Grand Vu Drive-In
1119 Bonita Street,
Moab,
UT
84532
1119 Bonita Street,
Moab,
UT
84532
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Constructed By The Cartwright Construction Company Of American Fork (Who Had Constructed Over 60 Drive-Ins), The Grand Vu Opened Its Gates On April 15, 1954 With John Wayne In “Red River” With No Extras.
In 1976, The Indoor Grand Cinema Was Built As An Adjacent To The Grand-Vu Drive-In, Which Opened That September.
The Grand-Vu Drive-In Closed For The Final Time On October 17, 1985 With “Goonies” As Its Last Film.
As On That Point, The Grand Cinema Became The Only Theater For Moab Until Closing In 1990, Which Will Have Its CinemaTreasures Page Soon.
Looks like both the Grand Vu and Hill Top were built in 1954. Boxoffice, April 24, 1954: “The uranium boom in southeastern Utah has resulted in construction of two drive-ins at Moab … (whose) population has doubled in little more than a year”
250 cars.
There seems to be some confusion about the Grand Vu and the Hill Top Drive-Ins.
The entrance to the Hill Top was located at 1171 South Murphy Lane. It is the drive-in that sits behind the bowling alley. It was built in 1954, but was closed and demolished by 1968.
The former entrance road to the Grand Vu is now 1119 Bonita Street as the property is being developed. It was also built at the same time as the Hill Top, but lasted considerably longer. The screen was still standing in 1980, but it came down by 1997. It was also “covered in weeds” as stated in the description, but has now been totally demolished and prepped for construction.
I suggest that the address be changed in the description to 1119 Bonita Street, Moab UT as it is now a recognized road and pinpoints the old entrance.
An action sequence was shot here for the film NIGHTMARE AT NOON: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100261/locations
There were two completely different drive-ins in Moab. The Hill Top Drive-In was at 1101 Murphy Lane. The Grand Vu Drive-In was at 1382 Mill Creek Drive, as shown in the heading. Both drive-ins are visible on Google Earth using 1997 imagery, or even more visible on the Historic Aerials website using 1961 imagery.
The Grand Vu lasted longer. The Hilltop was slightly larger at 250 car, while the Grand Vu is listed as 214.