Midway Drive-In 1 & 2

8808 Beach Boulevard,
Jacksonville, FL 32216

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rivest266
rivest266 on May 21, 2024 at 3:12 pm

Opened by H. B. Meiselman on May 10th, 1961. Grand opening ad posted.

EFCMike
EFCMike on September 7, 2018 at 7:10 pm

When Eastern Federal twinned both the Fox and the Midway Drive-In, they installed AM Carrier Curent Sound and removed the speakers from all but the last few rows, you know the ones, the rows that the trunk slashers let their cargo out, and the rows with the rocking cars. They remained first run through the early 80’s. Then switched to the “B” movie, Zombie, Slasher soft core format. By 1984 they were Dollar Theatre running second run movies. They did out live the Midway Drive-In, which closed in mid 1984. The Fox closed not long into 1985, thus ending Eastern Federal’s Drive-In operations in Jacksonville, FL.

Treadwell
Treadwell on May 23, 2016 at 9:56 pm

Super 8 footage of the closed drive-in, days before demolition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOQp7QUPiRg

same footage also posted here: https://vimeo.com/80376622

Drive-In 54
Drive-In 54 on January 9, 2013 at 3:51 am

Uploaded aerial’s from 1970 and 1980.

Legalwife
Legalwife on January 8, 2013 at 7:47 pm

Midway Drive In was my first job. I was 14 and that was about 1970.

Johnnie
Johnnie on January 30, 2012 at 5:29 pm

I grew up in the Windy Hill area of Southside Jacksonville and remember the Midway drive-in very well. It was the place to go on a week night especially if you had a date, for less than 5 dollars you could get in buy a drink and popcorn and you were all set.Sure miss that experience.

NYozoner
NYozoner on January 25, 2011 at 10:58 pm

8808 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32216

The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now another Wamart monstrosity.

Here is a 1970 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of HistoricAerials.com.

Harvey
Harvey on June 27, 2008 at 4:45 am

Newspaper ads for films that played at the Fox and Midway Drive-Ins and theater times
here.

midway
midway on May 22, 2007 at 9:27 pm

Hi Vaughn,

My family has very deep roots with a lot of Jacksonville’s drive ins in the 60s and 70s. My favorite is the Midway. I loved that place. I have no pictures of her and would love to see if you located any of the films you took. I would like to e-mail you some how so we could talk more.

Harvey
Harvey on March 23, 2007 at 3:58 pm

I’m assuming you guys where there when they shot NIGHTMARE AT SHADOW WOODS aka BLOOD RAGE?

Vaughn
Vaughn on March 23, 2007 at 10:34 am

Troy,didn’t you find some old pictures/news clippings of when it opened back in the ‘50’s.Didn’t you tell me that Maralyn Monroe cut the ribbon on it when it opened?At any rate,I worked there too,part time and was really fond of it.I think the last movies I ran there were Blue Thunder on one screen and House of 1000 Pleasures on the other.

I have some super 8 films somewhere that I shot of the place during the daytime just before it was demolished.

Troy4u
Troy4u on March 20, 2007 at 6:54 pm

I was working there in the early/mid 80’s as a projectionist when we got the bad news from the district manager at a meeting there that the midway was closing but it might reopen which it never did.It was a very sad day for all of being that I grew very fond of that drive in.