Olympic Drive-In

12109 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064  | map |

Opened: April 4, 1945 at the northwest corner of Olympic and Bundy with Edward G. Robinson in "The Woman in the Window" along with "Lost in a Harem" starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. It was an independent operation. Later it was run by Pacific Theatres.

This was a successor location to California's first, the Pico Drive-In, a venue that opened in 1934 at Pico and Westwood Blvd. It closed there in September 1944. The screen tower got moved two miles to this new location. Thanks to Robert Juzefski for this 1973 photo of the final message on the marquee. This version of it once appeared on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page as a post from Bill Gabel.

Capacity: 775 cars, more or less.  

 

In the first listing in the Times it was just called Drive In. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this April 3 ad. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org 

 

 

 

An opening ad that appeared in the Venice Evening Vanguard. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.

 

 

Instructions and a film listings for later in April and early May 1945. 

 

 

Inside pages of the April and May program. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating these on the site Worthpoint. 

The theatre got a remodel in 1950 that included the addition of a playground, upgraded speakers and the surfer mural painted on the screen tower.

 

A 1951 ad located by Ken McIntyre. 

Closing: October 14, 1973. Bill Gabel notes that the final show was "School Girls," "School Girls Growing" and "Swinging Wives."

Status: The Martin Cadillac dealership was on the site for over 40 years. They closed in 2019 to make way for a new mixed-use development. See Steven Sharp's Urbanize story "Martin Cadillac Makes Way for Expo Line-adjacent Offices and Apartments."

 

More photos:

1946 - A trade magazine image located by Dallas Movie Theaters for a post on Cinema Treasures. "That Night With You" was a September 1945 release.

 

 

c.1946 - An early shot with lots of undeveloped land behind the theatre. Thanks to Michael Kilgore for locating this one for a post on Cinema Treasures. He notes that it once appeared on the Classic Hollywood/Los Angeles/SFV Facebook page but the provenance is unknown. Also see: 1947 photo - Historic Aerials | later more developed view | 1962 aerial looking north - Howard D. Kelly - LAPL |

 

 

1946 - Thanks to Bill Gabel for sharing this shot he located as a post on Cinema Treasures. Michael Kilgore notes that it's from late April or early May.

 

 

1951 - The new 1950 mural on the screen tower. It's a shot presumably taken for Life magazine. Thanks to David Zornig for locating it for a post on Cinema Treasures. 

 

 

 

1951 - An entrance view taken by Kurt Hutton after the 1950 remodel. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for locating the image in the Getty Images collection. It originally appeared with the article "We Go To Hollywood" in the magazine Picture Post. 

 

1960s? - It's an undated view from the Fred E. Basten collection of the Santa Monica Public Library. 

 

1973 - A photo by John Margolies that's in the Library of Congress collection. Thanks to Sean Ault for locating it. 

 

1974 - Martin Cadillac, on the site of the Olympic. It's a photo by John Margolies in the Library of Congress collection.

 

 

2019 - An image that appeared with Steven Sharp's Urbanize story "Martin Cadillac Makes Way for Expo Line-adjacent Offices and Apartments.

 

The Olympic Drive-In in the Movies: 

Bob Hope and Lucille Ball are out on the town (but not with their own spouses) in "The Facts of Life" (United Artists, 1960). 56 minutes into the film they decide to go to the Olympic. This screenshot is from the fine page about filming locations on the site The Movie District.

 

At the entrance. It's not going to go well as a hideaway. Thanks to Chris Nichols for this screenshot -- and for the nudge to get a page up about the Olympic. He's an editor at Los Angeles magazine and is also the author of the Taschen book "Walt Disney's Disneyland."

 

 

 

Pulling into a space at the Olympic. It's idyllic for a moment until their dry cleaning man takes the next spot. When they try to leave without being recognized their horn gets stuck and then they forget to put the speaker back on the post. It's another screenshot by Chris Nichols.

 

Attempting to back out while kissing. And at the same time putting the speaker back on the post. They're trying to avoid letting the dry cleaning guy get a good view of their faces for a positive identification. On IMDb: "The Facts of Life."

Ruth Hussey and Don DeFore play the spouses of Bob and Lucy. Melvin Frank directed. The cinematography was by Charles Lang, Jr. Chris added shots of several other locations they used as comments on a Facebook post. The film shot in Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley, Acapulco, Monterey and San Francisco. He notes that the full film can be seen on YouTube. 

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Olympic Drive-In. And visit the page here on this site about the earlier location, the Pico Drive-In. 

Life has a fine collection of drive-in shots in their article "Let's Go to the Drive-In Movies!"

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