Ledgewood Drive-In
1135 US 46,
Ledgewood,
NJ
07852
1135 US 46,
Ledgewood,
NJ
07852
5 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Snaper Circuit
Previous Names: Garden Auto-Torium
Nearby Theaters
I grew up on Mooney Mountain in Roxbury Township (mailing address was Flanders) overlooking Succasunna/Ledgewood. The old Ledgewood Drive-In was situated next to the old Sandwiches Unlimited and on the other side of the old Ledgewood Circle and behind Smiles II adult dance club. This was also the junction of Routes 10 and 46 (the beginning of Route 10). I would always remember seeing pictures on it as we drove by with its high screen.
It was opened on May 4, 1950 and the owner retired in 1975. It closed at the end of the 1986 season. It was owned by Wilfred “Bill” Paul Smith Sr. who died in 2002 at the age of 89. He owned the Ledgewood Drive-In and Newton Drive-In. According to the local newspaper, he was a pioneer of the drive-in movie theater business and his name appears in the Smithsonian Institute. He was also involved in building all the original drive-in theaters in New Jersey.
Eventually, it was torn down and a BJs warehouse sits adjacent to the property - its parking lot is where the main field was. The Circle was torn down and made into the mess it is today back in the mid-1990’s, and that put Sandwiches Unlimited into a downward spiral and it went out of business. A highlight was driving around the circle to see the new slogan on their marquee.
Contributed by
Dave Bonan
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Recent comments (view all 31 comments)
It was located where BJ’s is now.
any evidence still there?
Go to http://ledgewooddrivein.home.comcast.net and follow the third link listed. The only thing left is the exit road with the stone roadway and the white landscaping timbers on the side.
I saw Back to the Future (1985) last drive in movie before moving back to NH.
This old aerial photo is great. I seem to remember that the entrance was east of the Ledgewood Circle on route 46, but there was also a driveway west of the circle on route 46, which was an exit only, not an entrance.
A article in the June 3,1950 Motion Picture Herald magazine about the drive-in and it was called “The Garden Auto-Torium” when it first opened. So it should be listed “aka” The Garden Auto-Torium.
Uploaded pictures from Motion Picture Herald from June 3, 1950.
The correct address is:
1135 U.S. 46. Ledgewood, NJ 07852
First ad appeared in the Star-Ledger on May 4th, 1950.
The Ledgewood Drive-In actually closed after the 1986 season.