Madera 2 Drive-In
201 W. Lincoln Avenue,
Madera,
CA
93638
201 W. Lincoln Avenue,
Madera,
CA
93638
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Operated by: Cal Gran Theatres
Architects: William R. Metz
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Previous Names: El Rio Drive-In, Park-Vu Drive-In
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
559.673.5381
Nearby Theaters
The Merced Sun-Star says that this is one of the last drive-ins in the San Joaquin Valley.
The El Rio Drive-In was opened October 27, 1948 with Gregory Peck in “The Yearling”. It has been owned since 1972 by brothers Bobby and Shawn Gran who also own the Movie Cinema 6. It is open from May to September and there is always a double feature on both screens.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Please change the link to their website: http://playingtoday.com/drive-ins/madera-drive-in/
Goggle Aerial View 2012
The El Rio Drive-In opened on October 27th, 1948.
This changing name business is pretty confusing. The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists the Madera Drive-In as under construction. The 1949-50 edition lists the El Rio in operation, as does the 1952 and 1955-56 editions.
The 1956 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures lists, for Madera CA, both the El Rio Drive-In and the Madera Drive-In. The 1964 edition lists only the El Rio, so I’m guessing the second drive-in in ‘56 was a crossed wire.
On the other hand, the 1984 International Motion Picture Almanac shows the only drive-in in Madera as the single-screen Park Vu Drive In, owned by R. Gran. And the 1995 edition of Goodridge’s Guide to Flea Markets also mentions the Park Vu Drive-In Flea Market at 201 Lincoln. It was definitely known as the Madera by 2004, so the Park Vu must have been an intermediate name.
they no longer run the swap meet at the madera drive-in
news article about the 2018 reopening it has a new owner
https://abc30.com/entertainment/movie-goers-can-take-a-drive-back-to-the-past-at-the-madera-drive-in/3398688/
Now ca,s oldest drive in
To elaborate on my comment a couple of years ago, the El Rio was in the very first Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list (the 1950-51 edition), and the Park Vu was in the very last (1988). Considering how slow the MPA reacted to changed in the 1960s and 70s, the name change probably occurred within a few years of 1970.
The full MPA record, which was actually quite stable:
it i now the second to last san joaquin valley drive in that is still operating the other being the ceres cruise-in theatre. also california’s oldest operating drive-in
Movies return April 2023