Rodeo Drive-In
1223 E. Buckeye Road,
Phoenix,
AZ
85034
1223 E. Buckeye Road,
Phoenix,
AZ
85034
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AZCentral.com wrote today about the Rodeo, saying it opened in 1953 at the site of the former Jacob Waltz ranch near 12th Street and Buckeye Road, then known as Henshaw Road. (Indeed, I can’t find any mention of it in any of the three industry drive-in lists for 1952.) The opening night program included the movies “Branded" (1950), “Flying Leathernecks" (1951), and “The Sniper" (1952).
The article concludes, “The drive-in closed in 1981. The Central City Campus of Gateway Community College now occupies the site.” If the link is still active, you ought to read the whole thing.
March 27th, 1953 grand opening ad
This is where I saw all the Disney movies. Our family loved this theater.
I have M.G.A. theatres running it in 1956.
Aerial photo at View link
The Rodeo was still listed in the 1981 Motion Picture Almanac. Owner was E&W Management. Capacity was 500 cars.
Stay in the car if you don’t want to be run over:
http://tinyurl.com/yahvmj