Berlin Drive-In

225 Wilbur Cross Highway,
Berlin, CT 06037

1500 cars

2 people favorited this theater

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The Berlin Drive-In was one of several terrific drive-ins on the Berlin Turnpike, which runs between Meriden and Hartford, CT. Before I-91 was completed in the early-1960’s, the Berlin Turnpike (US Route 5 and CT Route 15) was THE road between these two cities, and featured some tremendous 1950’s/1960’s googie architecture, neon, roadside attractions, and the like.

The Berlin Drive-In fit right in. It opened September 19, 1958 with Mickey Rooney in “Andy Hardy Comes Home” and Guy Madison in “Bullwhip”. It remained a first-run theater until sometime in the 1970’s, when the format changed to adult films exclusively. It was closed on December 31, 1987.

Demolished almost immediately in 1988 to make way for strip mall/big box development named Brickyard Plaza.

Contributed by Bob Whitworth

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

Roger Katz on December 22, 2004 at 5:51 am

I vaguely remember driving by the Berlin Drive-In once in it’s X-rated days just before it closed and seeing the screen and the fence. It was right down the road from the Hartford Drive-In and the Pike Drive-In. This would have been in the mid- to late-80’s.

SpikeSpiegel6262044 on January 31, 2006 at 5:29 pm

I remember the Berlin Drive-In, I was too young to see the movies there. Home Depot and a very good Chinese buffet place is there now.

kencmcintyre on November 4, 2008 at 10:45 pm

Here is an excerpt from the Hartford Courant dated May 11, 1968:

Theater Sold for $400,000

BERLIN — The Berlin Drive-in Theater at Rt. 5 and Deming Road, owned by Front Drive-In Theater Inc., has been sold to Darryl-Deb, Corp., according to records on file in the town clerk’s office.