South Shore Plaza Twin Drive-In
400 Forbes Road,
Braintree,
MA
02184
400 Forbes Road,
Braintree,
MA
02184
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I love that sign
EARLY DAYS AS AN ASST. MANAGER OF OUR CINEMAS I DID TIME HERE ONE LONG LONG SUMMER, THEN RETURNED TO WERE MY HEART WAS THE CINEMAS, THIS DRIVE-IN WAS A VERY VERY HIGH GROSSER IN ITS TIME, AND WAS A LANDMARK FROM THE HIGHWAY 128, EVEN ALL THESE YEARS LATER WHILE CLOSE, THE GROUNDS ARE USED FOR A PARK AND RIDE NOW
Other drive-ins to close in the Boston area besides the ones listed above were in these areas. West Roxbury, Ouintree(Quincy/Braintree line,the Meadow Glen, Abington and the Weymouth Twin. There may be others.
A few days ago I was driving compass-East on the Interstate (ex- Rt 128)in Braintree and looked over to my right at just the right moment and saw the huge Drive-in screen still standing, looking slightly ratty.
I worked there part time while in high school around 1970. My jobs were to clean up the fields from the previous nights' visitors. Also did some speaker maintenance. I got $1.65 per hour. Finding money was not all that uncommon nor was coming across used condoms. We saw several movies there in the 60’s as I was growing up in Braintree.
This opened on July 22nd, 1960.
Approx. address for this drive-in was further north @ 262 Forbes.
When the drive-in was open, the road ended at the box office.
The June 2 1987 article also pointed out that within the past decade (1977-87) drive-in cinemas had also closed in Marshfield, Kingston, Dedham, Canton, Brockton, Avon and Boston.
The “Ledger Archives” column of today’s Quincy Patriot Ledger mentions an item from June 2, 1987. It reports that General Cinemas has said that the South Shore Plaza Twin Drive-In is closed and will not reopen. Closing drive-in cinemas is a “trend” the article says, which also mentions that the cinema was more than 25 years old.
dickneeds111..you can add the drive-ins yourself. Just go to the bottom of the page to the submit your favorite link.
Can someone please add the Avon Drive-in to Cinema Treasures. It was the best Drive-in in the Boston Area. Huge Screen, good food. Also the Marshfield Drive-in which was a 1st run Drive-In. Small. Good size screen and great food, Easy in and out.
Yes Ron, that was definately in August 86 when i was there. They must of closed it for good at seasons end.
This drive-in was a staple of my early youth.
In the mid 70’s, I saw The Poseidon Adventure though I fell asleep. Saw Star Wars during initial run in ‘77 and a year later (remember seeing the classic “D” poster in the concession stand). I saw ALIEN there in 1979; my dad worked as a security guard at an office building next door and saw the Chestburster scene half a dozen times before seeing the full film! Mad Max played there in 1979/80, according to an ad I remember seeing in a local paper.
I do remember vividly being able to see one of the screens from 128.
Every time I’ve used the Logan Shuttle, I’m sad to see that it’ll never come back again.
400 Forbes Rd, Braintree, MA 02184
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in, which is now occupied by a park-and-ride lot to Logan Airport.
Here is a 1969 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of HistoricAerials.com.
The Quincy Patriot Ledger had an article about “open air” movies in its edition of Aug. 16, 2008. It says that the South Shore Plaza Twin Drive-In “on Route 128” closed in 1986. This confirms the posting above by JonanthaninRandolph who believes that the place closed shortly after his visit in August 1986.
Yeah i visited this Drive-in i use to drive to Boston for my concession products and always taught i would have liked to have linked up to run that drive in how ever i never have i came to Florida with a goal in mind to Open a Drive In but never financial could I instead went to work For the worlds Largest Entertainment Giant Yes you guessed it Walt Disney World
Been employed three years For Disney miss the Theaters would like to hook up with some partners to get back in Theatre
When i was 12, i went to the Drive-In in Braintree on a Sunday in August of 1986. It was believed to be one of the last runs that the drive in showed movies. Earlier that day there was a flea market held there and i was there with 2 friends and their uncle. I was asked if i wanted to come back that night to watch a movie and i said sure.
That night we saw 2 movies , “The Money Pit” & “Legal Eagles”. We watched it on the screen that still stands now. On the other screen thats no longer standing, the film “Ruthless People” was shown. Sadly the food there wasnt too good. The pizza was cold, the popcorn was stale and the soda was flat.
The screen that still stands has a piece missing that has fallen off. Theres decay forming with rust and small trees are growing in front of it. Back in the day , if you drive by the drive in, the screen that is still standing is clearly visible and you could catch about 10 seconds of whatever was shown as you drive towards Boston.
This twin-screen drive-in was wonderful during the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was clean and family friendly, with a nice children’s playground and a sizable snack bar in the center being shared by the viewers of each huge screen. I remember seeing “Cleopatra” here during its general release in the summer of 1964, a year or so after it first came out. I was surprised when it closed.
I recall that the picture on at least one of the two screens was visible from the southbound side of Route 128 (now part of I-93).