Olympic Drive-In

12109 W. Olympic Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90064

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Showing 1 - 25 of 30 comments

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on May 21, 2021 at 12:00 am

The Olympic was remodeled in spring 1950, adding a playground, enlarging the rest rooms, and swapping in better in-car speakers. Maybe that was when its screen tower switched from the plain one shown in its grand opening ad to its famous Pacific mural? The surfers were definitely there by August 1951, when they appeared in a (Venice CA) Evening Vanguard newspaper ad.

There were a lot of conflicting references to the Olympic’s capacity. A month before it opened, the Citizen News said the drive-in would be able to hold 800 cars. In September 1945, the Evening Vanguard ran a press-release type of article that said 1200 cars. Then in March 1950, in a story about upcoming Easter services there, the Evening Vanguard mentioned “the 820 cars which can be accommodated on the large parking lot”.

rivest266
rivest266 on September 11, 2019 at 4:40 pm

tiny grand opening ad posted.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on July 13, 2019 at 7:01 pm

The Olympic (re-)opened on April 4, 1945, showing Woman in the Window and Lost in a Harem, per its listings in The Los Angeles Times.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on October 3, 2018 at 9:27 am

Original location is now Westside Pavilion Mall. Second location is now Martin GMC-Cadillic dealership and KTTV-TV FOX Channel 11.

TivFan
TivFan on April 9, 2013 at 5:58 am

A few other movies with “drive-in” scenes (not the Olympic) are “Lolita” (1961) and “Lonelyhearts” (1958) with Montgomery Clift.

TivFan
TivFan on April 9, 2013 at 5:52 am

I just watched “The Facts of Life” (UA, 1960) which shows the Olympic Drive-In Theatre. The b&w movie is available on a 2007 MGM/UA DVD. The segment starts at the 56:59 point and ends at 1:00:10. Bob Hope and Lucille Ball are driving, nervously looking for some place to go, and Hope says, “Hey, there’s an idea. Wanna see a movie?” Ball replies, “Sure” and they enter the Olympic Drive-In Theatre. There are great shots of the Olympic exterior, showing the name in neon and a mural showing a couple on surfboards, sailboats in the water and a beach/coastline. The theater entrance is shown, then a long-shot of the Drive-In lot, showing the screen and the car entering and pulling into a spot. At the end of the scene, the car exits the Olympic, showing the street side of the screen. Is this the Olympic Drive-In shown in the “interior” shots? I assume it is, but you never know with “movie magic”…

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 15, 2011 at 6:33 am

This theater should be listed in Los Angeles. West Los Angeles is a district, not an independent city.

BRADE48
BRADE48 on June 6, 2011 at 7:47 pm

Went to this drive in quite a few times in my childhood. I remember it quite fondly.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on June 8, 2010 at 10:07 pm

I saw “THE FACTS OF LIFE” bet alot of L.A. drive-ins were used in the movies.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on November 8, 2009 at 5:03 pm

I just saw “The Facts of Life” and was tickled to see this drive-in featured there. Lucille Ball and Bob Hope go there to cheat on their spouses and get in a little necking but they are spotted by their dry-cleaning man. Hilarity ensues when the horn gets stuck and the speaker is still attached to the car as they try to duck out.

exit129
exit129 on October 19, 2009 at 12:53 am

I remember as a kid visiting the Olympic with my parents as I was always more interested in the very colorful and bright Milani 1890 French dressing billboard that was outside of the theater to the right side of the screen then the movie at the age I was then.

gregorson18
gregorson18 on August 5, 2009 at 1:17 pm

What year did the Olympic drive in theater move to the new location near olympic and bundy?

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on April 11, 2009 at 2:12 pm

Here is a 1951 photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/dnmlbv

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 30, 2009 at 9:19 pm

The last film to play at the Olympic was “Gordon’s War” with Paul Winfield, according to the LA Times ads of October 1973.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 30, 2009 at 9:04 pm

If you enter the address on this site, you can see the theater in the 1952 and 1972 aerials. It was long gone by the time the 1980 photo was taken.
View link

shoeshoe14
shoeshoe14 on September 8, 2008 at 11:49 am

Was mentioned in the documentary “Drive-In Movie Memories” in 2001.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 19, 2007 at 10:32 am

Here is a 1954 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2z8rj7

MagicLantern
MagicLantern on May 15, 2006 at 8:42 pm

This drive-in appeared in the film “The Facts of Life”.

stevebob
stevebob on August 24, 2005 at 12:34 pm

Thank you, William. (Gotta remember to check that “previous name” box when searching!)

William
William on August 24, 2005 at 12:29 pm

stevebob, the Whittier Drive-In later became the Fiesta Four Drive-In in Pico Rivera. It’s on this site.

stevebob
stevebob on August 24, 2005 at 12:19 pm

Among those listed above with classic murals is the Whittier Drive-In. I saw it often from a passing car as a child and remember the Spanish dancers.

Anyway, it doesn’t have an entry here as yet. It was on Whittier Boulevard (probably still U.S. 101 when the drive-in opened), but it was not in the city of Whittier. I can’t recall the exact location, but I believe it was in Montebello or Pico Rivera.