North Salem Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Salem, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The North Salem Drive-In Theatre had a weathered screen tower, but the neatly kept grounds suggested there were still plenty of movie nights ahead. Freshly mowed grass and orderly parking ramps made an interesting contrast with the fading paint overhead. This wasn’t an abandoned drive-in waiting for the weeds to take over. The place still looked ready for another carload of customers.

Originally called the Salem Drive-In, the theater opened on June 29, 1948, with space for about 500 cars. Its opening program included The Red Stallion and a Technicolor short called Soap Box Derby. Individual car speakers and carefully angled parking spaces were advertised as improvements to the outdoor movie experience. Getting a good view apparently mattered just as much as getting the popcorn.

Screen and drive-way
Salem, OR
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The North Salem name came along during the 1950s after another drive-in opened on the south side of town. What stands out in these photographs is how much of the original experience remained recognizable. The entrance, projection booth, parking ramps, and enormous screen all had their jobs to do. Together, they made an ordinary field into somewhere people could spend an entire evening.

UPDATE: The North Salem Drive-in is closed up now. The drive-in site is a Abique Rock & Forest Products Company. Many thanks to David Hughes for update. 12-10

UPDATE: North Salem closed on October 24, 1982, and the theater was later demolished. The property eventually became a landscape supply business and is now associated with Highway Fuel Co. One small roadside connection reportedly survives: the base of the old marquee was reused to support the company’s sign. The movies are gone, but a piece of their advertising may still be doing useful work. 07-26

Screentower Salem, OR Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	Projection Booth Salem, OR Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Puget Park Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
Everett, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Puget Park Drive-In Theatre gave Everett area moviegoers plenty of screen to watch and plenty of room to park. Its single outdoor screen measured about 50 by 100 feet, with space for roughly 700 cars. Once darkness arrived, that giant rectangle became the center of attention for an entire parking lot of movie fans.

The theater opened on June 15, 1968, with Up the Down Staircase and Fantastic Voyage. Operated by the Sterling Recreation Organization, Puget Park continued through decades when outdoor theaters were disappearing across the region. By its final years, it was Snohomish County’s last operating drive-in, making an evening here something increasingly difficult to find close to home.

The 2009 season ended without the sort of farewell celebration you might expect for a longtime landmark. Customers watching the final program, which included 9, The Proposal, and District 9, didn’t know they were attending the last shows. What looked like another seasonal closing turned out to be the final curtain for more than forty years of outdoor movies.

Puget Park Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
Everett, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: Demolition did indeed begin on the Puget Park Drive-in Theatre. According to the HeraldNet, Snohomish County's last drive-in theatre was being demolished in late May 2010. . Many thanks to David Hughes for update. 11-10

UPDATE: The Puget Park Drive-in is closed up forever now. The 2009 season was the last season for the Puget Park Drive-in. The Drive-in is suppose to be torn down to make way for a medical park complex. Many thanks to David Hughes for update. 11-10

Puget Park Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
Everett, WA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: Puget Park never reopened after September 2009, and demolition followed in 2010 for redevelopment that included Swedish’s Mill Creek medical facility. The screen tower did not survive. Small remnants of parking ramps and speaker poles were photographed in 2020, offering a much quieter reminder of the drive-in than the enormous screen that once stood here. 07-26