Burlingame Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Burlingame, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Near the San Francisco Bay area is the Burlingame Drive-in Theatre in, yes, Burlingame. Portraying the distinct look of Northern California drive-ins, the Burlingame sports the spread "W" ticket booth and a saucer shaped snack bar.

See more here at Roadside Peek's Lost Treasures tribute to the Burlingame Drive-in Theater.

Geneva Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Daly City, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Right near downtown San Francisco is the Geneva Drive-in Theatre. The Geneva just dripped of emotion, from the huge grandstand off in the back to the abandoned appliances in the lot. Not to mention the numerous screen towers.

Also see Roadside Peek's Lost Treasures tribute to the Geneva Drive-in.

49'er Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Sacramento, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here's the 49er Drive-in Theatre in Sacramento which opened up in 1950. Also sporting the spread "W" ticket booth structure, the 49er's lot appeared to be in decent shape. Check out the interesting look of the snack bar.

See Roadside Peek's Lost Treasures tribute to the 49'er Drive-in.

Sacramento 6 Drive-in
Sacramento, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

“A rather huge complex” is probably the easiest way to describe the Sacramento 6 Drive-in Theatre. Six screens rise around an enormous parking lot that once held roughly 1,570 cars. Plenty of movies to choose from, although parking in the wrong section could make for a very confusing double feature.

Syufy Enterprises opened the drive-in on July 3, 1972, originally calling it the Sacramento 5. A sixth screen was added not long afterward, making the name change fairly unavoidable. The theater became a familiar sight near Highway 50, with its large marquee announcing movies to freeway traffic.

Drop by for a visit when you're visiting the Governor's Mansion. You'll have your selection of 6 movies.

The Sacramento 6 nearly disappeared in 2007 when county officials approved plans to replace it with a shopping center. The economy had other ideas, and the redevelopment stalled before the bulldozers arrived. Sometimes a failed shopping center is exactly what an old drive-in needs.

Sacramento 6 Drive-in
Sacramento, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Another close call came in January 2022, when a major fire badly damaged the main concession building. The theater closed temporarily for repairs but managed to reopen only a few weeks later. The movies returned, and the big lot went right back to its double life.

UPDATE: According to the May 31, 2007 issue of the Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento County Planning Commission has approved a major commercial center at the site of the Sacramento 6 Drive-in. With the demise of this last operating drive-in in California's capital city, it appears that the open air drive-in theatre experience in Sacramento will soon be just a memory. 08-07

UPDATE: West Wind Sacramento 6 remains open as the last operating drive-in theater in the Sacramento area. First-run movies play at night, while the West Wind Public Market fills the lot on Thursdays and weekends. The large roadside marquee also remains beside Highway 50. 09-26

Sunrise Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Orangevale, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Sitting abandoned along Greenback Lane near Orangevale, the Sunrise Drive-in Theatre had one last great roadside feature waiting out front. Its marquee carried a real sunrise across the top, complete with bright orange neon rays spreading above the theater name. Even with the movies gone and the lot falling quiet, that sun was still ready for another evening show.

The setting was a little unusual for a drive-in. Fair Oaks Cemetery sat right next door, earning the neighboring property the local nickname of “the bone yard.” Moviegoers could watch the latest feature on one side while the permanent residents rested on the other. Probably best not to think too much about who else might be watching from beyond the fence.

Though this single screen lot appeared to have been a prime spot for a open-air theatre in its day, area is now overrun by weeds when these photos were taken.

Sunrise Drive-in Ticket Booth
Orangevale, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Sunrise opened on July 3, 1963, and the owners made sure opening night was memorable. Skydivers landed directly in the parking lot before a triple feature of The Greatest Show on Earth, Elephant Walk, and The Bramble Bush. That is quite a bit of entertainment before anyone even reached the snack bar.

The single-screen theater could hold around 1,258 cars, making it one of the larger outdoor movie lots in the Sacramento area. On a busy summer night, the parking rows must have seemed to stretch forever beneath the screen. Find a spot, hang the speaker on the window, and make sure everyone visited the concession stand before the movie started.

Sunrise Drive-in Theatre marquee
Orangevale, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

For more than 40 years, the giant screen and sunrise sign welcomed moviegoers from several surrounding communities. Depending on who was giving directions, the theater might be described as being in Orangevale, Fair Oaks, or Citrus Heights. The boundaries were a little confusing, but the glowing sunrise made the place easy enough to find.

Sunrise closed in 2004 after the property was sold for residential development. The screen tower, ticket booth, snack bar, and rows of speaker posts were cleared away, bringing down the curtain on another Sacramento-area drive-in.

UPDATE: The Sunrise Drive-in was demolished in 2004 after over 40 years of existence. The marquee was removed in May. 05-06

UPDATE: The former drive-in property is now covered by the Sunrise Oaks housing development. The neon marquee was saved before demolition and sat in storage for 16 years before Western Sign Company restored it in 2020. After hundreds of hours of work, the sunrise glowed again, complete with one original bullet hole intentionally left in the metal. 09-26