Azusa, CA - Travel down Foothill Boulevard and your met with a large glimmering red neon sign. Yes, you've just come across the Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre on Route 66. And a single-screener to boot, a rarity in this day and age.
Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre
Azusa, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
Along Foothill Boulevard in Azusa, this sweeping marquee once offered a good reason to spend an evening in the car. The Azusa Foothill Drive-In Theatre had the movies, the snack bar, and a giant screen waiting beyond the entrance. Finding the place wasn’t much of a challenge with this roadside landmark pointing the way.
Check out the broad V-shaped outline and the lettering spread across the sign. There was plenty of room to announce the latest double feature, while the neon helped catch motorists traveling along old Route 66. Even before the opening credits, the theatre had something worth looking at.
Azusa Foothill Drive-in Marquee
Azusa, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The drive-in opened on December 18, 1961, with Babes in Toyland and Misty. Developed jointly by Pacific Drive-Ins and Edwards Theatres, the sprawling property could accommodate more than 1,500 cars. That was quite a crowd, especially when everyone decided to visit the concession stand between pictures.
For four decades, the theatre brought outdoor moviegoing to this corner of the San Gabriel Valley. Families could settle in for an evening without arranging a babysitter, and date-night customers had a little more privacy than an indoor auditorium offered. Getting comfortable was easy enough. Getting everyone to agree on the best parking spot might have taken longer.
Well, these days, single screen drive-ins on Route 66 have become even more of a rarity. The Azusa Foothill, the last operating drive-in on the Mother Road west of the Mississippi, closed down in 2001 after being purchased by the neighboring Azusa Pacific University (APU).
Azusa Foothill Screen tower
Azusa, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The setting was part of the attraction. A large screen against the evening sky, rows of cars facing the same direction, and a snack-bar visit made the drive-in an outing of its own. Meanwhile, the marquee kept advertising to the traffic outside, whether the motorists were stopping for a movie or simply passing through town.
The final double feature was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Ocean’s Eleven, shown on December 28, 2001. After forty years, the projectors went dark. Azusa Pacific University acquired the property for campus expansion, leaving preservation supporters to fight for a place that had become a familiar part of the Route 66 landscape.
On October 28, 2005, the Azusa's screen tower came tumbling down. This after the concession stand and speaker poles had been torn out to make way for a parking lot. With the screen tower went any hope of the drive-in opening again.
The dirt mound where the screen once stood
Azusa, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The screen, concession building, and other theatre structures were demolished in 2005. Fortunately, the marquee avoided the same fate. Its restoration kept the distinctive shape at the street, giving the former drive-in a visible reminder long after the parking ramps and movie screen disappeared.
These days, university announcements occupy the space once reserved for coming attractions. The lineup has certainly changed, but the old sign still has a job to do. For motorists who remember pulling in for a double feature, it probably brings a few earlier evenings back into focus.
Azusa Foothill Drive-in Marquee
Azusa, CA Photo courtesy Chris & Ginger
UPDATE: All that's left of this drive-in is the marquee. Painting has been going on, though the word is the neon will not be replaced. 02-07
UPDATE: Here's a more recent shot of the Foothill marquee taken in early June 2007. 06-07
UPDATE: The Azusa Foothill Drive-In Theatre was demolished in 2005, and its grounds became part of Azusa Pacific University. The restored marquee survives at 675 East Foothill Boulevard and serves as a university announcement sign. 10-26
The screen tower used to be on the left of the marquee
Azusa, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The space where the screen tower used to be
Azusa, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre
Azusa Foothill Drive-in Marquee
Azusa Foothill Screen tower
The dirt mound where the screen once stood
Azusa Foothill Drive-in Marquee
