Oakland Drive-In
15401 E. 14th Street,
San Leandro,
CA
94577
15401 E. 14th Street,
San Leandro,
CA
94577
3 people
favorited this theater
The Oakland Drive-In was opened on February 18, 1948 with Esther Williams in “Easy to Wed”. It was actually located in San Leandro off E. 14th Street near the Bayfair Mall. The Stadium Drive-In was its neighbor. In later years it was merged with the Stadium Drive-In and specialized in action fare. It was closed by United Artists around 1976. The lot turned into more retail.
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scottfavareille
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The Oakland and Stadium Drive ins were wonderful places to go during the summer. They used to show 3 movies and charged $2.00 per car. I used to collect three girls and the four of us stopped by a pizza place to buy an extra large sized pizza and two packs of soda. We hid them in the car trunk and each one of us chipped in 50 cents to pay for the entrance. It was so much fun!
The sites now are nothing but a huge shopping center. The trees are still there.
The Oakland and the Stadium DI played a number of major films during the 1960’s. In fact it had a day-n-date exlcusive run with the downtown Oakland Roxie of “Whos Afraid of Virginia Wolf?”,after it had played a few weeks. Both of these DI were my favorite DI to see a film.brucec
The Oakland and the Stadium DI played a number of major films during the 1960’s. In fact it had a day-n-date exlcusive run with the downtown Oakland Roxie of “Whos Afraid of Virginia Wolf?”,after it had played a few weeks. Both of these DI were my favorite DI to see a film.brucec
I loved the Oakland Drive In! I liked it better than the Stadium. The Stadium in the last 60’s was showing goody two shoes first run while the Oakland showed triple bills of the best late 50’s 60’s horror movies. The one triple bill I will never forget was “The Screaming Skull” “Kronos” and “Kon Tiki The Immortal Monster”. The screen on the Oakland was even bigger than the stadium and had big trees bouncing behind it. During the intermission the screen had three huge light bulbs when lit up, would blind your eyes out! They had a timeclock, and played supremes music! It went mild porn for awhile in 1969, playing the same films that were shown at the Fox Oakland! Movies like “all the loving couples” and “carmen baby” It was sad when it was torn down. I can still see the Green Neon Sign saying “drive in theatre”. oh those memories
The Daily Review of 6/15/64 lists the address as 152nd and E. 14th Street. The phone number was EL 1-7030. The features that day were Boris Karloff in “Black Sabbath”, “House of the Damned” and “The Evil Eye”. The Stadium Auto Movie was listed at 154th and E 14th and had the same phone number.
Above address is incorrect. The entrance is now Fairmount Dr. extended to Hesperian Blvd. Approx. address for this drive-in was 15401 E. 14th Street.
At some point, the Oakland and Stadium drive-ins merged. The 1977 Motion Picture Almanac had the first drive-in list to notice, calling it the “U A Stadium Drive In 3”, capacity 1100. But as early as 1972, the United Artists circuit entry in the MPA included the “Stadium/Oakland D.I.” in San Leandro.
The combined entry’s last appearance in the MPA was the 1979 edition, suggesting it closed in 1978 or earlier.
The Oakland was open by 1948, since it was included in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog. Its address was 15065 East 14th Street, and it was owned by Guy W. Meek, Western Drive-In Theatres, Inc.
Exhibitor, June 7, 1950: “David J. Bolton, an executive of the Trans-California Theatres, Inc., acquired the Oakland Drive-In, San Leandro, Cal., formerly owned by Guy Meek.”
This opened six days after the Stadium Auto Movie. The Oakland Drive-In opened its gates on February 18, 1948 with Esther Williams in “Easy To Wed” along with an unnamed cartoon and a few shorts. United Artists was its last operator, and was still open in 1976 but may’ve closed around that same year. The neighboring Stadium Automovie continued operating until October 25, 1977.