Starlite Drive-in Theatre marquee (Demolished)
Tacoma, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The old Starlite Drive-In Theatre marquee still stood along South Tacoma Way when these photos were taken, quietly reminding passing motorists that this had once been one of the area's favorite places to spend a summer evening. Although movies had long since disappeared, the sign still hinted at the excitement that must have filled the property during the drive-in's heyday. 07-08

The Starlite first opened in 1948 and entertained Northwest moviegoers for nearly fifty years before the final feature played in 1996. Even after the theater closed, the property found a second life as a popular swap meet, giving people another reason to keep pulling into the familiar entrance every weekend.

Ticket Booth
Tacoma, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

What made this place especially interesting was that the drive-in hadn't completely vanished. The giant screen tower was still standing in the distance, towering over the grounds as if it were still waiting for nightfall. Seeing both the old marquee and the massive screen together made it surprisingly easy to imagine rows of cars filling the lot once again.

Drive-ins always left behind landmarks that were hard to ignore. Even after the speakers disappeared and the movies stopped playing, the screen towers continued rising above the landscape like oversized billboards for another era. They're the kind of structures that instantly bring back memories for anyone who grew up visiting a drive-in.

Screen tower and lot inside
Tacoma, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Standing here, it wasn't difficult to picture families arriving just before sunset, windows rolled down as they searched for the perfect parking spot. Kids would be begging for one more trip to the snack bar while parents unfolded lawn chairs or settled into the front seat waiting for darkness to arrive. Long before the previews started, the evening itself had already become part of the entertainment.

The old marquee was every bit as memorable as the screen. Even weathered by time, it still carried the personality of a classic roadside sign. You could almost imagine the colorful movie titles changing every Friday afternoon, inviting another weekend's worth of moviegoers through the entrance. Signs like this were never just advertisements—they became familiar landmarks that let everyone know they were almost there.

Screen tower, front view
Tacoma, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

By the time these photographs were taken, shoppers had replaced moviegoers, but the drive-in spirit still lingered around the property. The swap meet kept the grounds busy, and the towering screen remained one of the last visible reminders of what the place had originally been built for. It was an unusual sight, almost like finding a ghost of the drive-in era still standing in plain view.

Today, these photographs preserve a chapter that has now disappeared as well. The swap meet is gone, the screen tower has come down, and the old marquee no longer greets traffic along the road. All that's left are memories and a few photographs of a place that served two very different generations—first as a drive-in theater, and later as a weekend marketplace.

Starlite Drive-in marquee close-up (Demolished)
Tacoma, WA
Photo courtesy Jeffrey Cook

UPDATE: Here's a close-up of the Starlite marquee. Many thanks to Jeffrey Cook for update. 11-07

UPDATE: After serving as a swap meet for many years, the Starlite property was cleared in 2019. The marquee, screen tower, and remaining drive-in structures have all been demolished and the site has since been redeveloped. 07-26

Starlite Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Roseburg, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Starlite Drive-In Theatre was already quiet when these photos were taken. The movies had ended years earlier, but the giant screen still stood over the property as if it were waiting for one more show. It didn't take much imagination to picture rows of cars filling the lot again on a warm Oregon evening. 04-06

When the Starlite opened in 1954, it featured what was said to be the largest drive-in screen in Oregon. From the highway it must have been impossible to miss, towering above the surrounding countryside and letting everyone know another night at the movies was just ahead.

Starlite Drive-in Theatre Screen Tower
Roseburg, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

For more than forty years, the Starlite gave local families a place to enjoy first-run movies beneath the stars. It later became something a little different when an indoor theater was added alongside the drive-in, giving moviegoers the choice of watching a film inside or out. It was an unusual combination, but one that helped keep the theater going as drive-ins around the country slowly began disappearing.

By the time I stopped here, the ticket booths were quiet and the lot had long since emptied of moviegoers. Yet the screen still had an incredible presence. There's something about an old drive-in screen that refuses to disappear, even when everything around it has changed. It becomes less of a theater and more of a landmark, reminding everyone who passes that thousands of movies once flickered across its face.

Starlite Drive-in Theatre Projection Booth
Roseburg, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

I couldn't help wondering how many evenings had played out here over the decades. Families arriving before sunset, kids making one last trip to the snack bar, teenagers gathering with friends, and couples settling into the front seat while waiting for darkness to fall. Those ordinary moments were the real story of places like the Starlite.

The drive-in closed in 1997 after the property was purchased by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. At the time, there was plenty of speculation about what would eventually become of the site, but the old screen remained standing for several more years, almost as if it wasn't quite ready to leave the landscape.

Looking back now, these photographs captured something that would soon disappear. Not just another closed drive-in, but one of Oregon's most recognizable outdoor theaters still standing with its giant screen intact. Sometimes roadside photographs become far more valuable than we ever expect simply because they preserve places that quietly vanish a few years later.

Starlite Drive-in Speaker Posts (Demolished)

Roseburg, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Today nothing remains to suggest that thousands of moviegoers once gathered here beneath the stars. The screen that watched over Highway 99 for more than half a century is gone, leaving these photographs to tell the story of one of Oregon's memorable drive-ins.

UPDATE: The Starlite Drive-in showed its last show on September 28, 2007. The drive-in had originally opened on July 23, 1954. According to the News Review, the last showing was the first in the 10 years since the drive-ins closure. The 60 by 100 foot screen was deemed structurally unsafe and was unceremoniously taken down on October 19, 2007. 07-08

UPDATE: The Starlite closed in 1997, and its towering screen remained standing for about a decade before being demolished in 2007. The drive-in is gone today. 07-26