Winchester Drive-In
535 Westchester Drive,
Campbell,
CA
95008
535 Westchester Drive,
Campbell,
CA
95008
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 13 comments
The Winchester was closed abruptly in 1984. It was still popular and would sometimes have lines of cars that snaked through the adjacent neighborhood all the way to San Tomas Expressway. There was also a little known entrance on the left side of screen 1 that could save a lot of time waiting to get in. Screens 1, 2 and 3 were some of the largest in the Syufy chain.
Looks like Screen #3 didn’t arrive until 1970.
Boxoffice, Feb. 16, 1970: “CAMPBELL, CALIF. - The city planning commission was slated to consider the deferred request of Syufy Enterprises for a zone change and use permit to allow a third screen for the Winchester Drive-In to be installed on property adjacent to the present airer at its mid-January meeting.”
Boxoffice, July 27, 1970: “The city council, by a 4-1 vote, has overruled the planning commission recommendation which had denied the zone change request of Syufy Enterprises to permit the erection of a third screen at the Winchester Drive-In.”
March 16th, 1967, grand reopening ad posted.
Older Drive-In was at 900 Dell Avenue.
Grand opening ad posted, claiming the world’s largest screen.
The Winchester Drive-in originally opened on November 23, 1960, at Winchester and Camden Blvd. The latter was already set to be replaced by San Tomas Expressway so the drive-in opened on borrowed time. It closed on November 7, 1965, and re-opened 16 months later on March 16, 1967 at its location off McGlincy Lane and Union Avenue. Both locations were just off Highway 17, across the freeway from each other, and both were owned and operated by Syufy Enterprises/Ray Syufy.
The original theater had 1 screen, and at the new location a second screen was not yet built (but was being built) when it re-opened. Within months it was increased to two screens, and by the time it shut down in 1983-84 there were a total of six screens.
Originally a twin in 1960 like the Santa Barbara in Goleta. Additional screens were added: 4 by 1968, 6 by 1980 per Historical Aerials. Same marquee as the Century Domes 21, 22, 23 (RIP) on Winchester near Stevens Creek Blvd. Same domed snack bar as Burlingame, Capitol, Coliseum, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, South Bay Carson, Stadium Orange, Vallejo and mini snack bar at Union City (I worked that one myself in ‘85! MEMORIES! 😩).
BoxOffice reported that the Winchester opened in 1960. It cost $450,000 to build and was owned even then by Syufy Enterprises.
Here is a 1968 aerial photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yegblfw
Photos have been posted at Cinematour.
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=9810
Capacity in 1963 was 1100 cars, according to the 1963 motion picture almanac. However, these numbers seem suspiciously rounded off in most cases, so I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it. Operator in 1963 was Syufy.
I never went to this drive-in, as I lived “over the hill” in Santa Cruz County during its last years of operation, but I do remember seeing its sign looming atop the Highway 17 embankment, both when still functioning and then for a number of years even after the screen towers were demolished.
The sign was two-sided. Above the large reader boards for the multiple screens, the word “Winchester” was written in single-tube neon script, which I think was yellow. Around and below this snaked a long arrow, which carried the word “Theatres” in upper-case type, also in neon. I forget what color. The serpentine arrow itself featured a multitude of red neon v-shaped cross-pieces as its “ribs,” which animated. During the last years of operation, the animation mechanism failed, and so there were alternating little bunches of tubes stuck in either “on” or “off” condition. The paint colors of the sign as best as I can remember were brown, white, red, and possibly yellow.
I never saw the actual entrance of the theatre, so don’t know what sort of signage fronted the street it was on. The above-described sign advertised the theatre to passersby on the Highway 17 freeway.
Had a capacity for 900 cars.