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Lakewood Drive-In

2120 E. Carson St. Long Beach, CA 90807 | map | 

Opened: 1948. It was on the south side of the street just east of Cherry Ave. The 1981 photo by John Margolies is from the Library of Congress collection. This is one of 147 California theatre photos by Mr. Margolies that are in the collection.

Architects: It was designed by Clifford A. and William Glenn Balch for Pacific Theatres. Thanks to Joe Vogel for the research. He comments:

"According to an item in the November 15, 1947, issue of Boxoffice Magazine, this drive-in was designed by Clifford and William Glenn Balch, for Pacific Theatres. The item also said that the brothers designed another drive-in for Pacific at the same time, to be built at Roscoe and Sepulveda in the San Fernando Valley.

Clifford Balch (born 1880) would have been about 77 years old at the time these theaters were designed, while his far younger brother William (born 1901) was, at the time, in a business partnership with architect Louis L. Bryan (Balch & Bryan), formed in 1946. I don’t know exactly what the professional relationship between the brothers was at the time, but a few items from about 1947 also appeared in Southwest Builder & Contractor linking them as designers of various drive-ins, and at least one hardtop."
 
Capacity: 1,000 cars
 
 

 An August 26, 1948 opening day ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.

Closing: The closing date is unknown. 

Status: It's been demolished. There are now stores on the site including a Ralph's.
 

The redeveloped site of the Lakewood, called Long Beach Town Square. On the left we're looking east on Carson St. On the right it's Cherry Ave. Photo: Google Maps - 2019

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Lakewood Drive-In.

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