Coliseum Drive-In
5401 Coliseum Way,
Oakland,
CA
94601
5401 Coliseum Way,
Oakland,
CA
94601
4 people
favorited this theater
Opened on May 22, 1964 with a triple bill:Cliff Robertson in “PT-109”, Henry Fonda in “Spencer’s Mountain” and John Wayne in “McClintock”. It was later a 4-screen theatre. It was closed in 1998. The Coliseum Drive-In was used exclusively as a swap meet by Syufy/Century Theatres. It had been demolished by early-2024.
Contributed by
Richard Peterson
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
The Coliseum’s address was 5401 Coliseum Way.
Vincent Raney was the architect of this Drive-In. The building is similar in design to the former Burlingame Drive-In and the Santa Barbara Twin Drive-In.
Opened 12/22/1961.
The chain is now “West Wind”.
i used to go to the drive inn here all the time with my perants back in the late 80s when i was a little kid this was a big hang out back then i really miss this drive inn i still go to the flea market they have here on the weekends theres only one screen left and the snackbar is still in use also the old kids play ground on the side of the snack bar is now a stage for live mexican music ..
Hm. I lived in Oakland in the mid 70s. All I remember was that you could see the movie screen from our front porch. It wasn’t super close and I know we lived on top of a hill… but I’m not sure how else to figure out where our house was in proximity to the drive in. I thought I could look it up on the internet and see which way the screen faced.. but if there were multiple screens, I’m not sure. Looking at the map, most houses seem to be east of the theater?
Here is a 1980 aerial photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ydfak78
Hi, does anybody know what year this drive in closed? thanks for the help! d
This opened on May 22nd, 1964. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
The original address was 5401 Industrial Way; Coliseum Way came later. May 1964 Oakland Tribune article in photos.
wish this one would be reopened!
Closed in 1998 a year after the Union City D/I 6 closed. Worked one the box offices (Poltergeist was playing had to turn away many cars! 😇😇)in 1982. FYI.