4th Street Drive-In
7200 4th Street N,
St. Petersburg,
FL
33702
7200 4th Street N,
St. Petersburg,
FL
33702
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Florida State Theaters Inc.
Previous Names: Drive-In
Nearby Theaters
The Drive-In was St. Petersburg’s first drive-in and it opened with much fanfare on January 23, 1941, with Jack Benny in "Buck Benny Rides Again" being the first movie. It was operated by Florida State Theaters Inc.
By 1952 it had been renamed 4th Street Drive-In. It was closed on May 28, 1956 with “Carousel” and “New York Confidential”. The property has since been redeveloped and there is no trace of this theatre whatsoever.
Contributed by
Andy
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Andy, it parked 400 cars and was owned by Flordia Theatres.
That’s Florida State Theaters.
Need more info and photos.
Enjoy the new pictures…
Thanx hispeed54! This is amazing. At first glance I thought this was the Hillsboro D/I in Tampa. The marquee, entrance layout, and screen tower are identical although the width on this screen looks to be just slightly less wide than the Hillsboro. The “Drive-In Theatre” neon target sign is also identical although the target design is more pronounced on this screen.
You are welcome Nick…I had to check myself, I thought maybe I uploaded the wrong pictures!! Same basic design.
Just did some checking and found the closing date was May 28, 1956. The ad states, “closed till further notice” although checking the time clock listings monthly through 1957 showed no futher ads. The last features shown were “Carousel” and “New York Confidential”
Uploaded aerial from 1969.. It looks like the property sat empty for all long time before it was redeveloped.
I recall in the late 1940s each car was issued a hand operated mosquite spray gun as the mosquitoes were very bad. As the cars exited the movie you gave back the “Mosquito Sprayer” at the ticket booth.
January 23rd full page ad:
Found on Newspapers.com