In 2006 when real estate development fell through, the Van Buren's owners decided to invest in a long postponed remodeling project. Although the Van Buren was never forced to close, because it has always been popular, 40 years of continuous operation did result in some despair. Like most drive-ins, the Van Buren was not built to last more than a decade before it was redeveloped, for a higher value, in the booming Southern California real estate market. Built on the site of a former orange ranch, the theatre was expanded to three screens in 1975. The Van Buren Drive-in Theatre, named for its location on Van Buren Blvd in the historic Arlington district of Riverside, California, opened in 1964 with a single screen. Now there just over 400 drive-ins in the country, but those remaining have a dedicated following of devoted fans, who love their movies outdoors in a pleasant, family friendly setting. But television, indoor theatre multiplexes and soaring real estate values saw to the decline of the drive-in, beginning the late 1970s. Its successful debut prompted others to follow, and by the mid 1950s drive-ins numbered well over 4,000, some of which held room for over three thousand cars. From humble beginnings in Depression-era New Jersey to the unprecedented national phenomenon that became a definitive icon of an entire generation, the drive-in theater brought together two of the greatest American passions: the automobile and the movies.Īuto parts salesman Richard Hollingshead opened the world's first Drive-in Theatre in Camden, New Jersey on June 6th, 1933. Few things say America more than apple pie, barbeques on the Fourth of July and drive-in movies.

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