Category Archives: California

LA Weekly Shows How, Where To Enjoy SoCal Drive-Ins

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Happy National Drive-In Movie Day, as we celebrate the anniversary of Richard Hollingshead’s 1933 opening day! In an article in today’s edition of LA Weekly, April Wolfe provides one of the better primers for rookie drive-in patrons. In the process, she also adds a bit of history as she points out some of the drive-ins that aren’t that far away from the Los Angeles area.

Start by planning to arrive an hour before the first feature. “Pack as if you’re going to a picnic in the park.” That includes bringing “folding lawn chairs; a blanket; a battery-powered boombox with FM radio; and” (drive-in owners, skip to the next paragraph) “a picnic basket filled with La Croix, hummus, pitas, olives, multiple cheeses, fruit and baguette.” Wolfe also definitely advises buying food and drinks from the concession stand, but I know some readers are triggered by the mention of outside food.

Wolfe clearly knows from experience. “You’ll want to find a spot about four rows back from the screen and dead center,” she writes. Douse your interior lights before trying anything tricky, and check that they stayed dark before you annoy others during a movie. If the concession stand serves flea market food during the day, ask whether any of those entrees are available for purchase.

Then she ticks through the available drive-ins, starting with her primary example, the Mission Tiki Drive-in Theatre in Montclair. Other drive-ins with notes include:

Skyline Drive-in Theater, Barstow. “The Skyline gets a fair amount of wind, which interrupts screenings, so check the weather before heading out.”

Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Theater, Twentynine Palms. “This drive-in has a history dating back to the 1920s.” (You need to read the whole thing.)

Rubidoux Drive-In Theatre and Van Buren Drive-In Theatre, Riverside. “Rubidoux opened in 1948 to entertain postwar suburbanites, and Van Buren opened in 1964 on what was once a sprawling orange grove.”

Santa Barbara Drive-In, Goleta. “(S)o close to the coast that you can feel and smell that beach air blowing through your car windows.”

I don’t know why the author left out the Paramount Drive-In Theatres or the Vineland Drive-In, both in the LA region, but at a time of year when my eyes glaze at yet another local paper’s article noticing that the local drive-in is open again, this LA Weekly article is a breath of fresh beach air. You know you really need to go read it!

Feb. 20: Skyline Drive-in Theater, Barstow CA

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It’s Day 51 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It had been a few weeks since I had to drive over three hours to get from one drive-in to another, but the El Rancho in Sparks NV isn’t really close to any other drive-in except the Sacramento.To keep moving forward, I had to go seven hours to reach the Skyline Drive-in Theater in Barstow CA.

Unfortunately, the Skyline is closed for the season until March 17. According to its Facebook page, the Skyline was losing money during the weeks of winter, but should be back to normal in the spring. As for me, even with the last few dark nights, I’m still on a pace to watch 257 movie nights this year, well above my goal of 200.

This was my last night in California for at least a couple of months. After sweeping across the country east-to-west roughly along I-10, I’ll be driving east roughly along I-40 to the Appalachians. By the end of March, I’ll turn north, then head west again. There are still a lot of drive-in theaters left to visit!

According to Cinema Treasures, the Skyline opened in 1966 with a single screen. (Then again, the logo on this page says the Skyline first opened in 1964.) At the time, it was the second drive-in around Barstow; the Bar-Len in adjacent Lenwood was active throughout the 1960s. The Skyline closed in 1987, but it re-opened with a makeover in 1996, and in 2000 it added a second screen. The Skyline changed operators and closed for several weeks in late summer 2009, followed by a “Grand Reopening” that October. The good news is that the Skyline bought two digital projectors in February 2015, so it looks like it’s in it for the long haul. Just not this night.

Miles Today / Total:  417 / 6265 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 36

Nearby Restaurant: There aren’t a ton of restaurants to choose from in Barstow, so I figured this would be the best time to hit an all-time favorite regional chain, the In-N-Out Burger. They don’t offer an extensive menu, but their burgers and fries make it worth stopping at least once whenever I’m within range.

Where I Virtually Stayed: After staying up too late gambling in Reno the night before, followed by a full day’s drive to Barstow, I just wanted something familiar. The Hampton Inn in Barstow was just what I needed. Cookies and flavored iced water in the lobby when I arrived. A comfy bed and a great breakfast the next morning.

Only in Barstow: The Casa del Desierto (House of the Desert), also known as the Barstow Harvey House and Rail Depot, combines the Western America Railroad Museum and the Route 66 Mother Road Museum. That’s not so unusual since much of Route 66 paralleled the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe rail line. Harvey Houses were a civilizing force in the American Southwest over a century ago. Built in 1910 after an earlier version burned, this preserved hotel, restaurant and train depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Next Stop: Las Vegas 6 Drive-In, North Las Vegas NV.

Feb. 18: Sacramento 6 Drive-In, Sacramento CA

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photo by Mitch O, from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 49 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and it took me two and a half hours and a half to drive southeast from Lakeport to the Sacramento 6 Drive-In in Sacramento CA. It was pretty safe from the Oroville Dam area flooding once I got on I-5.

The Sacramento opened in 1972, when there were already at least six competitors in town. By the 2000s, it was limping forward as the sole survivor. According to a California Public Radio story, it almost closed in 2008 in favor of a retail development, but the Great Recession ended those plans. The theater operator, West Wind, renovated and modernized the drive-in, but CPR cautions that “When the market is right, the theater will once again face demolition.”

According to a commenter on Cinema Treasures, the Sacramento had a 34-week engagement of the original Star Wars in 1977-78, tied for “the longest drive-in run of Star Wars in the United States.” I remember an indoor theater in Kansas that ran Star Wars for one full year, so I can definitely believe the Sacramento’s achievement.

The Great Wall makes a great drive-in movie, and I was glad it was one of the choices available early. I hope I don’t have to see it too many more times, though.

Miles Today / Total:  135 / 5706 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Great Wall / 36

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant is the Pho Bac Hoa Viet on Bradshaw Road. (There are several Pho Bac Hoa Viets in Sacramento.) Fine Vietnamese food, served up fast and ready to go. A great place to stop since I was back in the bustle of the city.

Where I Virtually Stayed: I couldn’t find anything suitable close by, but there’s a large cluster of pretty good places just four miles east on the Lincoln Highway to Rancho Cordova. The hotel I picked was the Fairfield Inn, because those are pretty dependable with a good free breakfast.

Only in Sacramento: Outside the state capitol building is a permanent memorial plaque for Senator Capitol Kitty, a friendly, feral, black cat that lived on the state capitol grounds for 13 years. She became such a celebrity that former First Lady Sharon Davis wrote a fictional children’s book about her, entitled “The Adventures of Capitol Kitty.” The cat was also known as Senator Kitty, as she preferred to sit outside the Senate wing of the Capitol.

Next Stop: El Rancho Drive-In 4, Sparks NV.