Meadows Drive-In
92 Weston Street,
Hartford,
CT
06120
92 Weston Street,
Hartford,
CT
06120
1 person
favorited this theater
Held 2,500 cars and included a motorized ride playground for the kids before the movie started. There were 6 concession lines. Was owned by Russo Brothers and leased for 20 years by General Cinema, Corp. It was opened on August 10, 1955 with “King of the Jungle” & Charlton Heston in “The Private War of Major Benson”. It was closed in 1975. Hartford-based Cinex Corp. reopened it, but it soon closed.
It claimed it was the largest drive-in in the world and sat on 32 acres. On the property now was the former (torn down) Hartford Jai-Alai, opened in 1976. A car dealership will take its place. There is also a motel, roads, Mcdonalds and a Burger King on the property. By 2022 there was a Curaleaf Cannibis & a Liberty Honda parts center on the site.
It was one of the first to run TV fights on large screen. Was to be twinned back in early-1970’s but the main screen fell down and the to-be second screen was installed for the replacement.
Contributed by
Mike Lupo
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Boce Barlow Way & Weston St, Hartford, CT 06120
The above address will map accurately to the location of the drive-in.
Here is a 1962 aerial photo of the drive-in, courtesy of Earth Explorer and USGS.
The drive-in entrance itself was on the highway east of Weston. Boce Barlow as well as Jennings did not exist when this drive-in was open.
The intersection above is actually in the middle of where the theatre stood.
The above photo was probably taken around the time that my father, Nathan Hern, left his position as manager of the Meadows to run the Hollowbrook, another drive-in in Westchester County, NY.
August 10th, 1955 grand opening ad in the photo section.
A note in the June 26, 1957 Motion Picture Daily said that Joseph O'Neill had been named assistant to Joseph Bresnahan, resident manager of the “2,070-car capacity Meadows Drive-In, Hartford.”
Opened with some colour cartoons(not naned), “Lord of the jungle”, and “The private war of Major Benson”.
Now Curaleaf Cannibis and Liberty Honda @ 92 Weston St, Hartford, CT 06120.
Please update.
Boxoffice, Feb. 16, 1970: “The screen at the General Cinema Corp.’s first-run Meadows Drive-In toppled in a rainstorm, causing the theatre to close for five nights. The 2,070-car capacity Meadows is largest drive-in in Connecticut”