UA Starlite Drive-In
2659 E. Gerard Avenue,
Merced,
CA
95341
2659 E. Gerard Avenue,
Merced,
CA
95341
3 people
favorited this theater
The Starlite Drive-In opened on November 11, 1949 with Betty Grable in “The Beautiful Blond from Bashful Bend” & James Cagney in “The Fighting 69th”. Located on the Southeast end of town, the Starlite Drive-In was built and operated by United Artists.
Unlike many of UA’s drive-ins, which closed in the mid to late-1970’s, the Starlite Drive-In hung in there until closing in 1984.
While the theatre is long gone, the faded and rusted marquee remained, just east of Highway 99, until 2005.
Contributed by
Jason
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
The sign mentioned above is exactly identical to that of the Starlite Drive-In in Watsonville, demolished in the 1980s.
The aforementioned marquee was removed during the 2005 winter. No trace of this drive-in remains.
Here is the marquee:
http://tinyurl.com/24lmcr8
Approx. address for this drive-in was 2659 East Gerard Avenue.
At age 4 or 5 I saw my first movie at the Starlite! They showed the original 101 Dalmatians (1961) sometime around the summer of 1968 or 1969. My parents packed the station wagon with snacks and my sister (2 years my junior) and we proceeded to have the time of our young lives watching Cruella DeVil get her comeuppance at the paws of those cute little puppies. Later we repeated the experience with The Nutty Professor (1963) and the unforgettable Son of Flubber (1963). How cool it was to have seen those comedy classics at a quintessential drive-in like the Starlite?! Of course we “graduated” to more daring fare during our high school years (1978-1982) when our movie ticket stubbs “proved” to our parents we actually went to the drive-in. They probably knew we drank our share of beer and steamed the windows of our cars while “watching” the movies, but they were drive-in veterans, especially my mom who grew up in “American Graffiti-era” Modesto, CA. I tip my cap to all of you who got to experience this time-honored cinematic tradition, and to the great Joe Bob Briggs, who kept us all abreast on the gradual decline of drive-ins all over America.
an aerial from 1958 from historic aerial.com shows this drive-in was open in 1958. please update!
Opened November 11th, 1949. Grand opening ad posted.
Closed 1984.