Century Drive-In
3560 W. Century Boulevard,
Inglewood,
CA
90303
3560 W. Century Boulevard,
Inglewood,
CA
90303
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 41 comments
Click on link to see ads, articles and pictures of the Century Drive-In
“This is Cinerama” opened on April 17th, 1964.
Well now I’ve seen everything. A Cinerama drive in. Did you have to reserve your parking space in advance? Did they give you seven speakers for your car? How did they afford the three projectionists? And the putting up and dismantling of the screen for flat film must have been expensive and a pain.
Opened with “Champion” and “The big cat”.
Correction: Opened on June 30th, 1949
Aerial view of the Century Drive-In added. There is a curved Cinerama screen in front of the regular screen. May, 1964. Photo and copy courtesy of Robert Juzefski.
On Roland Lataille’s page, there is this note: “Special B prints used with 2X magnetic strips for sound.” This implies that there was some stereo effect possible, but apparently the special Cinerama sound processor was not used.
I think I remember reading somewhere that the three mobile-home like booths were each mounted on a lift mechanism that would elevate them to the appropriate height for head-on projection.
Coate. I have just done some research and the twin drive in ine Cinn played Windjammer after a cinemiracle run downtown, The drive in ran it in Cinerama from July-Aug in 1960. I am still trying to find out more info on the Albany Drie in. I still can’t see how Cinerama was any good at any drive in without 7 track stereo.. The picture might be big and great but lousy mono sound.
Uploaded aerials 1952 and 1980. Other links are broken.
dick… Those drive-ins in Cincinnati and Albany ran WINDJAMMER, so, technically, they showed CineMiracle rather than Cinerama.
The Century Drive-in WAS NOT the 1st Drive-In to install 3 strip Cinerama. It had been done 2 years earlier in Drive-Ins in Cinncinnatti, Ohio and Albany, N.Y.
Thanks for the high quality repros
Here are some Cinerama ads:
http://tinyurl.com/n42vvw
http://tinyurl.com/mhdotz
http://tinyurl.com/n5vw2u
Here is an undated photo of the Century:
http://tinyurl.com/ltaxxa
Here is an August 1974 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/rd29p4
Enter the address on this site for some aerial views in the 50s, 70s and 80s:
View link
Hmmmm, interesting. I grew up in a housing tract in Gardena called Hollypark, which is close to where Century Drive-in was. Hollypark is between Crenshaw and Van Ness, and El Segundo and Rosecrans. My parents bought their house there new in 1955. We lived there until 1965, at which time we moved to Torrance. We used to go to three or four different Drive-ins when we lived in Hollypark – Century, Vermont, Roadium, and sometimes Centinela. We didn’t go to Century as often as the others because of the airplane noise. I saw “101 Dalmations” there – I was pretty young, but I remember it pretty well. It started to rain during the opening credits – we thought we were going to have to leave. It died down and we were able to watch the whole movie. I do remember the airplane noise, but I was so thrilled to be there that I didn’t care.
In September 1954, the LA Times reported on the construction of a new drive-in theater to be called the Hollypark, east of Crenshaw near Imperial Highway. This was to be in conjunction with a 300 million dollar city, also called Hollypark. The drive-in was to be operated by Pacific Theaters. Perhaps because of the proximity of the Century, the Holypark was never built, nor was the city.
My family moved to Inglewood in 1953 and I remember a small Army anti-aircraft installation just south of the Century Drive-in at the corner of 104th street and Yukon ave. There were several gun emplacements and bunkers. Being 7 years old at the time I was impressed by all the hardware. This facility was de-activated soon after and the land remained vacant for some time. I believe Morningside High School had already been built across 104th street. Needless to say the family took advantage of this great drive-in on many occasions.
The entire stretch of Century between Prairie and Crenshaw has been built out for retail. I remember only about ten years ago most of this land was vacant. Hollywood Park itself will be gone in five years, for a mixed retail/residential project.
Here is a September 1973 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2xpcwk
Here is a 1954 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2utwos
Here is a June 1953 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2eas35
IN 1963-64 I WORKED AT THE CENTURY AS A LOT ATTENDANT WHILE ATTENDING EL CAMINO COLLEGE. WE WORE LONG WHITE ‘LAB’ STYLE COATS, TRIMMED IN RED WITH MATCHING CAPS. BETWEEN FEATURES MOST OF US HELPED OUT IN THE CONCESSION STAND. THE PIZZAS AND FROZEN MALTS WERE OK. I AVOIDED THE CHILI DOGS.
WHILE STILL EMPLOYED THERE THE CORPORATION INSTALLED CINERAMA. A FEATURE NARRATED BY LOWELL THOMAS LAUNCHED THE NEW SENSATION. YEARS LATER AT A DENVER HOSPITAL, LOWELL THOMAS STEPPED INTO AN ELEVATOR AS I STEPPED OUT. SMALL WORLD.
“JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS” PREMIERED AT THE CENTURY. CO-STAR NANCY KOVAK MADE AN APPEARANCE. WOULDN’T YOU KNOW I HAD THE NIGHT OFF!
The Century DI with its Cinerama screen can be seen in The Brady Bunch Episode #100 titled “Peter and the Wolf” when Peter and Greg take two girls to the drive in.
posted by theaterdude on Feb 21, 2005 at 2:59pm
sorry to disapoint you… but I rented this episode of the Brady Bunch and it is NOT the Century… . . however it is a so cal drive in… . the Gilmore.
I worked there as a projectionist at one time and they were one of a handfull of Drive Ins that had Stereophonic speakers for the car.
Matt Spero