Boulevard Drive-In
1532 S. Woodland Boulevard,
DeLand,
FL
32720
1532 S. Woodland Boulevard,
DeLand,
FL
32720
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In addition, part of the old entrance road still exists as well.
Although most of the property is occupied by what looks like a retirement villa, you can still see some of the ramps on the western side.
In the March 2, 1970 issue of Boxoffice, Martin Theatres president C. L. Patrick announced that his company had acquired a bunch of theaters from Floyd Enterprises. Among them was the Boulevard in “De Land.”
Looks like the Boulevard was open by 1951. And there’s a second drive-in that will need a separate listing in DeLand.
The 1949-50 Theatre Catalog listed the De Land Outdoor Th. as the only drive-in in DeLand at the time. Capacity 300, execs R. E. Hawker and H. W. Alexander.
The first Motion Picture Almanac list in the 1950-51 edition included the “Outdoor Drive-In” in DeLand, owner H. W. Alexander.
The Aug. 8, 1951 issue of The Exhibitor wrote that W. A. “Bill” and Dorothy Tison bought the Deland(sic) Outdoor from E. G. Hawkers.
The 1951-76 MPAs listed both the Outdoor (capacity 300) and the Boulevard (400, owner Leroy Johnson at first, then Floyd Theatres).
The 1952 Catalog listed the Boulevard as DeLand’s only drive-in, capacity 400, exec: LeRoy Johnson.
The 1955-56 Catalog listed both the Boulevard (exec: Carl Floyd) and the Dixie (capacity 260, execs: Eugene Wulfekuhler and Floyd Stowe) for DeLand. Was that Dixie really in some other town?
The 1977 MPA finally dropped the Deland Outdoor, leaving just the Boulevard, then with a capacity of 300. That’s how it stayed through the final MPA drive-in list in 1988.
Here’s an article from the Orlando Sentinel when The Boulevard Drive-in closed in 1993: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-08-12/news/9308110811_1_boulevard-drive-in-screen-operators
Based on this the last two movies shown were “No Where to Run” and “Dracula”. For me the last movie I saw there in high school was “Soap Dish”. Also based on the article it indicates the reason for it closing was “the screen was torn during a storm that caused extensive damage in the area in March (1993). Floyd Theaters officials had considered costs for repairing the screen before deciding against continuing the operation.”
1957 aerial photo posted here.
I moved away from the area about the time they closed. I’m glad my daughter was old enough to be able to remember how much fun it was to go there. We’d pack a picnic & made an evening of it when she was 4 & 5. It’s a shame they closed. I have a lot of happy memories of that place.