Woodward Drive In

~
Who could forget the fabulous Crest or the Tower Theater? Fresno’s drive-ins were the most popular with teens, among them the Moon-Glow and the Sunset. The world’s largest outdoor screen was housed at the Sunnyside Drive-in. Did you hide in the trunk to save 50 cents or possibly steam up the car’s windows? Share your old Fresno theater memories here.
~
Post Reply
Mistyvs
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 6:04 pm
Contact:

Woodward Drive In

Post by Mistyvs » Tue Nov 16, 2010 6:15 pm

Anyone have any pictures of the snack bar of Woodward drivein? I went there the summer before they closed and wanted to take pictures of that awesome orange retro snackbar and never did.
Attachments
Woodward park Drive In back side.JPG
The back side of the old Woodward Drive In screen

Guest

Re: Woodward Drive In

Post by Guest » Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:40 pm

The Woodward drive-in eh? It certainly came to be much latter than our old friends, the Starlite and the Moonglow. I found the information below at driveinmovie.com:

Fresno (Fresno County) California
Woodward Park Drive-in: GONE
formerly located at 7150 North Abby Street

The Woodward Park had operated here for 22 years, lighting-up four screens to provide cinema al fresco as the last of Fresno's six area Drive-ins which had managed to remain lit until it went dark in the 1st year of the new millennium. It was also the last outdoor "quad" in California. The Woodward went southward during May & June of 2002, as it was demolished to make way for (BIZ@usual) Costco and Home Depot.
Attachments
Aerial View Woodward Park Drive in.jpg
Aerial View of Woodward Drive in with its' four screens
Aerial View Woodward Park Drive in.jpg (51.96 KiB) Viewed 17482 times

69GT
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 2:46 pm
Contact:

Re: Woodward Drive In

Post by 69GT » Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:32 am

People might find this interesting. There is one (actually two) sign of the old drive in left for those who look hard enough. On the 41 southbound lane side. There are two street lights along the freeway that used to border the drive in with metal shields still in place right behind the light to keep glare from bothering moviegoers. I see them every day and think about that place.

Drakonyx
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 7:47 pm
Contact:

Re: Woodward Drive In

Post by Drakonyx » Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:18 pm

I remember when Woodward Drive-In was being built. It was state-of-the-art at the time. Most drive-ins had one or two screens, but this one had FOUR! Then, when they tore it down, I wondered where the time had gone. What was once state-of-the-art was suddenly obsolete. They pulled up the Malibu Grand Prix, too. I naively thought both those businesses would be there forever.
Attachments
Woodward Park Drive In sign 2.jpg
Woodward Park Drive In sign 2.jpg (46.45 KiB) Viewed 17482 times

senpaidonna
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2014 9:37 pm
Contact:

Re: Woodward Drive In

Post by senpaidonna » Sat Feb 15, 2014 12:55 am

We were a loyal Sunnyside Drive-in family, but when the Woodward Park Drive-in opened, we switched. The four screens seemed so modern and cool. I saw so many movies there! For years, every Sunday night, my dad and I had a standing date to go there. I used to feel sorry that my mom didn't get to come, but I think that must have been her "me time" night. I remember once when I was 11, we pulled up to the ticket booth, and my dad said, "One adult, and one child." The guy in the ticket booth said, "Yeah, sure man. You saying she's 11. Your date is 11?" My dad went ballistic, talked to the manager, and the guy ended up getting fired. It wasn't until I was older that I understood the guy thought I was my dad's under-age date.

We went to see The Fog one night. At the ticket booth, they told us that fog was expected, and we might not get to see the whole show. We decided to chance it. My dad had a 280Z. About a third of the way through the movie, the fog rolled in. I started watching it creep higher and higher, until it was up to the car's windows. We stayed and watched the film, but both of us kept checking the outside fog and laughing at how high it was getting. By the end of the movie, I was peering through the fog, looking for some spooky dead pirates.
Attachments
Woodward Park Drive In with sign and car line.jpg

daniel

Re: Woodward Drive In

Post by daniel » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:42 pm

Nice find on the drive-in signs but was the drive-in force to closed for the home depot or costco? What I mean is like was it an operating drive-in and then home depot and costco were like you have to leave and got the city to force them to close and demolish the drive-in

Guest

Re: Woodward Drive In

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:59 pm

the fencing for the drive-in still exist.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests