Abington Drive-In
850 Adams Street,
Abington,
MA
02351
850 Adams Street,
Abington,
MA
02351
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 9 comments
Opened on August 1, 1959 with Lana Turner in “Imitation Of Life” and Audie Murphy in “No Name On The Bullet”.
A nostalgic feature about local drive-ins appeared in the Quincy Patriot Ledger, Sat. July 18, by Fred Hanson. He states that there were once live wrestling shows at the Abington Drive-in, but with no dates or details.
A more accurate address would be 850 Adams St. As the entrance (which still exists) is located here.
My older brother Roger Bruce worked at the theatre as a teen. His boss was a Marine stationed at the air base who managed the theatre as a side job…..I think he was a Sgt…..last name Garafolo. My family loved going there….was a real treat in those days. Noise from the air base was never an issue. Biggest issue was making sure you got in a spot with a good speaker. They were wired to a stand and you hooked the speaker on one of your slightly rolled down car windows. There was always a double feature. Once in a while mosquitoes would be a problem, but not often. Ah….the good old days!
In the “Ledger Archives” column in yesterday’s Quincy Patriot Ledger there is a very small reproduction of an ad for the Abington Drive-in from July 27, 1961. The feature movie was “The Alamo” with John Wayne; also a “Cartoon Carnival”. I think the tiny print says “on Route 58”. There is a phone number, and the ad says that the place opens at 7:30PM; show starts at 845PM (sunset in Boston on July 27 is at 809PM), and the feature starts at 935PM. The ad also states that children under 12 are admitted free.
812 Adams St, Abington, MA 02351
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is visible on Google Earth using historic aerial imagery.
Here is a 1969 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of HistoricAerials.com.
The section of Route 58 on which the drive-in was located is named Adams Street. The south end of the runways of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station were located just one-half mile east of the drive-in’s front gate. Must have been rather noisy there at times.
Any photos?
The lot occupied by the Abington Drive-In remained vacant for many years after it closed. Right into the 1990s one could still see the frame of the screen in back, and the 1950s-style marquee out on the edge of the street. The lot was full of saplings and bushes.