Parkway Auto Movies

300 Denman Road,
Petaluma, CA 94952

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Parkway Auto Movies

The Parkway Auto Movies was opened on June 24, 1964 with James Darren in “For Those Who Think Young” & William Holden in “Paris When it Sizzles”. It was closed in 1986 and had been demolished by 1993. By 2005 the site had become a golf driving range.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 2 comments)

Kenmore
Kenmore on January 25, 2025 at 9:09 pm

A closer address is 300 Denman Rd, Petaluma, CA.

A 1968 aerial shows that Drive-In Road was the original entrance road to the drive-in which connected to Denman Road. At that time, Denman Road connected to the highway, but now is cut off. The current address of the property itself is 200 Stoney Point Road.

The drive-in was totally demolished by 1993. By 2005 it had become a golf driving range. There is no trace of the drive-in remaining save for the aforementioned entrance road which is now Drive-In Road.

https://tinyurl.com/455sh7ex

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on January 26, 2025 at 4:44 am

John Patrick Sheehy wrote a length article about his city’s theaters at PetalumaHistorian.com. Here are some Parkway notes:

“I was nine years old when Petaluma’s first drive-in, the Parkway Auto Movies, opened in the summer of 1964 … Built in the lowlands of Denman Flats north of town, the drive-in was plagued in summer with creeping ground fog and flooded in winter during heavy rainstorms … The Parkway’s screen had its back to the freeway, but looked out upon Stony Point Road, a rural lane that was often lined with parked cars during X-rated showings … Rising land prices and the continued transition to home video brought an end to the Parkway in 1986, taking with it what had once been a way of life for families and teenagers in Petaluma. The site was eventually converted into a golf driving range."

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