San Pedro Drive-In

1575 N. Gaffey St. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90744  | map |

Opened:  May 27, 1949. It was a Pacific Theatres operation. A newspaper story boasted that the theatre had the world's largest screen and snack bar. Dogs were welcome, assuming they came with their masters. And they'd warm your baby bottles for you. The 1979 photo by John Margolies is in the Library of Congress collection. Also see a 1977 view in the collection from a similar angle.

Architect: William Glenn Balch

Capacity: 831 cars

 

A rendering of the screen tower from the Herald Examiner collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.

 

A great ad located by Chris Nichols that he shared in a Facebook post. He's a senior editor at Los Angeles Magazine and author of the Taschen book "Walt Disney's Disneyland."

An ad that ran on May 26, 1949. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. 

In 1977 the theatre started running only Spanish language product. In late 1985 Pacific converted a corner of the property to a mini-storage business. 

Closed: c.1990.

Status: It's been demolished.

1949 - A look at the marquee with the theatre playing "The Great Gatsby," a 1949 release, along with "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" from 1936. Thanks to Bill Gabel for finding the photo to include on Cinema Treasures. 

1961 - A view looking west. It's a photo by Howard D. Kelly in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a view of the same vintage looking southwest.

1977 - A photo by John Margolies from the Library of Congress collection.

 

1979 - A photo by John Margolies from the Library of Congress collection. Also see a similar shot from the same angle that's more tightly cropped. The Library has 147 California theatre photos to browse that were taken by Mr. Margolies in the 1970s.

 

1984 - A photo of the drive-in that appeared with a San Pedro News-Pilot article headed "S.P. drive-in may become industrial center." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting the photo and story. He has both as comments to a post about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The photo's caption: "The San Pedro Drive-in Theater, obscured in view looking toward Peninsula, may be developed into a multi-tenant industrial center."

1986 - Part of the lot was converted by Pacific into a mini-storage operation. This photo appeared in the January 14 issue of the News Pilot with this caption: "The San Pedro Drive-In Theater, in background, has given up part of its space for a self-storage facility. Company officials say the success of the self-storage business might lead to the demise of the drive-in." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo and a story about the project for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

c.1990 - A post-closing view. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the San Pedro Drive-In.

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