Vermont Drive-In
18001 S. Vermont Avenue,
Gardena,
CA
90248
18001 S. Vermont Avenue,
Gardena,
CA
90248
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 39 comments
Closed on May 25, 1999 with a double feature in all three screens. The Vermont closed with “The Matrix” and “Life” at Screen 1, “Trippin'” and “Senseless” at Screen 2, and “The Mummy” and “Bride Of Chucky” at Screen 3.
Now housing.
The actual address for this theatre was 18001 S Vermont Ave, Gardena, CA 90248.
Please update.
what the last movie playing at vermont before it closed?
The Oct. 22, 1949 issue of BoxOffice reported that Arnoldo Rubio and his brother had painted a 45x65-foot color mural on “the front of the entrance building” of the Vermont. “Rubio painted the figures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, while his brother worked on backgrounds.” At that time, the Vermont also added a playground with an attendant “on duty at all times”.
Yep. Whole thing’s been torn down with no remains for about 20 years now.
It looks like the entire drive-in is now housing with nothing remaining.
Opened with “Dear Ruth” and “Fear in the night”. Site is now houses. There was also a swap meet on the drive-in site. 900 cars. Spanish subtitles.Closed in 1999.
it appears one of the screens and the marquee still remain!
This opened on October 24th, 1947. Article:
Found on Newspapers.com
hello i remember i work at the vermont drive-in in 1980-1991 when i work there . and in 1994 i went to missouri and live with an aunt jesie paxton at 1051 s. golden ave in springfield, mo. and i live at a skilled care center And the lodges 2401 w. grand st in springfield, mo.
hi my name is steve combs i use to work at a vermont drive-in . as a snackbar and cleaner person. that was back in 1980 – 1990. i remember a manager name steve oh man he is a good manager,i miss him wish i stay in gardena. but i came to springfield,Mo, i made a misstake. can anyone tell what happen to steve ,needs to know.
I worked at the Vermont in 1987 trained in management after working there one month. Ushers helped direct traffic out, helped assist locating restroomsand kept people from staying parked after the movie was over because it was a liability hazard to let people stay parked after hour. Ushers also carried a portable battery pack to jump start cars that had a dead battery.
Above address does not map properly. Use S Vermont Ave & W 177th St (Although W 177th St. @ this intersection did not exist when the drive-in was up & running.
This intersection was where screen 3 was located.
W. 177th & Budlong was where screen 2 was located.
Screen 1 was diagonal and across from screen 3.
The entrance & original screen were located between what is now Amethyst & Ruby.
LOL on the makeout story! I had a hot and heavy incident at the Vermont once myself…only saw the closing credits of both movies of our double feature. GOOD TIMES!
Nobody busted me…or dinged the door of my car, either. :)
The Vermont was my favorite Make-Out spot in the 60s. What I found that ushers usually did at Drive-Ins was butt-in on that activity.
My most vivid memory of the Vermont was being there with a Girl one night in my almost Brand-New 1965 Corvair Corsa. Two drunks pulled into the next spot and proceeded to bump me with their door as they got the speaker. When I asked the driver to be careful, he said “Sure, Pal” and whacked it again. A little later, when both went to the snackbar, I got a Ballpean hammer out of my trunk and whacked their front fender a few times. Then, I quickly left.
@ JustOldBob……dude, you remember the swings?! I remember playing on the swings and see-saw in my pj’s just as dusk was setting in…then we settled to see one of the scariest movies ever. “JAWS”…I saw Jaws @ the Vermont when I was about 8 years old…traumatized for life.
Good times.
The Vermont was on the cover of Boxoffice magazine in October 1947:
http://tinyurl.com/ydepe8u
The Vermont was never an Edwards drive-in to my knowledge,it had always been an Aladdin/Pacific drive-in.
Here is a larger version of the photo at the top of the page:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015503.jpg
There are some interesting aerial views on this site. You can see that in 1972 there was one screen facing Vermont, but in the 1980 photo the screens have been moved as it was then a triplex. Also in the 1972 photo you can see the Ascot race track a few blocks to the south. Enter the theater address to see the photos.
View link
I read this in Boxoffice magazine, Jan. 1960. I never heard of an usher at a drive-in, though. What does he do, show you to your parking spot?
LOS ANGELES-Ed Cassas, former head usher at the Vermont Drive-In, was upped to manager trainee in the southwest area.
I’m curious as to how the featured theaters are selected.The Vermont seems to turn up on a regular basis. Also, it seems that only the earlier added theaters that have a photo get to be featured theaters. Inquiring minds want to know.
There is a swap meet every weekend at the Alpine Village in Torrance, a few miles south of the old Vermont, but no one complains about that. The Alpine swap meet is immense.
Why the hell did those whimps move there in the first place?
Here is part of an LA Times article dated 3/3/94:
Repeating decades-old complaints, residents near the Vermont Drive-In begged the Gardena Planning and Environmental Quality Commission this week to shut it down, saying noise and traffic from its weekend swap meet have made life unbearable. At a continuation of a public hearing begun in January, about 25 residents of 182nd and Rumbold streets and Vermont Avenue filed into the council chambers Tuesday night to complain of traffic congestion, automobile and early morning vendor noise, and swap meet patrons who litter and urinate on residents' lawns.
Residents said they can’t enjoy leisurely weekends or allow their children to play outside because of the many swap meet patrons who traipse through their neighborhoods every Saturday and Sunday. Some residents said they haven’t been able to sell their homes because of proximity to the swap meet. While most of the complaints concern the 25-year-old, 800-vendor swap meet, open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, residents also complained of honking horns and traffic noise from weeknight movie customers. Officials of the 50-year-old drive-in at 17737 S. Vermont Ave. said they have had workers diligently pick up trash, prohibited walk-in patrons and hired off-duty police officers to direct traffic. Jay Swerdlow, general manager for Pacific Theaters, said he went through nearby neighborhoods last Sunday and saw no signs of swap meet patrons, urination or litter.