Oceanside Drive-In
1823 Mission Avenue,
Oceanside,
CA
92058
1823 Mission Avenue,
Oceanside,
CA
92058
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Opened with “Smash Up” supported by two cartoons on December 16, 1948
The Oceanside’s final advertisement was on Tuesday, April 2, 1974, showing “From China With Death” and “Lust For a Vampire”. It was gone from the Siegels' ads the next day. In October that year, First Baptist Youth staged a haunted house in “the snack bar building at the old Oceanside Drive-In”.
I believe we have misnamed this drive-in. It ended its life as the Oceanside.
The 1968 Los Angeles Film Exchange directory included the Oceanside Drive-In, address 1823 Mission. It was run by Sero Amusement. (In the 1963 LA directory, it was listed as the Midway at the same address.) Its final entry in the Motion Picture Almanac’s annual drive-in list was Oceanside.
Oceanside’s North County Times ran a drive-in retrospective article on April 14, 2002. In it, one of the Siegel brothers said they operated but didn’t own the Midway on Mission Avenue. “The family ran that drive-in in the 1960s until the owner closed it and sold the land.”
In fact, I can’t find any evidence that the Midway/Oceanside was ever called the Vista, which was the name of a drive-in in Vista CA (less than 10 miles away) that also advertised in North County Times. LebowskiT1000 had the right address for that one, and it wasn’t Mission.
It May Have Opened As Early As December 16, 1948. A Few Ads Survive A Few Days Earlier Than That.
Aerial photos show the 1823 Mission Avenue drive-in by 1953, then redeveloped between 1978 and 1980.
And this ad from 1948 shows that back then, it was advertising as the Mission Drive-In.
The aerial shot shown is better addressed as 2095 W Vista Way, Vista, CA and just across the line from Oceanside
The aerial photo on this listing is of the Vista Drive-In, and should be removed. I’m fairly certain this entire listing should be removed.
The three drive-ins in the vicinity of Oceanside were named the Midway Drive-In, the Valley Drive-In, and the Vista Drive-In.
Thanks Scott, I guess I didn’t look thru all the DI’s in Oceanside. At least I’ll be able to shoot some new pics of the interior to share.
That’s the Valley-Drive In at 340 Mission Ave.
There is a drive-in at 3480 Mission Ave. that is now a swap meet. It looks like it has 3 screens, website is oceansideswapmeet.com. I will try and find out more info next month when I’m down there on vacation.
I believe this theater should be labeled “The Vista Drive-In”
Here is a link to a pic of it: http://www.drive-ins.com/pictures/catvist001.jpg
And it was located on the corner of Thunder Drive and W. Vista Way on the eastern edge of Oceanside, CA.
I remember when it closed in the mid ‘70’s. We had haunted houses in the concession stand/projector room for a few years until they tore it down in 79.
The address listed for this theater was 1823 Mission Avenue. The MiraCosta College Community Learning Center (1831 Mission Ave.) is currently at that location next to an Arby’s restaurant. The theater was presumably torn down in the 70s (or late 60s?), and a Big Bear grocery store occupied the space for two or three decades.