Valley 6 Drive-in Theatre
Auburn, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The first thing you'll notice about the Valley 6 Drive-In Theatre is the marquee. It's enormous. Sitting alongside the highway, it seems almost impossible to miss, promising another night at the movies long before the giant screens come into view. Even from the road, you know this isn't your typical neighborhood drive-in. 07-08

The Valley opened in 1966 and eventually grew into the largest drive-in theater in the Pacific Northwest. By the time these photos were taken it had become something of a destination, with multiple screens spread across the property and enough room to make the place feel like a small city built around outdoor movies.

Valley 6 Drive-in Theatre Screen Tower
Auburn, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Although it was known as the Valley 6, only five screens were operating at the time. One of the original screen towers had been lost in a winter storm a couple of years earlier, but unless you knew the theater's history, you'd never think much about it. The remaining screens still drew crowds, and the parking fields stretched farther than most drive-ins ever dreamed of.

There's something different about a large drive-in like this. Instead of feeling tucked away in a quiet corner of town, the Valley seemed almost endless. Cars disappeared into rows that stretched toward screen after screen, each showing a different feature. It wasn't unusual for families to have trouble deciding which movie to see before finally picking a lane and settling in for the evening.

Valley 6 Drive-in projection booth (Demolished)
Auburn, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

As dusk arrived, headlights slowly faded, conversations drifted through open windows, and one by one the giant screens came to life. For a few hours the outside world disappeared, replaced by glowing images under an open Washington sky. It's a feeling that indoor theaters have never quite managed to duplicate.

Looking around, it was hard to imagine that places like this were becoming rare. The Valley still felt busy, alive, and very much a part of the roadside landscape. The oversized marquee, rows of speaker poles, sprawling parking ramps, and towering screens all combined to create one of those places you simply assumed would always be there.

Valley 6 Drive-in marquee (Demolished)
Auburn, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Of course, that's the funny thing about roadside landmarks. We often don't realize we're seeing them for the last time.

Today these photographs preserve more than a drive-in theater. They capture one of the Northwest's great outdoor movie palaces while it was still doing exactly what it had been built to do—bringing people together for an evening beneath the stars.

UPDATE: The Valley 6 Drive-in closed up at the end of the 2012 season. The plans are to tear it down and put in some sort of complex. Many thanks to David Hughes for update. 07-13

UPDATE: The Valley Drive-In closed following the 2012 season. The screens, marquee, and remaining theater structures were later demolished, and the property has since been redeveloped. 07-26

Motor Vu Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Lebanon, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

A brightly painted marquee and a giant movie screen once welcomed travelers along Highway 99 to the Motor Vu Drive-In Theatre. Even during the day it looked inviting, but after sunset the place really came alive as the screen glowed beneath the stars and another evening at the movies got underway. Judging by the titles on the marquee, Monsters, Inc.and The Rookie were drawing crowds when these photos were taken. 07-08

The Motor Vu first opened in 1952 and quickly became a favorite summertime destination in Lebanon. Like so many neighborhood drive-ins, it was more than just a place to watch a movie. Families packed the car with blankets and pillows, teenagers met friends before the show, and kids usually found a way to stay awake for the first feature before falling asleep somewhere in the back seat during the second.

Motor Vu Drive-in screen
Lebanon, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

What always made drive-ins special was the atmosphere before the movie even started. Cars slowly rolled through the entrance while the sky was still bright, giving everyone plenty of time to visit the snack bar, find the perfect parking spot, and wait for darkness to settle in. There was never much reason to hurry. The evening itself was part of the attraction.

The Motor Vu had that familiar roadside personality shared by so many independent drive-ins. The colorful marquee caught your attention from the highway, and once you spotted the towering screen in the distance you knew exactly what it was. It didn't need flashing lights or oversized billboards. A simple sign, a giant outdoor screen, and the promise of a good movie were all it took to convince travelers to pull off the road.

Entrance sign
Lebanon, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

For more than fifty years, the theater welcomed generations of moviegoers. First dates, family outings, birthday celebrations, and countless ordinary summer evenings all unfolded beneath that big screen. Thousands of movies came and went, but the experience remained remarkably familiar. Pull in, tune your radio, roll down the windows, and enjoy a movie under an open Oregon sky.

Sadly, the Motor Vu couldn't escape the same challenges that claimed so many other drive-ins. Rising operating costs and changing technology eventually caught up with the theater, and after the 2003 season the movies came to an end. Not long afterward, the screen came down, the marquee disappeared, and another familiar roadside landmark quietly slipped into history.

Motor Vu ticket booth
Lebanon, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Looking at these photographs today, it's hard to imagine the property any other way. At the time, it was simply another busy evening at the drive-in. Nobody walking across the lot or reading the marquee could have known that the theater's long run was nearly over. That's one of the things I enjoy most about old roadside photographs—they often preserve places exactly as they were meant to be remembered, still alive and doing what they had always done.

Today, shoppers visit the site without realizing that generations of local families once gathered here to watch first-run movies beneath the stars. The drive-in may be gone, but for those who remember evenings at the Motor Vu, it's easy to picture that brightly painted marquee still standing beside the highway, inviting one more carload in for the show.

UPDATE: The Motor Vu Drive-In closed in 2003 and was demolished the following year. A Walmart Supercenter now occupies the site. 07-26