last double feature was An Officer and a Gentleman and 48 Hours.
This opened on May 14th, 1939. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
“Was there a governor called ritchie?”
Albert Cabell Ritchie was governor of Maryland from 1920 to 1935.
Final night of operation with the aforementioned films was December 18, 1983
Site is now Redbox and Shoprite.
From the Theatres For Sale section of the want ads in the Jan. 2, 1961 issue of BoxOffice:
Gov. Ritchie Theatre, 700-car drive-in theatre in continuous operation since 1939 on Ritchie Highway 3 miles south of Baltimore. Highly profitable theatre including choice commercial frontage. Stockholders' deadlock has forced sale by public auction to be held January 25, 1961. For full information write Gov. Ritchie Theatre, Inc., P. O. Box 25, Glen Burnie, Maryland.