20th Century Drive-In
2900 N. Dale Mabry Highway,
Tampa,
FL
33607
2900 N. Dale Mabry Highway,
Tampa,
FL
33607
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Showing 1 - 25 of 94 comments
Just posted photo of marquee and screen during demolition on January 9, 1981. Message on marquee: “Thanks for 35 years”.
Opened on 26/11/1952 with a cartoon(not named), news, a comedy(short?)(not named) and “At sword’s point” and “Two tickets to Broadway”. 600 cars. The apartment complex is Arbour Ponds.
Not that I remember
Did this drive-in only screen 2Oth Century Fox movies?
This opened on November 26th, 1952. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
It was not replaced by Kmart it was replaced by Apartment complex which is next to Kmart. back of drive In was on Himes. It was a wild time When Cheech n Chongs up in Smoke premiered there. Most people and Smoke I have ever seen in a Drive In….LOL
neat story, I stood outside in the parking lot and watched movies while my mom shopped at Forest Hills Drive-in, guess a bunch of kids did this.
I hadn’t noticed it in the aerial before but you’re right. I see the Biff Burger and the playground behind it. On several occasions when I couldn’t convince my parents to go to the drive-in, I had my father drop me off at Biff Burger. From the playground you had a nice view of the screen. Sitting on the swings I watched as the cars lined up at the box-office wishing I was in one of them as they entered the theatre. Although you could barely hear the movie from the playground it was the next best thing to actually being inside the drive-in!
If you zoom in on the 1969 historic aerial at the link the NYozoner posted, you can see just below and right of the Dale Mabry entrance marqee, the Biff Burger restaurant so popular with the drive-in patrons. You can even see the striped rooftop. Immediately behind it (to the right), is the triangular shaped playground.
I forgot about the curve but you’re right. The Mustang did have a curved screen. I think if you were to cut about a 4th off the top of the Mustang’s screen it would then be true scope projection.
These drive-ins in Tampa also had a curved steel screen installed that replaced their original screens: Dale Mabry, Skyway, and Hillsboro. The Dale Mabry and Hillsboro were 100-foot wide and the Skyway was 60-foot wide. These screens were also tilted slightly downward at an angle aimed towards the booth for a more direct projection throw and better viewing from ground level.
The screen at the Mustang had a curve to it. I lived in Tampa when it was open and than when it was a flea market. The 20th Century had a true wide scope screen even though when I first went to Tampa in 77 it was panavision projection.
I would say very close to scope although not true CinemaScope. As I understand it original CinemaScope had a ratio of 2 to 1 but the process was later refined to a less wider image, and Panavision eventually replaced CinemaScope. Although the Mustang’s screen was larger it still doesn’t look quite as wide as the 20th Century’s. So I’d say the 20th Century had true scope capability with the Mustang coming close.
Check out the Mustang page on CT under Pinellas Park. Just yesterday someone posted a short YouTube video showing the lot when it was a flea market. The 120-foot wide screen is still standing. It looks massive but not quite as wide as the 20th Century’s screen.
Any outdoor screen over 100 feet wide would almost have to be scope.
Do you know if the Mustang was capable of showing films in true scope?
According to an ad in Box-Office magazine from 1964, the screen at the 20th Century Drive-In was in excess of 110 feet wide. Certainly one of the largest at the time until the Mustang D/I opened in St. Petersburg with its 120-foot wide steel screen that they proudly advertised.
This was the only theater in Tampa that had a screen big enough to show films in true scope. Actually I remember reading that it was one of the largest drive in sceens in the United States.
Nick, when you get on Facebook i am putting alot of my theatres pics on,get on,along with cinematreasures great place to meet theatre folks.
Thanks Nick.
It certainly does bring back plenty of great memories. And in contrast to the image above here’s what the property looks like today…54 years later:
View link
Image should enlarge to super-size by clicking on image and then clicking “view all sizes” on upper right.
Man, does that bring back good memories!
Thanks, Nick –
Aerial dated 1957. One of Tampa’s largest drive-ins:
View link
Thanks for the link NYozoner!! Thought I’d never again see the 20th Century…very nice.
Dick: You’re right. The east-west roadway entrance from Dale Mabry still exists today as the entrance to the apartment complex although it’s now dressed with medians & trees. There was also a second entrance to the drive-in from Columbus Drive which is visible in the image.
The aerial provided by NYozoner shows 4 different views of the drive-in site over a 38-year period.
One thing these views show is that the current east-west drive leading from Dale Mabry to today’s apartment complex is the same drive that led to the drive-in theatre entrance back then. The only thing different is that today’s drive includes median islands with trees, which I don’t think the old drive had.
Thanks for posting the map link, NYozoner!
2901 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33607
The above address will map more accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is currently occupied by Arbour Ponds Apartment Homes. The current heading address maps to the adjacent property occupied by K-Mart.
Here is a 1969 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of HistoricAerials.com.
Perhaps my recollection of the theatre on 22nd Street as being the Causeway Drive-In Theatre is incorrect. That was a long time ago, and I lived in another part of town.