Loma Linda, CA - It's ski season in Southern California which means a local drive up into the San Bernardino mountains for many. Along the way, take a quick detour and visit an old friend... and marvel at one of the last remaining great screen tower murals anywhere... at the Tri-City Drive-in Theatre.

Tri-City Drive-in Theatre
Loma Linda, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the snowy mountain scene at the Tri-City Drive-In Theatre in Loma Linda. The giant screen tower brought a little ski-country scenery to Redlands Boulevard, with an alpine skier supplying the action before the evening’s pictures began. No chains required to enjoy this particular mountain view.

A close-up of Mr. Hackett... oops, a skier jetting down the mountainside.

If a look at the marvelous depiction of skiers enjoying themselves doesn't move you to want to hit the slopes, the view of the nearby snow capped mountains will.

The mural gave passing motorists something worth noticing. While the audience inside watched the movie, traffic outside faced a permanent winter scene, recalling the mountain recreation areas just a drive away. The backside of a screen could have been fairly plain. This one had other ideas.

Tri-City Drive-in Theatre sign marquee
Loma Linda, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The theatre’s beginnings reached back to August 20, 1939, when it opened with Fredric March in Trade Winds. Recognized as the Inland Empire’s first drive-in, it arrived well before the postwar building boom filled Southern California roadsides with outdoor movie screens.

That first venture didn’t last long. The theatre closed in 1940, leaving the grounds without a regular show until a reopening on January 1, 1947. This time, it operated as the 99 Drive-In, borrowing its name from the nearby historic highway. A useful bit of advertising for customers already traveling the route.

Tri-City Theatre, Pacific Theatres
1949 - 2000
Loma Linda, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

By 1949, the venue had become the Tri-City Drive-In. The new name reflected its position between San Bernardino, Colton, and Redlands, giving the theatre a regional identity rather than a highway number. Moviegoers from the surrounding communities shared the same destination once the sun went down.

Under Pacific Theatres, the single-screen house accommodated more than 700 cars. Compared with the enormous outdoor multiplexes that came later, the arrangement was straightforward. Everyone faced the same screen and watched the same program, with the family automobile taking the place of a row of auditorium seats.

Tri-City Drive-in Theatre gone
Loma Linda, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The screen tower was the landmark that tied it all together. Its height made the theatre visible beyond the entrance, and the painted mountain scene gave it a personality of its own. Even motorists who never stopped for a movie could become familiar with the skier along their everyday route.

Inside, the attraction was an evening outdoors with a picture show ahead. Arrive before dark, find a preferred space, and make a snack-bar trip before the feature started. The interval between movies gave customers another chance to stretch their legs, provided they remembered which row held the car.

Screen tower foundation
Loma Linda, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

For decades, that routine made the Tri-City a gathering place for families, couples, and friends. The surrounding valley changed, but the theatre continued offering the familiar combination of a big screen, an open sky, and an evening away from home.

The final double feature paired The Fugitive with Free Willy on September 6, 1993. After more than fifty years of history, interrupted by its early closure, the theatre went dark for good. There would be no new titles on the marquee for the following weekend.

The abandoned property suffered further damage when an arson fire burned the concession building. The screen tower remained for a time, still carrying its mountain scene above grounds that no longer filled with moviegoers. The picture outside survived longer than the pictures inside.

Like others in the section and the real world, many great things come to an end. After Pacific Theaters received the approval to level the site, work began immediately the evening of February 3, 2000. According to workers, the demolition will make way for new housing development.

Ticket booth remains
Loma Linda, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Around 2000, demolition removed the remaining buildings, screen tower, mural, and entrance marquee. The skier’s long stay beside Redlands Boulevard had finally ended. Another roadside landmark disappeared, taking an unusual piece of outdoor theatre artwork with it.

Unfortunately, with the roar of the bulldozer, the Tri-City and the sight of its fantastic mural will now be just a memory to be pass along to future generations.

The photograph preserves that earlier view, when a snowy slope in the valley could point motorists toward an evening at the movies. For those who remember the Tri-City, the mural probably brings back more than thoughts of a trip to Big Bear.

UPDATE: Tri-City Drive-In closed on September 6, 1993, and was demolished around 2000. Its screen tower, alpine mural, concession building, and roadside marquee are gone. 10-26

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