Kapiolani Drive-In
801 Kaheka Street,
Honolulu,
HI
96814
801 Kaheka Street,
Honolulu,
HI
96814
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Consolidated Amusement Co. Ltd.
Architects: George M. Peterson
Previous Names: Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The Drive-In was opened August 14, 1949 with George Sanders in “The Moon and Sixpence” and Fredrick March in “So Ends Our Night”. It was the first drive-in theater in Hawaii. It was located on 50 acres between Kapiolani Boulevard and Kalakaua Avenue in what is today the Kapiolani business district. It closed as the Kapiolani Drive-In on April 29, 1962 with Laurence Harvey in “Walk on the Wild Side” & Tony Curtis in “The Outsider”. It was demolished on November 24, 1962.
A Holiday Mart department store would be built in its place before the Daiei company bought it sometime in the mid-1980’s, before being bought by the Don Quijote company in 2006.
Contributed by
John Book
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
August 14th, 1949 grand opening ad in the photo section.
Why the name Kapiolani?
Reason for closure is lease expiration. Closed with “Walk On The Wild Side” and “The Outsider” (unknown if extras added).
Architect was George M. Peterson of Cleveland
A trivial note is that the venue was only known as Drive-In Theatre (not Honolulu Drive-In Theatre) from August 14, 1949 to March 14, 1962. It was advertised as the Kapiolani Drive-In Theatre only for six weeks from March 15, 1962 to its end of lease closure on April 29, 1962. It was demolished on November 24, 1962. Toho Studios had purchased the land to show Asian films - including their own - to build hard-top suburban luxury theatre.