Anthony Wayne Drive-In
67 Willowbrook Boulevard,
Wayne,
NJ
07470
67 Willowbrook Boulevard,
Wayne,
NJ
07470
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 10 comments
Closed with “Private Benjamin” and “The Main Event”.
Closed on January 1st, 1981.
@MovieMan__1952: Was the hold-up at the Drive-In? Can you provide the backstory? Thank you!
Opened on 6/7/1966 with “My fair lady”. 1367 cars.
I was just watching Chasing Classic Cars, and Wayne Carini purchased a vintage 25' neon sign that said “Wayne Drive In”. Could this be a remnant?
1972 print ad added courtesy of Keith West.
I did not manage this theatre but as manager of the Willowbrook Cinema and the Little Cinema in the mall I audited this theatre for the owner Spyro Lenas. Tragically the manager of this Drive-In was killed in a hold-up. They did make an arrest and conviction in this case.
Here is a 1979 aerial photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ye7bjyc
I went to this theater from April 1969 till we moved out of state in 1973. I still have a ticket stub in my scrapbook where they carged $2.50 for two movies. I remember they would have people knocking on your car windows with empty pop corn tubs to collect for “The Will Rodgers Fund.” Thanks for the memories, Nostalgic Girl
The Loews Wayne 14 might also occupy some of the land formerly given over to the Anthony Wayne. One of the last drive-ins to close in northern New Jersey, and also the only D/I I’ve ever been to. I think it was around 1978 or ‘79. The budding cinephile in me kinda sneered at the drive-in experience then (picture too dark, audio coming out of a froggy-sounding speaker, people POSSIBLY NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE MOVIE), but there was also a communal, summer-outdoorsy vibe that I haven’t forgotten. The closest I’ve come to it since then has been at outdoor concerts. Now I actually envy people who can visit a drive-in without having to make a road trip out of it. Today, if I want a drive-in experience (and I just might, one of these summers), I’ll have to go either out of state to upstate New York or northeastern Pennsylvania, or down to Vineland in South Jersey, where a new drive-in has opened in NJ for the first time in what seems like about 200 years. Either way, I’m talking about a drive of 70 to 100 miles.