Popcorn in the parking lot! Palm Springs Drive-In theaters.

Drive-In theaters were once everywhere, and Palm Springs had two! They are long gone, but we remember them with fondness.

This episode of A Bert’s Eye View is brought to you by Modernism Week — your ticket to the best in midcentury and modern architecture, design, and culture, all in vibrant Palm Springs, California. Mark your calendar for October and February, when the city comes alive with tours, talks, parties, and more. Explore the full schedule at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠modernismweek.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The information presented in this podcast is for general knowledge and entertainment purposes only. All research that was done and opinions expressed are our own and not necessarily those of Modernism Week.

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hey there, and welcome to season2 of A Bert's Eye View.
My name is Bert and I'm the Buster operations manager for
Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA.
I coordinate all our Double Decker bus tours during the
Modernism Week festivals in February and October, and I'm
happy to have their support for these podcasts.
I started this project to respond to questions from our

(00:28):
guests that we don't have time to answer during our tours.
I thought we would do a dozen orso stories, but the response has
been so positive that after doing 26 podcasts in season 1,
we're on to the second season. So if there's a topic you want
addressed, leave me a comment. Please tune in, click the follow
button and enjoy a bird's eye view.

(00:59):
Of course there are new high tech imitations.
The Palm Springs Air Museum has done it, the Palm Springs
Cultural Center tried it, even the Mary Pickford Theatre in
Cathedral City took a swing at it.
But there's nothing like the original, What am I talking
about, drive in movie theaters? Of course, not many people
remember the Sun Air Drive in Theatre that was located on East

(01:22):
Palm Canyon Drive at Perez Rd., just outside the city limit.
In February 19, 5016 acres of desert land was purchased from
Walter Melrose, a wealthy Cathedral City developer.
The drive in was located adjacent to Melrose's Sun Air
tract. It was empty desert with some
scrub and construction began. In April, Benjamin Bronstein, an

(01:46):
experienced independent theater operator from Los Angeles, came
out to the desert to manage the new drive in.
The projection booth was equipped with the latest RCA
sound and projection equipment and the posts that held the car
speakers were lighted to facilitate parking.
The snack bar and restrooms werein the center of the parking

(02:07):
area and a children's playgroundwas right in front of the 75
foot screen. The grand opening of the theater
was October 3rd, 1950 and timingwas perfect as the heat of the
summer had passed. Unfortunately, we don't know
what film was shown at opening night.
A lot of information about the Sun Air drive in has been lost

(02:27):
to history. We do know that the Sun Air
closed February 2nd in 1987 and was demolished a month later.
Today, the Accurate Dealership in Cathedral City occupies most
of the theater's grounds. On April 28th, 1964, the Palm
Springs Drive in Ride in Theateropened AT-676-O7 E Ramon Rd.

(02:52):
between Crossley Road and the Wash.
The grand premiere featured 3 Lives of Thomasina, a Disney
film starring Patrick Mcgoohan and Susan Hampshire.
This was a fundraiser for the Desert Museum and patrons were
charged $5 per car. The Drive In even featured a
special section for equestrian guests that included water

(03:14):
troughs for the horses. During a soft period in the
economy, The Drive In started showing adult films in 1972.
Not seeing a rise in business, they stopped in 1974 and
returned to regular feature films.
The Drive In had a capacity for 800 cars.
Its last movies were November 27th, 1988, a double feature

(03:36):
with Everybody's All American starring Dennis Quaid and
Jessica Lange. The second feature was Above the
Law with Steven Seagal and Pam Grier.
One of my friends and regular podcast listeners remembers
going to the Palm Springs Drive In in the early 80s with his
wife and their newborn son. They just wanted to get out of

(03:57):
the house for a while and watch a movie, and the drive in seemed
like the best option. Of course, the baby cried and
fussed the whole time, and Fred doesn't remember the movie.
The first true drive in theater opened in Camden, NJ in 1933
with room for 400 cars. Drive in theaters peaked after
World War 2 with rising car ownership and an increase in

(04:19):
suburban population. At their peak, there were 4000
drive in theaters around the country in 1958.
Drive ins began to decline in the late 1960s as the result of
improvements to home entertainment with color
televisions and later VCRS and video rentals.
In the second-half of the 2000s,another decline because of the

(04:40):
oil crisis and a worsening economy.
By 2014 there were only 348 operating drive in theaters in
the country. During the pandemic, the drive
ins that were still operating did see a small surge in
business as the format enforced social distancing by making
people stay in their own cars. Drive in theaters either as pop

(05:03):
ups like at the Palm Springs AirMuseum or so-called Boutique Dr.
Ins catering to a smaller audience continue to operate,
some with large Jumbotron electronic screens that allow
movies to be shown in the daylight.
There's a certain bit of nostalgia involved with getting
into the family car, parking at the drive in and waiting for it

(05:23):
to get dark enough for movies tostart on the big screen.
Somehow, sitting in my recliner and turning on the large screen,
television and streaming the latest offering from Netflix
doesn't quite measure up. Special thanks to my friend Fred
Couch for sharing his memory of a visit to the Palm Springs
Drive in. It's stories like his that make

(05:44):
our history real. Support for a bird's eye view
comes from Modernism Week, celebrating global modernism and
Palm Springs design each Octoberand February.
[e-mail].