Drive-In’s Screen to Put on Last Show

In its heyday four decades ago, the Anaheim Drive-In Theatre on Lemon Street drew couples on dates, friends out for an evening of fun and families with pajama-clad children who parents hoped would watch the cartoon, then snooze through the feature film.

The outdoor theater next to the Riverside Freeway stopped showing movies in 1990 because attendance had become so sparse. The main attraction since then has been weekend swap meets. Now, the drive-in is being razed to make way for a 25-screen cinema complex.

The old marquee fronting Lemon will remain for now to announce the opening of the cineplex, to be completed by May.

“There’s a building boom among all the movie theater chains right now, and we are pleased that Anaheim is getting its share of new projects,” Mayor Tom Daly said. “Central Anaheim needs movie theaters, and we’re hoping that this will fill the bill.”

For several weeks, workers have been breaking up the pavement where moviegoers once parked their cars on the 22-acre site, owned by Los Angeles-based Pacific Theatres.

To mark the beginning of construction for the cineplex, company officials will host a “screen dropping” ceremony at noon today. The public may watch the demolition of the drive-in’s original 122-foot-wide, 96-foot-tall screen, the only structure left on the site.

Pacific’s other Orange County drive-ins, in La Habra and Buena Park, have also closed in recent years. In La Habra, a Super Kmart store was built on the site, and in Buena Park there are plans for 220 houses at the former drive-in.

The county’s few remaining drive-ins will disappear soon too. A retail project is being proposed at the Highway 39 Drive-In location in Westminster, Pacific officials said. Pacific’s Orange Drive-In is still open as a swap meet only.

The Stadium Drive-In on Katella Avenue in Orange is scheduled for conversion to a multiscreen cineplex by Century Theatres Inc. and Syufy Enterprises, both of San Francisco.

Chan Wood, Pacific Theatres’ executive vice president, said moviegoers’ tastes have changed over the years, bringing an end to the drive-in era.

“They want better sound, presentation and amenities,” Wood said, which drive-ins can’t offer.

The new Anaheim complex will have a total of 5,500 stadium-style seats, a lobby with three snack bars and 2,000 parking spaces, Wood said.

Three restaurants, a food court and a fun center with games are also planned.

Wood said drive-ins are also disappearing because they are on large, valuable commercial parcels. “Most of our properties are at prime locations,” he said.

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New Cinema

25-screen complex will replace drive-in.