The only clue that the above-pictured location was once the home of Arizona’s largest drive-in movie theater is found in the name of the shopping center that now occupies the space: Cinema Park Plaza.
Drive-in movie theaters helped transform the automobile from simple transportation into an entertainment hub and a social space. As an inexpensive alternative to indoor theaters, they frequently charged by the vehicle, and some served as full-fledged destinations with food and beverages as well as the obligatory entertainment. The peak for drive-in theaters was about 1958, when there were about 4,000 locations operating across the United States.
Weather patterns can make for challenging conditions for outdoor activities, but a theater in Phoenix came up with an innovative way to deal with the heat.
Cinema Park Drive-In opened on April 22, 1949 on a 10-acre lot near what is now 7th Street and Missouri Avenue. It had the capacity for about 900 vehicles and stuck around for about 30 years.
The theater’s most noteworthy feature was a massive evaporative cooling system: Huge helicopter-style blades and water were used to circulate mist across the property. And it worked! The clever amenities didn’t stop there. Some Phoenix-area natives online said there was also a concession stand specifically placed to serve vehicles that were waiting in line to enter the theater.
Here is a historical aerial shot from 1949:
And another from 1969, with the surrounding development noticeably more dense.
Sometime in the 1980s, the drive-in was demolished. Today, the only indication that a drive-in theater ever existed at that location is the name of the shopping center.
Still, I “drove” my diecast 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air there to experience the site like old times.
