Canyon Drive-In
3805 SW 117th Avenue,
Beaverton,
OR
97005
3805 SW 117th Avenue,
Beaverton,
OR
97005
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The Canyon Drive-In opened on June 21, 1949 with Fred MacMurray in “Family Honeymoon” & Sonja Henie in “Countess of Monte Carlo”. It was located at 11601 Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. The operators that year were J.H. Sheffield and William Sinclair. Car capacity at that time was 500. The Canyon Drive-In closed in 1962.
It was relocated to 3805 SW 117th Avenue and opened in 1962. The Canyon Drive-In was operated by A.W. Adamson and had a 300-car capacity. It was closed on November 28, 1982 with Henry Winkler in “Night Shift” & Peter Gallagher in “Summer Lovers”.
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Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Back in the 50’s and 60’s, we used to drive from the Capitol Hill/Burlingame area, westbound, down the Bertha-Beaverton Highway, (Hwy 10), now called the Beaverton Hillsdale Highway and the entrance to the Canyon Drive In was/is now actually the north entrance to Hwy 217! All one has to do is figure out when they designed the freeway, demolished the surrounding businesses and constructed Hwy 217 to figure out the basic closing date of the drive-in. My gut says the very late 60’s/early 70’s. I’d love to see some old photos! I’ll keep looking!
Jim K
Portland, Oregon
(January 13, 2001)
I do have one of their speakers tho! I “acquired†it many, many years ago!
J
The Canyon drive in was first (1950’s) on land between Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy & Canyon Rd (near present day Fred Meyer store). It then moved across to the north side of Canyon Rd (near a mobile home park). There is a shopping complex on that site now. The theater was gone by mid 1970’s.
The Canyon Drive-in was around until at least the early 80s. I remember seeing USED CARS on the marquee.
Could anyone tell me who owned or operated the Canyon Drive-In back in 1966? I’m trying to locate a couple who took me in as my Mother abandoned me at their home. I have a name of Juanita Boldon but not certain if she and her husband were owners or care takers of the Drive In! Any information would truly help me!
A more accurate address for this theater is 3805 SW 117th Ave, Beaverton, OR 97005. Now Canyon Place Shopping Center.
Please update.
For Konnieann, the 1966 Motion Picture Almanac also listed A.W. Adamson as the owner. That’s probably who it was for the next couple of decades or as long as the Canyon was open.
Was the drive-in in a canyon?
The evidence is strong that there were two Canyons, this one about a half-mile north of the original.
Checking the aerial photos for 3805 SW 117th Avenue, Beaverton, that address was vacant in 1960, a drive-in in 1970 & 1981, then a shopping center parking lot in 1995.
On the other hand, the aerials also show another drive-in on old Oregon Highway 10, current address 11601 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton, OR 97005. That site was a drive-in in 1952 & 1960 but was gone in the 1970 aerial.
The 1951-66 Motion Picture Almanacs listed a Canyon Drive-In, capacity 500, owner A. W. Adamson. The 1977 MPA updated that capacity to 350. Since the MPA didn’t update much of anything from 1967-76, the move probably happened in the mid to late 1960s.
The original Canyon Drive-In, located on 11601 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton, OR 97005, opened its gates on June 21, 1949 with Fred MacMurray in “Family Honeymoon” and Sonja Henie in “Countless Of Monte Carlo” along with an unnamed cartoon, and was first operated by J.H. Sheffield and William G. Sinclair.
The original location closed in 1962 when the newer location, on 3805 SW 117th Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97005, opened at the same time a few streets to the north of its original location. What’s really cool about the Canyon Drive-In is that the theater also had a fruit-picking farm, which people can pick berries and fruits while waiting for the show to start. The Canyon Drive-In closed for the final time on November 28, 1982 with “Night Shift” and “Summer Lovers”.