Opened: July 30, 1948. Bill Gabel notes that the initial films were "Buffalo Bill" with Joel McCrea along with "Wings of the Morning" with Henry Fonda and Anabella. The theatre was on the south side of the street several blocks west of Van Nuys Blvd.
The 1981 photo by John Margolies is in the Library of Congress collection. Note the Pacific Theatres logo on the lower right corner of the mural. Also see another version the LOC has. There's more about the photos of Mr. Margolies on the site Picryl. The LOC also has a page on the John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive.
Architects: William G. Balch and Clifford A. Balch. Thanks to Joe Vogel for the data. He notes that the brothers are credited as designers in the November 15, 1947 issue of Boxoffice as well as in the June 13, 1947 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor.
Capacity: Originally 890. It ended up as a three screen facility with a 1,400 car capacity. Pacific Theatres did the remodel in the winter of 1982-1983.
Closed: September 2, 1996. It was the last drive-in operating in the Valley.
1948 - A June construction photo. Thanks to the Valley Relics Facebook page for locating it for a post.
c.1949 - Running "On An Island With You," a 1949 release with Esther Williams. Thanks to contributor Senorsock for finding this one for a post on Cinema Treasures.
c.1949 - Another "On An Island..." shot on Cinema Treasures, this one a find by the site's contributor Granola.
c.1952 - The theatre running "Meet Me After the Show," a 1951 release with Betty Grable and Macdonald Carey, along with "The Sea Hornet." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.
1963 - "Irma la Douce" at the Van Nuys. Thanks to Laurel Canyon Rider for finding this photo for a post on the Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page.
1964 - A view by Howard D. Kelly looking northwest. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
c.1970 - A terrific screen tower shot. It's one Carol Momsen found for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
1974 - "The Lords of Flatbush" and "Let the Good Times Roll." Thanks to Gene Sculatti for sharing this one in a post on the page for the Mid Century Modern Facebook group.
1978 - Thanks to the Valley Relics Museum Facebook page for this photo. It seems to have vanished from their page.
1979 - Thanks to Glenn Morgan for this one, a post on Cinema Treasures.
1982 - A sad view of the original screen tower demolition. The site reopened "all new" with three screens on June 24, 1983. It's a Brad Smith photo appearing on Cinema Treasures. Carol Momsen also featured it, uncredited, in a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The Van Nuys in the Movies:
Brad Pitt lives in a trailer next to the drive-in in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" (Sony Pictures, 2019).
The marquee was built full size in Saugus, the screen tower was a miniature built to 1/24 scale. The photo of the model designed by Barbara Ling is courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Head to the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies pages about the film for more images of how the shot was put together as well as photos of the Pantages, Vine, Vogue, Ritz/Pussycat, Bruin and Fox Westwood Village theatres from the film.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Van Nuys Drive-In. There's a Drive-In Theatres page with several photos on a site from the Garbell family.
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