Feb. 8: Vineland Drive-In, City of Industry CA

Posted on by
Vineland Drive-In marquee and main screen

photo by jericl cat, from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 39 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I stayed in the Los Angeles area, driving just a few minutes northeast till I reached the Vineland Drive-In in City of Industry CA.

The Vineland opened in 1955 and has stayed active ever since. It switched to digital projection in 2013.

Good news: The Vineland was open on a February Wednesday, and had four screens to choose from. Bad news: I had already seen all four early movies. Good news: One of them was Hidden Figures, an Oscar-nominated film that I hadn’t seen for over three weeks. Of all the movies to watch a second time, that would be my choice.

Miles Today / Total:  17 / 4859 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Hidden Figures / 29

Nearby Restaurant: It’s about three miles away, but I had to experience a perfect example of roadside Americana at The Donut Hole in La Puente. It’s open from early morning to late, late night, and the donuts are great, but the important thing is to be able to say that you drove through two donut holes to order and pick up your donuts.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Less than three miles away on Puente Avenue was the Courtyard Los Angeles Baldwin Park, which was of course in Baldwin Park. There was a microwave and mini fridge in my room, so I could save drive-in leftovers for breakfast with the coffee I brewed.

Only in City of Industry: According to Wikipedia, City of Industry is a narrow, mostly east to west suburb that hosts over 2,500 businesses but only 219 people. It was incorporated in 1957 to prevent surrounding cities from annexing industrial land for tax revenue. Its few residences either existed before incorporation, or are on properties near Industry Hills Golf Club, Industry Hills Recreation Center, or City Hall. There are also a few people who live at the city-owned nursing home.

Next Stop: Mission Tiki Drive-in Theatre, Montclair CA.

A Contemporary Glimpse of The First Drive-In

Posted on by
Line drawing of the first drive-in theater

from the September 1933 issue of Popular Mechanics via Google Books

Here’s something fun that I ran into today, and I wanted to share it with you. In its September 1933 issue, Popular Mechanics ran a superb illustration of the very first drive-in theater, in Camden NJ. It had opened in June 1933, and its marquee simply read “Drive-In Theatre”.

I found this on Google Books, which includes a treasure trove of searchable issues of Popular Mechanics, Life, Billboard, and even some magazines that never mention drive-ins. I’ve read a lot of drive-in books, but I don’t recall ever seeing this wonderful, crisp drawing before. I presume that the copyright for this issue wasn’t renewed in 1961 and that it then slipped into the public domain. If I’m wrong, please correct me gently.

The headline above the illustration read Drive-In Movie Holds Four Hundred Cars. Here’s the one (long) paragraph that accompanied it:

“Motorists can sit in comfort in their own cars and enjoy the movies at a drive-in theater in Camden, N. J. This outdoor talking-picture theater accommodates 400 cars so that about 1,600 persons can view a performance without leaving their automobiles. This is made possible by seven rows of grades inclined so that vision from the rear car is not impaired by those in front. The cars are parked at the front of each row on a five-per-cent grade. Each aisle is fifty feet deep, giving ample room for cars to enter and leave, and the theater is entirely surrounded by trees. The motor-movie fans, even though seated in the last row, 500 feet from the screen, have no difficulty in seeing or hearing. The screen is sixty feet wide and a new method of controlled directional sound carries the words or music to each car with equal, modulated volume. The outdoor theater is expected to appeal particularly to those who do not like to drive through downtown districts to attend a movie.”

In his authoritative Drive-In Theaters, Kerry Segrave disputes those numbers, writing that the ground plan shows six rows for 336 cars, and that the screen was only 40 feet wide. The theater was sold within three years “to a man who ‘moved’ it to Union NJ.” Still, it’s fun to see such a clear picture of the start of something big.

Feb. 7: Paramount Drive-In Theatres, Paramount CA

Posted on by

It’s Day 38 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I reached the Los Angeles area, starting with the theater closest to the previous day’s stop in San Diego. It took a solid two hours to drive north to the Paramount Drive-In Theatres of Paramount CA.

This drive-in opened as the Roadium Drive-In in 1947, just before the post offices of Hynes and Clearwater were merged to form then-unincorporated Paramount. It closed in 1992, but the Paramount was reborn in April 2014, just behind the Bianchi Theatres on Rosecrans Avenue.

The concession stand had pizza and other meals along with the usual suspects for snacking (especially the popcorn), and I enjoyed the video games before the show started.

On one hand, I was glad that the Paramount was open on a Tuesday night in February. Probably only a quarter of US drive-ins were open last night. But what a tough choice! I could watch Rings again, but it’s not my favorite genre and it’s actually not a very good movie. My only other choice was Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. So that’s what I saw for second night in a row and the fourth time in nine nights. New releases come Friday, and I’ll try to hold out till then.

Miles Today / Total:  123 / 4842 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter / 28

Nearby Restaurant: Just a short trip west down Rosecrans Avenue brought me to El Compa, a great place for Sinaloan style Mexican food. I went for the bistec ranchero, or steak simmered in ranchera sauce.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Nothing was really close to the Paramount, which is ringed by budget hotels about three miles away in each direction. Fortunately, I found something that’s like a four-leaf clover, a Motel 6 with positive reviews. (I know they exist; they’re just not as common as I’d like.) The one south of the drive-in near Bellflower Plaza worked fine and saved me enough cash for a real breakfast somewhere else in the morning.

Only in Paramount: Paramount is the birthplace and home of the Zamboni Company, started by Frank Joseph Zamboni Jr., inventor of the ice resurfacing machine. Zamboni manufactures and sells the machines worldwide. Since 1939 the Zamboni family has also operated Iceland, an ice skating rink with improvements patented by Frank Zamboni.

Next Stop: Vineland Drive-In, City of Industry CA.