Balsam Drive-In
12450 Balsam Road,
Victorville,
CA
92395
12450 Balsam Road,
Victorville,
CA
92395
2 people
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WalMart is now an Amazon distributiobn center.
The Drive-In has been paved over for parking at this facility.
Please update. 🥺🥺
Opened July 1st, 1981.
Balsam Drive-In opening 30 Jun 1981, Tue Daily Press (Victorville, California) Newspapers.com
Closed December 28th, 1987
Balsam Drive-In closing 29 Dec 1987, Tue Daily Press (Victorville, California) Newspapers.com
Billboard, Jan. 1, 1973: “Western Amusement Co.’s plans for a 625-car drive-in in the West Hesperia area recently were approved by the county planning commission. The ozoner is to be located on the east side of Balsam Road, north of Bear Valley Road, and about a half-mile east of the Barstow Freeway.”
Billboard, December 1981: “Mrs. Ted Jones, president and general manager, recently announced the opening of the new Balsam Drive In Theatres I & II in Victorville, California. … Each theatre will handle 255 cars, thereby making a total capacity of 510 cars. The theatre will be under the management of Jack Baldock and his assistant manager, Pat Stump. … The Balsam Drive-In Theatres are fully automated and feature the new Polecat Radio Sound plus regular drive-in theatre speakers … alternated every other pole"
Just visited the site last week and uploaded a photo. The Walmart is vacant; its building is for lease. At the drive-in site, many (most?) of the poles remain as stubs ranging from one inch to about eight inches. The paved ramps are still visible with plenty of foliage growing in the cracks. The For Sale sign says to Call IRA at 213-393-9980.
BTW Mquiroz, I bought coffee at that Burger King but couldn’t detect any trace of the Joshua Drive-In that used to be behind it.
The San Bernardino County Sun ran an article on April 7, 1981 saying construction of the Balsam Road Drive-In (not yet named) would begin in two weeks and end in June if all went well. Owner Jack Baldock said it would accommodate 528 vehicles and cost about $300,000.
According to Baldock, “A screen has been up at this site for several years, but the project was delayed until this time.” He said the new drive-in would not affect the operation of the Joshua Drive-In, which Baldock also owned.
What was the name of the drive-in in Victorville? My siblings and I have been racking our brains trying to remember it. It was located by the Burger King on 7th street and the car wash….completely drawing a blank. Thanks, M~
I live in Victorville and this drive-in did stand right behind where the Wal-Mart in Victorville is today. If you drive down Balsam Road and look into the field behind Wal-Mart, you can still see the ramps and a few speaker poles still standing. If this one was built in 81, it sure didn’t last long – it was gone by the early-to-mid 90s
I was in Victorville yesterday, which is not a frequent occurrence. I probably drove by the Wal-Mart that is there now.
There is an aerial photo on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/224onq