Los Angeles Theatres: Circle Drive-In

1633 Ximeno Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815 | map |

Opening: 1951. It was at Ximeno Ave. and Pacific Coast Highway. The name came from its location near a traffic circle. The 1952 image is a screenshot from footage that's included in Rick Prelinger's "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2016."

Rick's compilation is an hour and twenty minutes of wonderful footage from various sources that was originally presented in a program at the Los Angeles Public Library. Also see "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2019." This second installment was presented at the Library by the organization Photo Friends as part of the series L.A. in Focus. Both compilations are on Vimeo. David Zornig notes that Rick has also posted 8 minutes of the c.1952 footage, mostly about Beany's Drive-In restaurant, on YouTube.

Capacity: 1,000 cars

"Enjoy Smoking...Come As You Are...Baby Bottle Warming..." This ad appeared in the Long Beach Press Telegram on April 4, 1951. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.

Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this article that also appeared in the Press Telegram's April 4 issue:

"Circle Drive-in Opens Tonight - Hailed as the most modern of its type in the nation, the new Circle Drive-In theater will be opened to the public tonight. The theater, located on 15 acres at Pacific Coast Hwy. at the Traffic Circle, will hold a benefit premiere tonight and those who saw a test last night were strong in praise for the huge screen and near-perfect sound offered. Two good films, 'Stage to Tucson' and 'Raton Pass' plus news and comics, are offered on the opening bill.

"Tonight’s opening culminates more than a year of planning and work. Owned and operated by Eagle Theaters Corp., headed by Thornton Howell, with his brother, James Howell, as secretary-treasurer, the Circle Drive-in is the fourth such theater opened by them. The Long Beach theater embodies not only all of the main points of their other drive-ins but many new features. Barnie Warrick, manager, says the new theater has the largest screen of any in the country. The picture itself will be 70 feet by 46 feet. The projector is the latest in equipment from RCA. Each aisle is equipped with ramp lights and each speaker post has a pilot light. In addition the posts are covered with luminous paint. There is parking-viewing space for 1000 motor cars.

"The snack bar has 85 feet of counter space and is designed for speed in serving. There are two 16-foot windows from the snack bar overlooking the screen and the interior is wired for sound so that visitors in there will not miss any of the film. It is planned to install playground equipment of all kinds shortly for the entertainment of tots either before or during the shows. The show will start each evening at dusk and the gates will be opened an hour before. Music will be provided on the speakers until the picture starts. Pets are welcomed but must be kept in the cars."

Closing: Early in 1985. It was last operated by Pacific Theatres. The impending closure was announced in the Press Telegram in their October 23, 1984 issue.

Status: It's been demolished.

1961 - The Long Beach Traffic Circle. Thanks to Arturo Salazar for locating this photo by Howard D. Kelly in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The data: "1961-June-03 - Looking west over Los Alamitos Traffic Circle in Long Beach. Pacific Coast Hwy (then US-101 Alt, now CA-1) vertical at top then lower center diagonal; Lakewood Blvd (CA-19) at right (horizontal). Traffic Circle Drive-in and Ximeno Ave in foreground."

1983 - A photo from the now-vanished American Classic Images website.

1985 - A January photo by Anne Knudsen that's in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.

2019 - A look north on Ximeno toward the traffic circle and the PCH. The Circle used to be off to the left. Photo: Google Maps

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Circle for links to a number of photos as well as many comments.

Los Angeles Theatres

Circle Drive-In

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