Farmington Drive-In
Scott Swamp Road and Florence Way,
Farmington,
CT
06032
Scott Swamp Road and Florence Way,
Farmington,
CT
06032
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Hector Frascadore may have run the Farmington for all of its life. His Hartford Courant obituary ran two days after he died on June 23, 1991. It said that Frascadore, a Bristol resident for most of his life, ran Hector’s Market there until he became co-owner and operator of the drive-in in 1951. He retained that position “until 1985 when he retired.” That matches the apparent closure date.
Looks like the Farmington opened in mid-July 1951.
Boxoffice’s roundup of new drive-ins in its Feb. 17, 1951, showed the Bristol under construction in Farmington, owner E. M. Loew, capacity 750 cars.
The Exhibitor wrote on June 13, 1951, “Opening of E. M. Loew’s Farmington Drive-In, now nearing completion, is slated for July 4.” On July 14, 1951, Boxoffice wrote, “The Farmington Drive-In, an E. M. Loew enterprise, was set for opening by July 15.” The same day, Motion Picture Herald’s story was “E. M. Loew’s Theatres have opened the newly-constructed $200,000 Farmington drive-in, Farmington, Conn. Hector Frascadore, ex-acting manager, Hartford drive-in, Newington, Conn., is manager.” And in the July 18 issue of the Exhibitor, it wrote, “The $200,000 Farmington Drive-In, latest in the E. M. Loew Circuit, opened for business managed by Hector Frascadore, who formerly served as acting manager, Hartford Drive-In, Newington.”
Was actually open as early as 1951 and looks like it closed in 1985.
Florence Way is actually the name of the old entrance/exit roads used for the condo development, that’s a more accurate address IMO.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 350 Scott Swamp Rd. The entrance and exit are used for the condos that replaced the theatre.
Scott Swamp Rd & Florence Way, Farmington, CT 06032
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in.
Here is a 1965 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS.
The drive-in had nineteen rows for cars and one screen. On a typical summer weekend two lines would form at the ticket gate and extend out onto Scott Swamp Rd. (route 6) for about a quarter mile. Also the consession stand had two serving lines running, but you never saw the end of the lines until after one in the morning. During the mid sixties, when I worked there, car heaters were also installed to allow year round operation.
This drive-in was on Scott Swamp Rd. in Farmington.