Jason and Mark – thanks for posting and sharing those memories!
Jason – this may seem an odd question but do you have any specific memories about that train ride under the screen? Such as what colors it may have been painted, whether it was lettered for the theater, and how it was used — ie, did it run before dark, or after dark during intermission between features?
You are the only person I have found who remembers it. I actually own a number of pieces of the identical train ride that was at the Turnpike Drive-In (East Brunswick), another UA Drive-In theatre, and would like to know what my train actually looked like.
If it was still running in 1967-68 that must have been near the very end. When I explored its weed-buried remains, under the screen in 1982, there were trees with a good three or four inch diameter trunk growing through the center of the tracks!
Also…on those Plainfield Edison concession bar memories…ah, yes…the pizza roll was my favorite! Must have been a really busy place at the height of the drive-in craze. I recall the snack bar had a double serve-yourself stainless steel tray shelf, on both sides of a center island where the hot food was waiting to be grabbed.
Hi Mark – you brought up the Menlo Park GCC. I had one of my very first jobs at that place, while still in school. I was an usher and would be scheduled for a seven or eight hour shift with no breaks. When I asked the manager about that, he said “I consider your job a break.” LOL!
I left because of a weird policy there at the time. One day a week, each usher took an 8 hour shift just popping popcorn in a small, hot, windowless room off to the side of the screen. No idea why they did not spread that job out a bit, so no one was stuck in that little room so long. You brought back a memory there!
I have a question regarding the posting above from Mike H. Hoping Mike is still registered here and will answer, or anyone else who has the info I am seeking. Mike you mentioned managing several Walter Reade theaters in Toms River, including the Bay Drive-In and Toms River Drive-In. Can you tell me if either of those two outdoor theaters had any mechanical rides under their screens, such as a merry go round or a miniature train? Sorry to post here but those theaters you mention do not have a separate page for comments – thank you!
Based on my research this drive-in most likely opened in 1958. Can anyone from the area tell me if this theatre originally had any kiddie rides under the screen? Such as a merry-go-round or possibly a miniature train ride? Any info of that nature is very much appreciated – thank you!
Joe, that is a great article! Thanks for posting. It seems to confirm something I have long suspected: that the chain of NJ “U/A” Drive-ins were not actually built by U/A, but were acquired as a chain at some point during the decline of drive-in popularity. In my experience U/A certainly did not seem to take a lot of interest in maintaining them.
I wonder how many theaters the Appleman family built to this general design? I know of The Turnpike Drive-In, The Plainfield-Edison Indoor/Outdoor Theatre, The Somerville Drive-in, and I was always told that the now demolished “Birch Hill” nightclub near Old Bridge NJ had been a U/A Drive-in at one time. I am assuming these were all built by the same people (presumably the Applman family) because they share a similar look.
Appeal for information: the Turnpike Drive-In had a large-scale miniature railroad that ran in a big figure “8” around the grounds near the marquee. It would have been visible from the major roadway that runs past the theatre. I would like to hear from anyone who has memories of this train ride actually operating. A scan of a photo would be a great find.
You see, my family managed to save a little piece of the Turnpike Drive-In. About 1988 we answered an ad from a scrap metal dealer that ran in The Paper Shop. The advertiser sold us the remains of the passenger cars from this little train; apparently this was the scrapper who had been contracted to tear down the theater for redevelopment.
One of these days I’d like to rebuild the cars to the way they looked when new at the Turnpike Drive-in. I know what the bodies looked like, but a photo would be tremendously helpful in recreating the original paint scheme and lettering.
Does anyone know when this kiddie train concession stopped running? I visited the Turnpike Drive-in while it was still showing movies indoors and out (late 1970s/early 1980s) but by that time the train was rusting inside a wooden shed, and the shed roof had actually collapsed on the train in places. There was not much left to buy from the scrapper – but we saved what we could.
If you have a memory or photo to share of the train ride at the Turnpike Drive-In please feel free to drop me an email:
ray59 @ pa.metrocast.net (remove the spaces first)
Thanks Mike, a couple other memories just came back to me of this place. The first dates to around the last year or two before they closed.
My girlfriend and I went there to see a movie that was playing at the smaller of their two indoor screens. As the time for the start of the film got near, we noticed there was only one other couple sitting with us in the entire theatre.
When it was time to begin, the mechanical curtains in front of the screen remained firmly closed. Maxinne, the snack bar manager (who might also have been assistant manager for the theatre itself), came in to address the crowd of 4 patrons.
“I’m sorry but we are not going to be able to show the movie tonight. We did not sell enough tickets to cover what we have to pay to screen it.”
As we were mumbling our disappointment, another employee called out to Maxinne from the adjacent snack bar. “Wait a minute,” she told us. After a hurried conversation she again spoke publicly:
“There is a car pulling up to the ticket booth in the parking lot. If they buy a ticket for this theater we might be OK.” We all held our breath. A moment later, she announced: “They did buy tickets to this film, so we can show it now.”
That is the only time in my entire life I ever had an experience like that, although in recent years I have seen a first-run film at a stadiun seating multi-plex…where no one attended except myself and my date!
One final note regarding the Plainfield-Edison Indoor/Outdoor Theater: in the early 1980s, when I was a regular there, I was told there was an older couple who walked to the indoor theater every weekend for the matinee. I think it was the Saturday noon matinee. They literally had not missed a weekend in years, and the theatre manager had — after their many years of loyal patronage — stopped charging the couple any admission! Can you imagine a sentimental act like that in today’s world?
I was at this quaint little theater a couple times when I was in high school and dating a girl from Fords. This would have been around 1982 or 1983. I remember we were concerned that the little one screen theater seemed to be on its last legs at that time. Attendance was almost non-existant.
It amused us that the same man who sold us a ticket in the front booth, then walked back to the snack bar to sell us popcorn, after which he walked upstairs — presumably to turn on the projector! It seemed to be a one man show this night.
My girl and I joked (now this will really date us) that the man running the theater was like Sam Drucker on the sitcom Green Acres, who held many different jobs in the small town and would literally switch his hat while conversing with someone — in order to change the role he was in at that moment.
Sorry to hear the theater is closed, but really not unexpected. A loss nonetheless.
I grew up in Edison, NJ, and although memory can sometimes be an imperfect window, I remember the name on the sign for this theater (which I drove by hundreds of times) being the rather long-winded “Plainfield-Edison Indoor/Outdoor Movie Theatre”. I don’t recall the sign having the word “Drive-In” on it in my lifetime although of course there was both a drive-in and indoor theater there.
I visited the place often when I was in high school (circa 1981-1983) which I guess was just before it went under. Even back then, I appreciated older movie theaters and I remember this one was like a grande dame of the 1950s that had fallen on very hard times. UA did not seem willing to invest money into maintaining it; the macadam particularly was a mess. It was like a speed bump – but everywhere!
I remember exploring the overgrown woods under the screen before it got dark, and finding collapsed and rusting children’s swing sets there. This must have been quite a place in its day, because it appeared there was a long lost and neglected small amusement park under the screen.
I tripped on something in the weeds, and bent down to discover miniature railroad tracks! I was able to follow them through the heavy brush around the screen (feeling a lot like Indiana Jones) until I found the remains of the little train rotting away on the far side of the loop where no one could see it. A good size tree had grown up right through the center of one of the passenger cars! That meant it had been sitting there waiting for passengers a very long time. Being there was kind of creepy.
Since the theatre was still in operation, I naively asked the manager what had happened to allow the train ride to decay like that. He replied “Every kid in the neighborhood set fire to it at some point in their life.” (!)
The last couple years of operation they showed The Rocky Horror Picture Show indoors at the smaller theater (which had a little wooden stage and mechanical curtains that opened before a movie) every Friday and Saturday at midnight for years. I was behind this curtain once; I recall seeing huge speakers for the film sound that looked old and cool. I remember they had a plate or something mounted on them that read “Voice of the Theatre”.
The snack bar manager’s name in those days was Maxinne. She was very nice to us Rocky Horror fans and I remember she even kept a scrapbook with pictures of us wearing our costumes. I think it was she that would talk to the crowd before the midnight screenings and ask them not to throw things at the screen!
The theatre was torn down and the site was redeveloped as a strip mall in the mid to late 1980s. I’m always a little sad when I drive passed there. I’ve often wondered if anyone rescued and restored the miniature railroad, or whether it might still lie buried there as fill under the new mall.
“There was also a train ride that chugged along a short stretch of track along the eastern side of the complex. By 1969 the train was no longer running.”
It is interesting that the train ride was defunct as early as 1969! When I visited the theater, shortly after it had closed forever, the miniature locomotive was still parked under the movie screen! Although the passenger cars it pulled and all the miniature RR track had been removed.
I often wondered whether some railfan had salvaged all of the train ride except the locomotive. Because at the time I visited, the place was still otherwise intact; it was closed, but the marquee, screen and concession stand were all present and in decent shape.
I don’t know how many of these elaborate UA drive-in’s existed in NJ (they are all gone now) but there were at least four that I know of. I believe they were not built by U/A originally but were acquired by UA as a chain probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s (?) The family that built them I think was Appleman.
In addition to the Somerville Drive-In, it’s sister U/A Drive-in’s the Turnpike (East Brunswick) and the Plainfield-Edison (Edison) each had identical miniature train rides rusting away in the weeds when I visited those locations right before they went under in the 1980s.
I wrote an article about the UA Drive-in miniature railroads that appeared in MODELTEC magazine in August of 1996. The article was called Lost in NJ. My pen name is Ray Haigh.
Jason and Mark – thanks for posting and sharing those memories!
Jason – this may seem an odd question but do you have any specific memories about that train ride under the screen? Such as what colors it may have been painted, whether it was lettered for the theater, and how it was used — ie, did it run before dark, or after dark during intermission between features?
You are the only person I have found who remembers it. I actually own a number of pieces of the identical train ride that was at the Turnpike Drive-In (East Brunswick), another UA Drive-In theatre, and would like to know what my train actually looked like.
If it was still running in 1967-68 that must have been near the very end. When I explored its weed-buried remains, under the screen in 1982, there were trees with a good three or four inch diameter trunk growing through the center of the tracks!
Also…on those Plainfield Edison concession bar memories…ah, yes…the pizza roll was my favorite! Must have been a really busy place at the height of the drive-in craze. I recall the snack bar had a double serve-yourself stainless steel tray shelf, on both sides of a center island where the hot food was waiting to be grabbed.
Hi Mark – you brought up the Menlo Park GCC. I had one of my very first jobs at that place, while still in school. I was an usher and would be scheduled for a seven or eight hour shift with no breaks. When I asked the manager about that, he said “I consider your job a break.” LOL!
I left because of a weird policy there at the time. One day a week, each usher took an 8 hour shift just popping popcorn in a small, hot, windowless room off to the side of the screen. No idea why they did not spread that job out a bit, so no one was stuck in that little room so long. You brought back a memory there!
Rick
I have a question regarding the posting above from Mike H. Hoping Mike is still registered here and will answer, or anyone else who has the info I am seeking. Mike you mentioned managing several Walter Reade theaters in Toms River, including the Bay Drive-In and Toms River Drive-In. Can you tell me if either of those two outdoor theaters had any mechanical rides under their screens, such as a merry go round or a miniature train? Sorry to post here but those theaters you mention do not have a separate page for comments – thank you!
Based on my research this drive-in most likely opened in 1958. Can anyone from the area tell me if this theatre originally had any kiddie rides under the screen? Such as a merry-go-round or possibly a miniature train ride? Any info of that nature is very much appreciated – thank you!
Joe, that is a great article! Thanks for posting. It seems to confirm something I have long suspected: that the chain of NJ “U/A” Drive-ins were not actually built by U/A, but were acquired as a chain at some point during the decline of drive-in popularity. In my experience U/A certainly did not seem to take a lot of interest in maintaining them.
I wonder how many theaters the Appleman family built to this general design? I know of The Turnpike Drive-In, The Plainfield-Edison Indoor/Outdoor Theatre, The Somerville Drive-in, and I was always told that the now demolished “Birch Hill” nightclub near Old Bridge NJ had been a U/A Drive-in at one time. I am assuming these were all built by the same people (presumably the Applman family) because they share a similar look.
Appeal for information: the Turnpike Drive-In had a large-scale miniature railroad that ran in a big figure “8” around the grounds near the marquee. It would have been visible from the major roadway that runs past the theatre. I would like to hear from anyone who has memories of this train ride actually operating. A scan of a photo would be a great find.
You see, my family managed to save a little piece of the Turnpike Drive-In. About 1988 we answered an ad from a scrap metal dealer that ran in The Paper Shop. The advertiser sold us the remains of the passenger cars from this little train; apparently this was the scrapper who had been contracted to tear down the theater for redevelopment.
One of these days I’d like to rebuild the cars to the way they looked when new at the Turnpike Drive-in. I know what the bodies looked like, but a photo would be tremendously helpful in recreating the original paint scheme and lettering.
Does anyone know when this kiddie train concession stopped running? I visited the Turnpike Drive-in while it was still showing movies indoors and out (late 1970s/early 1980s) but by that time the train was rusting inside a wooden shed, and the shed roof had actually collapsed on the train in places. There was not much left to buy from the scrapper – but we saved what we could.
If you have a memory or photo to share of the train ride at the Turnpike Drive-In please feel free to drop me an email:
ray59 @ pa.metrocast.net (remove the spaces first)
thank you, Rick
Thanks Mike, a couple other memories just came back to me of this place. The first dates to around the last year or two before they closed.
My girlfriend and I went there to see a movie that was playing at the smaller of their two indoor screens. As the time for the start of the film got near, we noticed there was only one other couple sitting with us in the entire theatre.
When it was time to begin, the mechanical curtains in front of the screen remained firmly closed. Maxinne, the snack bar manager (who might also have been assistant manager for the theatre itself), came in to address the crowd of 4 patrons.
“I’m sorry but we are not going to be able to show the movie tonight. We did not sell enough tickets to cover what we have to pay to screen it.”
As we were mumbling our disappointment, another employee called out to Maxinne from the adjacent snack bar. “Wait a minute,” she told us. After a hurried conversation she again spoke publicly:
“There is a car pulling up to the ticket booth in the parking lot. If they buy a ticket for this theater we might be OK.” We all held our breath. A moment later, she announced: “They did buy tickets to this film, so we can show it now.”
That is the only time in my entire life I ever had an experience like that, although in recent years I have seen a first-run film at a stadiun seating multi-plex…where no one attended except myself and my date!
One final note regarding the Plainfield-Edison Indoor/Outdoor Theater: in the early 1980s, when I was a regular there, I was told there was an older couple who walked to the indoor theater every weekend for the matinee. I think it was the Saturday noon matinee. They literally had not missed a weekend in years, and the theatre manager had — after their many years of loyal patronage — stopped charging the couple any admission! Can you imagine a sentimental act like that in today’s world?
I was at this quaint little theater a couple times when I was in high school and dating a girl from Fords. This would have been around 1982 or 1983. I remember we were concerned that the little one screen theater seemed to be on its last legs at that time. Attendance was almost non-existant.
It amused us that the same man who sold us a ticket in the front booth, then walked back to the snack bar to sell us popcorn, after which he walked upstairs — presumably to turn on the projector! It seemed to be a one man show this night.
My girl and I joked (now this will really date us) that the man running the theater was like Sam Drucker on the sitcom Green Acres, who held many different jobs in the small town and would literally switch his hat while conversing with someone — in order to change the role he was in at that moment.
Sorry to hear the theater is closed, but really not unexpected. A loss nonetheless.
I grew up in Edison, NJ, and although memory can sometimes be an imperfect window, I remember the name on the sign for this theater (which I drove by hundreds of times) being the rather long-winded “Plainfield-Edison Indoor/Outdoor Movie Theatre”. I don’t recall the sign having the word “Drive-In” on it in my lifetime although of course there was both a drive-in and indoor theater there.
I visited the place often when I was in high school (circa 1981-1983) which I guess was just before it went under. Even back then, I appreciated older movie theaters and I remember this one was like a grande dame of the 1950s that had fallen on very hard times. UA did not seem willing to invest money into maintaining it; the macadam particularly was a mess. It was like a speed bump – but everywhere!
I remember exploring the overgrown woods under the screen before it got dark, and finding collapsed and rusting children’s swing sets there. This must have been quite a place in its day, because it appeared there was a long lost and neglected small amusement park under the screen.
I tripped on something in the weeds, and bent down to discover miniature railroad tracks! I was able to follow them through the heavy brush around the screen (feeling a lot like Indiana Jones) until I found the remains of the little train rotting away on the far side of the loop where no one could see it. A good size tree had grown up right through the center of one of the passenger cars! That meant it had been sitting there waiting for passengers a very long time. Being there was kind of creepy.
Since the theatre was still in operation, I naively asked the manager what had happened to allow the train ride to decay like that. He replied “Every kid in the neighborhood set fire to it at some point in their life.” (!)
The last couple years of operation they showed The Rocky Horror Picture Show indoors at the smaller theater (which had a little wooden stage and mechanical curtains that opened before a movie) every Friday and Saturday at midnight for years. I was behind this curtain once; I recall seeing huge speakers for the film sound that looked old and cool. I remember they had a plate or something mounted on them that read “Voice of the Theatre”.
The snack bar manager’s name in those days was Maxinne. She was very nice to us Rocky Horror fans and I remember she even kept a scrapbook with pictures of us wearing our costumes. I think it was she that would talk to the crowd before the midnight screenings and ask them not to throw things at the screen!
The theatre was torn down and the site was redeveloped as a strip mall in the mid to late 1980s. I’m always a little sad when I drive passed there. I’ve often wondered if anyone rescued and restored the miniature railroad, or whether it might still lie buried there as fill under the new mall.
SPOK wrote:
“There was also a train ride that chugged along a short stretch of track along the eastern side of the complex. By 1969 the train was no longer running.”
It is interesting that the train ride was defunct as early as 1969! When I visited the theater, shortly after it had closed forever, the miniature locomotive was still parked under the movie screen! Although the passenger cars it pulled and all the miniature RR track had been removed.
I often wondered whether some railfan had salvaged all of the train ride except the locomotive. Because at the time I visited, the place was still otherwise intact; it was closed, but the marquee, screen and concession stand were all present and in decent shape.
I don’t know how many of these elaborate UA drive-in’s existed in NJ (they are all gone now) but there were at least four that I know of. I believe they were not built by U/A originally but were acquired by UA as a chain probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s (?) The family that built them I think was Appleman.
In addition to the Somerville Drive-In, it’s sister U/A Drive-in’s the Turnpike (East Brunswick) and the Plainfield-Edison (Edison) each had identical miniature train rides rusting away in the weeds when I visited those locations right before they went under in the 1980s.
I wrote an article about the UA Drive-in miniature railroads that appeared in MODELTEC magazine in August of 1996. The article was called Lost in NJ. My pen name is Ray Haigh.
cheers, Rick