Ceres Drive-in (Temporarily reopened)
Ceres, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Ceres, CA located just south of Modesto. The marquee of the Ceres Drive-in
Theatre beckons to roadside travelers and invites all to enter its
parking lot. This drive-in appeared to be in good shape and has been open since 1947.
Marysville Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Marysville, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
A little northeast of Sacramento, just off Highway 70, the Marysville Drive-in Theatre offered summer-night movies beneath the Central Valley sky. The single-screen lot could hold around 450 cars, leaving plenty of room for families, couples, and anyone hoping the mosquitoes would watch the movie instead.
The drive-in opened in 1966 as the Sierra Drive-in and became the Marysville Drive-in around 1977 or 1978. Its screen measured roughly 45 by 90 feet, making it pretty hard to miss once the projector started rolling.
In 1986, severe flooding placed the entire property beneath four feet of water. Rather than give up, operator Robert Golding spent about $42,000 restoring the drive-in over the next 10 weeks. The screen lit up again, and the outdoor movies continued for nearly two more decades.
Marysville Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Marysville, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
By the early 2000s, the Marysville was still showing films on summer nights and weekends. Like many surviving drive-ins, it was part theater and part time machine. Pull in, find a good spot, visit the snack bar, and hope nobody in the next row forgot to turn off the headlights.
UPDATE: The Marysville Drive-in played its last movie in 2005. 05-06
UPDATE: According to Cinema Treasures, the Marysville opened in 1966 by the name Sierra Drive-in and became the Marysville Drive-in in 1978. The theatre is now gone. 01-09
UPDATE: The Marysville Drive-in screened its final movies at the end of October 2005 after the property was sold and its lease ended. The screen tower, concession building, box office, and roadside signs were demolished shortly afterward for commercial redevelopment. 09-26
Coliseum Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
Oakland, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Coliseum Drive-in Theatre in Oakland had a snack bar similar to the one at the old Burlingame Drive-in, giving moviegoers another familiar place to line up for popcorn before the feature. By the time of this visit, however, the movies were gone and the parking lot had become a very busy swap meet. Congestion was horrendous, to say the least.
The Coliseum opened on May 22, 1964, with a triple feature of PT 109, Spencer’s Mountain, and McLintock! Designed by theater architect Vincent G. Raney, the drive-in began with one enormous screen and later expanded to four.
Even the roadside sign caused a little drama before opening night. Oakland officials worried that the proposed tower and giant movie screen would distract drivers on the nearby Nimitz Freeway. After some negotiation, a 65-foot sign was approved. Apparently the movies were not the only thing designed to grab attention.
Coliseum Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
Oakland, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The drive-in screened its final films on November 27, 1994. The lot then settled into full-time duty as the West Wind Coliseum Swap Meet, better known to many shoppers as La Pulga. Three of the four screens eventually disappeared, leaving one last tower standing above the rows of vendors.
UPDATE: The Coliseum swap meet continues to use the former drive-in property, although the original marquee is gone and only one screen tower survives. Large redevelopment plans for the surrounding Coliseum site call for the remaining drive-in footprint to eventually be cleared. 09-26
El Rancho Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
South San Francisco, CA Photos courtesy Mike Manlick
Here are two
photos of the old El Rancho Drive-In Theatre located
on Hickey Blvd. in South San Francisco. In 1980, I tore down this drive-in for Home Savings & Loan Association and 92 townhouses were built
on the old site. Briarcliffe, as it is now known has taken the place of
this Drive-In landmark. Notice the home that is built into the screen.
It was a long, narrow, two-story building….I assume the owners lived
in it during its heyday. The snack-bar was subterranean so the cars could
see over it! The original drive in was graded and built around 1949. Photos
and info courtesy Mike Manlick.
The El Rancho Drive-in Theatre opened along a South San Francisco hillside in 1949. It later became the El Rancho Twin, with a second screen added in 1974. Early FM sound even allowed nearby residents to watch the screen from home and listen through their radios. Not quite the full drive-in experience, but parking was certainly easier.
El Rancho Drive-in Theatre
South San Francisco, CA Photos courtesy Mike Manlick
El Rancho had two especially unusual features. The snack bar was built underground so cars in the back rows could see over it, while a narrow two-story home was tucked right into the main screen tower for the theater managers. Imagine living behind the movie screen and never having to wonder what was playing.
UPDATE: El Rancho closed around the end of the 1970s and was completely demolished in 1980. The screen towers, underground snack bar, and roadside signs were removed, and the Briarcliffe townhouse development now covers the former drive-in property. 09-26
Marysville Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Marysville Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Coliseum Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
Coliseum Drive-in Theatre (Closed)
El Rancho Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
El Rancho Drive-in Theatre
