Van Nuys Drive-In

15040 Roscoe Boulevard,
Van Nuys, CA 91343

Unfavorite 14 people favorited this theater

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Pacific Theatres

Architects: William Glenn Balch, Louis L. Bryan

Firms: Balch & Bryan

Nearby Theaters

Van Nuys Drive-In

The Van Nuys Drive-In was one of many Pacific drive-ins that had murals on their screen towers. The Van Nuys Drive-In opened on July 30, 1948 with Joel McCrea in “Buffalo Bill” & Annabella in “Wings of the Morning”. It parked 891 cars. It lost its mural and original screen tower when it became a tri-plex drive-in on June 24, 1983.

During its last year, it was the last drive-In located in the valley area of Los Angeles. As Pacific Theatres closed the theater on September 2, 1996, its marquee said “closed for the season”. That next season never came.

The Van Nuys Drive-In sat empty for a few years and was being used to store cars from a nearby dealership. It was demolished in the late-1990’s.

As of October 2002, the Vineland Drive-In, Pacific’s last drive-in theater, is the closest ozoner to the valley and Los Angeles proper following the closures of the Azusa Drive-In and 101 Drive-In.

Contributed by William Gabel

Recent comments (view all 30 comments)

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 27, 2015 at 6:21 pm

1963 photo added courtesy of the Y-Block Guy Facebook page.

Chris1982
Chris1982 on November 1, 2015 at 11:30 pm

Same photo is located on the Cinema Retro Blog.

rivest266
rivest266 on July 30, 2019 at 6:39 pm

Featured in “Once upon a time in Hollywood” must be a computer model.

rivest266
rivest266 on July 30, 2019 at 7:32 pm

Opened July 30th, 1948. Grand opening ad posted

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on July 30, 2019 at 8:40 pm

Opened with “Buffalo Bill” and “Wings of the morning”.

fred1
fred1 on July 31, 2019 at 5:26 am

This theater was featured in the film Once Upon a time in Hollywood

kennerado
kennerado on September 13, 2019 at 4:38 pm

The school that was built on the site, Vista Middle School appears to have a tribute to the drive-in with its logo of a cowboy on a horse.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 28, 2019 at 3:53 pm

Reopened as a triplex drive-in on June 24th, 1983. Grand opening ad posted.

rivest266
rivest266 on December 2, 2019 at 1:38 am

Last day of operation: September 2nd, 1996

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on January 18, 2020 at 2:53 pm

Vintage Los Angeles Facebook link with photos of the miniature replica built for “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”. Click through for 4 photos total.

https://www.facebook.com/VintageLosAngeles/photos/pcb.2810690812320953/2810689342321100/?type=3&theater

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.