Skagit Drive-In

I have records of a drive-in further up north in Burlington, that might be the Skagit drive-in. The address is the corner of Andis Rd. & Burlington Blvd. Which is the current home of the Burlington Outlet Mall. Cinematour also lists the same info.

I was a projectionist at the Skagit Drive In for one season in 1978. At the time, it was still owned by Eldon Pollack but was being leased and operated by Richard Babington who in addition leased and operated Pollack’s Lincoln Theatre in Mt. Vernon where I also worked. The Skagit was closed by the very early 1980’s. Confusion about the address is understandable, the theatre was north of the Skagit River (therefore outside Mt. Vernon City Limits) but in an area then mostly farmland and a few scattered businesses. Mt. Vernon was the closer and larger city at the time. Andis Road and Burlington Blvd. (then known as Highway 99) was the location. Strip Mall City today.

The Skagit had Ashcraft Super Cinex carbon arc lamps and Simplex E-7 projectors. It was still using speakers (no radio sound) at the time I worked there.

Drive-In 54…Sorry, the pictures I had are long gone. It was a pretty place, a grass field that had to be mowed weekly and surrounded by tall Poplar trees. Farmland on the South side, a half dozen or so houses along Andis road on the North side and the right of way for Interstate 5 on the West. The old highway (US99) and our entrance were on the East. The trees did a good job of screening us from the Interstate. The freeway was built just a few yards behind the screen tower nearly 10 years after the theater opened in 1950. The Snack Bar, Restrooms, Booth, Box Offices, and what had originally been a restaurant were all in one two story concrete building at the rear of the field. The Booth, former restaurant, and a two bedroom managers apartment were on the second floor. The restaurant space was unused by 1978 when I worked there. The booth was wall to wall and floor to ceiling glass on the front side. No privacy but great view of the pretty girls in the Summer. Everyone on the field had a good view into the booth as well.