Welcome aboard the Delorean! Marty McFly here to take you on a journey to the Canoga Park, Laurel (Pacoima), Pickwick (Burbank), Reseda, San Val (Burbank), Sepulveda (Van Nuys), Van Nuys, Victory (North Hollywood), and Winnetka 6 (Chatsworth) Drive-Ins. The Delorean has the required plutonium plus some random garbage in the Mr. Fusion reactor ready for this trip. The time circuits are set to various dates in the 50's and 60's (actual date unknown) and the flux capacitor is......fluxxing. The engine is running (not stalled this time) so we need to hurry. Hang on, as the ride can be a little bumpy as we travel back in time to explore the Drive In Theatres of the San Fernando Valley.
The Drive-In Theatres were a place of escapement and freedom as one could enjoy the latest movie release within the comfort of one's car free to do whatever they want. These theatre's became highly popular in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's especially in suburbia where the automobile became your means of escape. The SFV was exploding in growth in the post WWII era and the Drive-In theatre was a perfect match with wide open spaces necessary to build such a large setting. And more importantly, there was sufficient vehicle traffic to fill up the slots.
However, its success was slowly met with failure as 1) theatres were short changed due to people hiding in backseats and refreshments purchased elsewhere than the snack bar which was usually a 20 minute ordeal, 2) the true movie experience was never fully realized with the horrible speakers and picture quality compared to an indoor experience, 3) films could only be shown at night adding further to the revenue loss although some would host swap meets during the day, and 4) the land became more lucrative than the theatre itself prompting owners to eventually sell to today's mini-malls, industrial parks, schools, parking lots, and even a freeway.
From Kevin Roderick's
America's Suburb: San Fernando Valley book (page154):
Under The Stars. At the height of their popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, eight drive-in movie theaters operated in the Valley. Shows began each night "at dusk," the films projected onto giant outdoor screens. Countless Friday night dates were spent in automobiles parked in the back rows of the Pickwick, the Victory, the San Val and the Laurel in the east Valley, and the Reseda and the Canoga in the west. Not a single drive in screen remains.
This Back To The Future (BTTF) post is slighlty different than other posts as we will explore the past and present of the San Fernando Valley Drive-In Theatres starting in alphabetical order.
Canoga Park Drive-In
Address: Canoga Avenue and Strathern Street, Canoga Park
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 1,200
Operated by: Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1960
Closed: (unknown) sometime in the mid-70's
Replaced by: Industrial park near the new Metro Orange Line
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| Image courtesy Historicaerials.com; The Canoga Park Drive-In Theatre shown in 1977 completely demolished. |
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| Image courtesy Historicaerials.com; The Canoga Park Drive-In Theatre shown in 1978 with industrial park built. |
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| Image courtesy Google Maps; The former Canoga Park Drive-In Theatre shown today |
Laurel Drive-In
Address: 10770 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Pacoima
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 1700
Operated by: Unknown
Opened: est. early 1950's
Closed: est. early 1970's
Replaced by: 118 Freeway
Comments: With its location next to the San Fernando High School football field, Friday nights would be difficult to watch and listen to movies as a game was going on nearby. This site was used for an episode of Dragnet Season 4, Disc 1, Episode 2 for about about 5 seconds in the intro of Jack Webb's "This is the City."
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| Image courtesy Historicaerials.com; Showing 1969 before it was demolished with SFHS football field in upper left corner |
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| Image courtesy Google Maps; Showing former Laurel Drive-In today |
Pickwick Drive-In
Address: 1100 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 781
Operated by: Originally Cal-Pac Drive-In Theatres, Inc, later Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1949
Closed: 1989
Replaced by: Rancho Marketplace Shopping Center
Comments: Best known for the premiere of Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles where guests were led in on horses. Was featured in the following TV shows and films; He's a Cockeyed Wonder with Mickey Rooney (1950),
Grease,
The Rockford Files - Episode: The No-Cut Contract (1976),
Knight Rider - Episode: Sky Knight, Blue Thunder starring Roy Scheider, Christine featuring Keith Gordon, The Outsiders, and, St. Ives (1976) starring Charles Bronson. Also check out the LA Times article,
Death of a Drive-In: Pickwick Theater Shuts Down, Ending an Era for Burbank Moviegoers and Film Makers by Carlos Lozano on October 8, 1989. Check out this quote from the article:
"It's a shame," Brogan said. "Who knows, maybe 10 years from now, there won't be any drive-ins."
Burbank resident Rachel Smith, 18, said she will miss the Pickwick.
"They're knocking down a piece of history," Smith said. "I didn't go there very often, but the times I went it was very groovy."
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| Image courtesy Google Earth; showing 1989 right before it burned down |
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| Image courtesy Google Maps showing former Pickwick Drive-In today |
Reseda Drive-In
Address: Reseda Blvd and Vanowen Street, Reseda
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 740
Operated by: Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1949
Closed: unknown (est. late 70's)
Replaced by: Industrial complex
Comments: This theatre was used for the filming location for Peter Bogdanovich's "Target" starring Boris Karloff.
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| Image courtesy Google Maps showing former Reseda Drive-In today |
San Val Drive-In
Address: 2720 Winona Ave, Burbank
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 813
Operated by: Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1938
Closed: est. mid 70's
Replaced by: Industrial complex for production and effect houses
Comments: The San Val Drive In was immortalized in the 1948 film,
White Heat, starring James Cagney who played Crime boss Cody Jarrett and used the San Val as his hideout from the cops.
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| Image courtesy Google Maps showing former San Val Drive-In today |
Sepulveda Drive-In
Address: 6127 Sepulveda Blvd Van Nuys
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 1500
Operated by: Aladin & Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1955
Closed: 1989
Replaced by: Orange Line Busway Parking
Comments: This site was also used to film a Knight Rider episode titled,
Halloween Knight.
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| Image courtesy Google Earth; Drive-In from 1989 right before being closed |
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| Image courtesy Google Earth showing former Sepulveda Drive-In today |
Van Nuys Drive-In
Address: 15040 Roscoe Blvd Van Nuys
# of Screens: originally 1, later 3 (1983)
# of Cars: 900, later 1400
Operated by: Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1948
Closed: 1996
Replaced by: Vista Middle School
Comments: Second last to be closed after Winnetka 6 Drive-In. Remained untouched for two years until 1998 when it was demolished. I remember seeing an eBay auction with a recording album that had the mural of the Drive-In on its cover but I cant remember who it was. Does anybody know? Also check out an image of the mural
here,
here, and a recording of the
answering machine. Also check out these two articles from the LA Times;
Car Dealership Ok'D for Old Drive-In Site by Michael Baker on May 28, 1998,
District Eyes Former Van Nuys Drive-In for School by Kristina Sauerwein on March 24, 1999 and
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| Image courtesy Cinemaretro.com; Jan Shepard posing with her classic 50's car |
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Image courtesy Garbell.com; Mural from single screen, demolished when switched to triple screen
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| Image courtesy Garbell.com; Closed for season, meant closed forever |
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| Image courtesy Google Earth; Triple screen in 1995 |
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| Image courtesy Google Earth; Completely demolished in 2002 |
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| Image courtesy Google Maps showing former Van Nuys Drive-In Today |
Victory Drive-In
Address: 13037 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood
# of Screens: 1
# of Cars: 650
Operated by: Unknown
Opened: 1947
Closed: est mid 1970's
Replaced by: Victory Plaza Shopping Center
Comments: Right next door to the
first McDonald's in the San Fernando Valley. This Drive-In can also be seen in the film,
Ski Party with Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman go out on dates to the Drive-In. The Victory Drive-In was used for the premiere opening of
Devil's Hairpin shown in the second image below.You can also hear their voicemail
here.
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| Image courtesy Historicaerials.com; Shown in 1978 completed demolished and replaced with a mini-mall |
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| Image courtesy Google Maps showing former Victory Drive-In today |
Winnetka 6 Drive-In
Address: 20210 Prairie Avenue, Chatsworth
# of Screens: originally 4, later 6
# of Cars: 2,300
Operated by: Pacific Theatres
Opened: 1975
Closed: 1996
Replaced by: Pacific Theatres and various eateries
Comments: The biggest of the Pacific Drive-In theatres. Coincidentally it was the last to open and the last to close in the Valley. Originally built to replace the Canoga Park Drive-In. Also check out the article from the LA Times,
Drive-In to Be Torn Down for 26-Screen Complex on May 17, 1996. Check out this quote from the article:
"It's just something else they're taking away," said Dan Darnell, 36, of Granada Hills, who grew up attending movies at the drive-in.
"They're making money, cramming more in less space, more concrete," he said.
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| Image courtesy Google Earth; This image from 1995 right before it was demolished shows 6 screens. |
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| Image courtesy Google Maps showing former Winnetka 6 Drive-In today |
The only Drive-In that remains today in LA County is the Vineland in City of Industry so you still have an opportunity to enjoy the Drive-In experience although not in the San Fernando Valley but close enough.
You can check out more Back to the Future series here.
Sources:
Besides whats listed in the post above, these two sites provided a wealth of information and pics, check them out if you can:
Drive-Ins.com
Cinematreasures.org
What a great collection of photos and information. The images from Historic Aerials is very telling in that they show how much land a drive-in really took up, and why they were doomed when that land became more valuable.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the '60s and '70s, the various drive-ins were where we pretty much always saw movies. Since we were in Northridge, our regular stops were the Reseda, the Canoga, the Sepulveda and the Van Nuys.
I also remember that the Sepulveda and the (Laurel?) were visible from the freeways next to them if you were driving at night. If we'd go by them, I'd always try to see a bit of the screen between the rows of eucalyptus trees that were obviously planted to reduce distractions or people on the street taking in free shows (minus sound).
The cool thing about our trips to them was that we'd usually stop at drive-in restaurant for dinner beforehand. (Not a drive-thru, mind you, but where you parked and a waitress came out and hooked a tray on the car door.) If we were going to the Canoga, we'd eat at Bob's Big Boy on Sherman Way. For the Sepulveda, the convenient drive-in was Tiny Naylors at Sepulveda and Victory, and right one the way to the Reseda there was an A&W (which turned into a skateboard park for a time after it closed in the '70s) on Reseda Boulevard near Vanowen.
The evenings ended up being REALLY long, especially in the summer when they obviously couldn't begin the movies until it was dark, around 8:00. Sometimes they'd start the cartoon (almost always a Woody Woodpecker) when it was still kind of light out. There'd then be two feature films, so we wouldn't end up getting home until around midnight, and my brother and I were always dressed in our pajamas so we could sack out early.
One little funny thing about the Winnetka 4 Drive-In. It was built to be "state of the art" when it first opened, and they skipped the big metal speakers that most of them had for a system where you'd clip a wire to your car antenna and get the sound through the radio. If your car didn't have a radio for some reason, you could rent/borrow a portable at the snack bar with some kind of deposit. We saw both "Jaws" and "Star Wars" there when they came out.
I also remember that the Winnetka was so huge, the ushers (they wore long white shop coats with PACIFIC THEATRES in red letters on the back) rode around on bicycles to handle problems.
Good times!
Just a correction. There was no freeway with a view of the screen at the Laurel Drive-In. It was in the exact path of the 118, and had to be demolished and cleared away before that freeway extension could be built.
DeleteI can pinpoint a few of the closings a little better, based on the research I did for my website on the Valley's public transit. RTD had used some of the Pacific Drive-In locations during the daytime hours as park-ride lots in conjunction with their freeway express lines to downtown Los Angeles, and in most cases those arrangements were ended just prior to Pacific selling off those real estate parcels.
ReplyDeleteLine 716 from the Canoga Park Drive-In was rerouted to the Zodys parking lot in July, 1977.
Line 721 from the Van Nuys Drive-In was rerouted to continue west to Reseda in April, 1975 (although that was probably more in preparation for Pacific converting it to three screens).
Line 724 from the San-Val Drive In was cancelled August, 1975.
You have the Van Nuys drive in confused with the Sepulveda drive in
DeleteRevised info: this is in referance to Line 721 (You have the Van Nuys drive in confused with the Sepulveda drive in)
DeleteWhat great memories. FYI the Drive-in in Burbank was the San Val, not the Sal Val.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Thanks. I will correct.
DeleteThe overlay of the streets for the Sepulveda drive in are for the Van Nuys drive in
ReplyDelete