Terrace Drive-In
451 Alemany Boulevard,
San Francisco,
CA
94112
451 Alemany Boulevard,
San Francisco,
CA
94112
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Robert L. Lippert Theatres Inc.
Architects: Gale Santocono
Nearby Theaters
The Terrace Drive-In was opened May 29, 1951 and was the first drive-in to open in San Francisco. It was operated by Robert L. Lippert Theatres Inc. It was a short lived venture as it had been closed and demolished by 1956.
Contributed by
Robert Burns
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
So when did it open?
According to one source I found, the Terrace Drive-In was open in 1951. A 1946 aerial photo shows no drive-in on the property, so it must have been built between those two years.
However, it did not last very long as a 1956 aerial photo shows it to be demolished. A victim apparently of the construction of HWY 280 and HWY 101 which cut off its entrance road.
Today, housing takes up most of the property, although there is a small corner where the screen once sat that is still open.
I knew that in 1951..Hope we can get date that it opened.
This opened on May 29th, 1951. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Boxoffice, June 9, 1951: “Robert L. Lippert’s new Terrace Drive-In, which opened here (in San Francisco) recently, is an unusual theatre installation. Instead of scooping out the earth to provide the customary flat surface, designer Gale Santocono tailored a drive-in to fit San Francisco’s hilly contour. The parking area resembles an amphitheatre.”
On Feb. 2, 1952, Boxoffice ran a two-page spread on the Terrace with plenty of photos, mostly illustrating how the drive-in used a San Francisco hillside in its construction.
Closed on January 31, 1954 with Robert Taylor in “All The Brothers Were Valant” and Rock Hudson in “Back To God’s Country” (unknown if extras added). The 1956 aerial view confirms that the screen is gone, meaning that this is EXTREMELY short-lived.