Tri-City Drive-In
25352 Redlands Boulevard,
Loma Linda,
CA
92354
25352 Redlands Boulevard,
Loma Linda,
CA
92354
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Pacific Theatres
Previous Names: Drive-In, 99 Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The Drive-In opened August 20, 1939 with Fredric March in Trade Winds" & Robert Armstrong in “The Girl Said No”. It was closed in 1940. It reopened January 1, 1947 renamed 99 Drive-In.
On November 28, 1949 it was renamed Tri-City Drive-In. The tower had a picture of a ski jumper. Some listings put the theatre in Redlands as well. The Tri-City Drive-In was closed on September 6, 1993 with Harrison Ford in “The Fugitive” & Jason James Richter in “Free Willy”.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 21 comments)
This drive-in might be the drive-in seen in an episode of the tv series Chips(season 3, episode 6 – Return of the supercycle)?
First newspaper ad as Tri-City Drive-In (from the San Bernardino County Sun) was November 28, 1949
Whoever is responsible for making changes, please change the date of the first newspaper ad as Tri-City to November 28, 1948. Once the change is made, I will delete this and the previous comment. My apologies for the error
The Tri-City’s final night of operation was September 6, 1993 with “The Fugitive” and “Free Willy”
Opened with “Trade winds”, and “The Girl said no”. Demolished(date unknown?). Now an empty field. Address is Highway 99, at Richardson Street.
What became the Tri-City was advertising as the 99 Drive-In in 1940. The “99” was featured in its ads after it reopened in 1947 until it became the Tri-City, which was Nov. 28, 1948 according to DriveIn101 above.
It’s not an empty field, the decaying ramps still exist along with the trees on the outline of the site. The entry/exit still exists as well.
As another poster mentioned, before it changed to the 99, this place had its grand opening as simply Drive-In Theatre.
Boxoffice, March 30, 1940: “Colton, Cal. - M. A. Rogers and Thomas Burgess have been sued by Park-In Theatres, Inc., of Camden, N. J., on charges of patent infringement in connection with a Drive-In Theatre they operate here.”
The screen was still standing in 1994, but by 2002 it had been demolished as well.
One interesting bit is a rectangular concrete foundation on the SE side of the drive-in connected to the entrance road. Nothing existed in that spot up to the 1985 aerial, but in the 1994 aerial a section of trees was removed and by 2002 the foundation appears. It’s as if something was planned to be built there (foundation for a cellphone tower or small shop perhaps), but never going beyond that stage.
Rather surprising that the property hasn’t been developed. At least in my experience, drive-ins located within growing cities in California quickly become businesses or housing editions.
https://tinyurl.com/8k58j6bv
Soon after Park-In sued Rogers and Burgess, but before being renamed, the drive-in reopened on May 1, 1940 under new management. My guess is that the new owner, R. N. Elder, had a Park-In license.
A short article in the San Bernardino County Sun noted, “Improvements have been made at the outdoor theater and the entire parking area has been enclosed by fence.”