Time Machine: 5 historical photos of drive-in movie theaters in Tucson
- Arizona Daily Star
These photos were recently featured in the Star's Tucson Time Machine newsletter, which highlights Tucson's history through snapshots of people, places, and events.
Here's a taste of the free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to here.
De Anza moviegoers make their way to the snack bar in this June 10, 1977 photo.
The De Anza Drive-In was known as Cactus Drive-In until 1976. The drive-in theater, located at 1401 S. Alvernon Way, reopened as the De Anza in 1977 and remained a Tucson staple for years.
The theater eventually closed in 2009 and was later demolished.
Photo credit: Jim Davis / Arizona Daily Star
Here's the Apache Drive-In Theatre in Tucson showing "The Jungle Book" in June 1978.
The Apache Drive-In Theatre, located at 1600 E. Benson Highway, celebrated its grand opening on May 12, 1955. The drive-in played two major films during its grand opening: "Seven Angry Men" and "Santa Fe Passage," according to an ad featured in a 1955 issue of the Arizona Daily Star.
By the mid-1970s, two more screens were added to the drive-in, making it a multiplex.
The Apache Drive-In was closed and demolished in mid-1990s.
Photo credit: Tucson Citizen archives.
The Tucson Five Drive-In initially opened as the Tucson Four Drive-In in 1974. The fifth screen was added in the early 1980s.
Unfortunately, by the late 1980s, the theater was dismantled and demolished. Here's a snapshot from Nov. 9, 1988, of some workers removing the last of the five screens.
The area later became the home of a Century Theatres movie complex that opened in the late 1980s and closed in 2011.
Photo credit: Bruce McClelland / Arizona Daily Star.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, drive-in movie theaters once again made a comeback. Tucson saw various pop-up drive-ins appear throughout the city, many of which have since closed.
Here's Nadia Buus, left, and Cassandra Nessinger catching the last of the day's light from atop Nessinger's vehicle while waiting for the start of the movie at the Tucson Dragway Drive-In Theater on May 8, 2020.
The showing sold out online well before the gates at the track opened at 6:30 p.m. for the showing of Pixar's "Cars." About 500 total, 250 per the two screens, filled the parking lot.
What was your favorite drive-in movie theater in Tucson? Let us know at timemachine@tucson.com.
Photo credit: Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star.
Here's a glimpse of the Cactus Drive-In in an undated photo. Are you able to guess the date of the photo?
Cactus Drive-In opened in 1951 and closed in 1976.
Photo credit: Arizona Daily Star archives.
De Anza moviegoers make their way to the snack bar in this June 10, 1977 photo.
The De Anza Drive-In was known as Cactus Drive-In until 1976. The drive-in theater, located at 1401 S. Alvernon Way, reopened as the De Anza in 1977 and remained a Tucson staple for years.
The theater eventually closed in 2009 and was later demolished.
Photo credit: Jim Davis / Arizona Daily Star
Here's the Apache Drive-In Theatre in Tucson showing "The Jungle Book" in June 1978.
The Apache Drive-In Theatre, located at 1600 E. Benson Highway, celebrated its grand opening on May 12, 1955. The drive-in played two major films during its grand opening: "Seven Angry Men" and "Santa Fe Passage," according to an ad featured in a 1955 issue of the Arizona Daily Star.
By the mid-1970s, two more screens were added to the drive-in, making it a multiplex.
The Apache Drive-In was closed and demolished in mid-1990s.
Photo credit: Tucson Citizen archives.
The Tucson Five Drive-In initially opened as the Tucson Four Drive-In in 1974. The fifth screen was added in the early 1980s.
Unfortunately, by the late 1980s, the theater was dismantled and demolished. Here's a snapshot from Nov. 9, 1988, of some workers removing the last of the five screens.
The area later became the home of a Century Theatres movie complex that opened in the late 1980s and closed in 2011.
Photo credit: Bruce McClelland / Arizona Daily Star.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, drive-in movie theaters once again made a comeback. Tucson saw various pop-up drive-ins appear throughout the city, many of which have since closed.
Here's Nadia Buus, left, and Cassandra Nessinger catching the last of the day's light from atop Nessinger's vehicle while waiting for the start of the movie at the Tucson Dragway Drive-In Theater on May 8, 2020.
The showing sold out online well before the gates at the track opened at 6:30 p.m. for the showing of Pixar's "Cars." About 500 total, 250 per the two screens, filled the parking lot.
What was your favorite drive-in movie theater in Tucson? Let us know at timemachine@tucson.com.
Photo credit: Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star.
More information
- Photos: Looking back at Tucson's last drive-in movie theater
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- Photos: Sears stores in Tucson since 1928
- Photos: UA campus and Tucson in 1965
- Photos of Tucson's Historic El Conquistador Hotel, demolished in 1968
- Photos: Tanque Verde Swap Meet in Tucson through the years
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