Olympic Drive-In
12109 W. Olympic Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90064
12109 W. Olympic Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90064
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The Olympic was remodeled in spring 1950, adding a playground, enlarging the rest rooms, and swapping in better in-car speakers. Maybe that was when its screen tower switched from the plain one shown in its grand opening ad to its famous Pacific mural? The surfers were definitely there by August 1951, when they appeared in a (Venice CA) Evening Vanguard newspaper ad.
There were a lot of conflicting references to the Olympic’s capacity. A month before it opened, the Citizen News said the drive-in would be able to hold 800 cars. In September 1945, the Evening Vanguard ran a press-release type of article that said 1200 cars. Then in March 1950, in a story about upcoming Easter services there, the Evening Vanguard mentioned “the 820 cars which can be accommodated on the large parking lot”.
Much larger grand opening ad posted from the Vanguard in Venice.
Olympic Drive-In opening 04 Apr 1945, Wed Evening Vanguard (Venice, California) Newspapers.com
tiny grand opening ad posted.
The Olympic (re-)opened on April 4, 1945, showing Woman in the Window and Lost in a Harem, per its listings in The Los Angeles Times.
Original location is now Westside Pavilion Mall. Second location is now Martin GMC-Cadillic dealership and KTTV-TV FOX Channel 11.
A few other movies with “drive-in” scenes (not the Olympic) are “Lolita” (1961) and “Lonelyhearts” (1958) with Montgomery Clift.
I just watched “The Facts of Life” (UA, 1960) which shows the Olympic Drive-In Theatre. The b&w movie is available on a 2007 MGM/UA DVD. The segment starts at the 56:59 point and ends at 1:00:10. Bob Hope and Lucille Ball are driving, nervously looking for some place to go, and Hope says, “Hey, there’s an idea. Wanna see a movie?” Ball replies, “Sure” and they enter the Olympic Drive-In Theatre. There are great shots of the Olympic exterior, showing the name in neon and a mural showing a couple on surfboards, sailboats in the water and a beach/coastline. The theater entrance is shown, then a long-shot of the Drive-In lot, showing the screen and the car entering and pulling into a spot. At the end of the scene, the car exits the Olympic, showing the street side of the screen. Is this the Olympic Drive-In shown in the “interior” shots? I assume it is, but you never know with “movie magic”…
This theater should be listed in Los Angeles. West Los Angeles is a district, not an independent city.
Went to this drive in quite a few times in my childhood. I remember it quite fondly.
I saw “THE FACTS OF LIFE” bet alot of L.A. drive-ins were used in the movies.
Very cool.
I just saw “The Facts of Life” and was tickled to see this drive-in featured there. Lucille Ball and Bob Hope go there to cheat on their spouses and get in a little necking but they are spotted by their dry-cleaning man. Hilarity ensues when the horn gets stuck and the speaker is still attached to the car as they try to duck out.
I remember as a kid visiting the Olympic with my parents as I was always more interested in the very colorful and bright Milani 1890 French dressing billboard that was outside of the theater to the right side of the screen then the movie at the age I was then.
What year did the Olympic drive in theater move to the new location near olympic and bundy?
Here is a 1951 photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/dnmlbv
The last film to play at the Olympic was “Gordon’s War” with Paul Winfield, according to the LA Times ads of October 1973.
If you enter the address on this site, you can see the theater in the 1952 and 1972 aerials. It was long gone by the time the 1980 photo was taken.
View link
Was mentioned in the documentary “Drive-In Movie Memories” in 2001.
Here is a 1954 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2z8rj7
This drive-in appeared in the film “The Facts of Life”.
From socaldriveins.com:
View link
From the Santa Monica Library website:
http://www.smpl.org/archive/2105/IMG0048.JPG
Thank you, William. (Gotta remember to check that “previous name” box when searching!)
stevebob, the Whittier Drive-In later became the Fiesta Four Drive-In in Pico Rivera. It’s on this site.
Among those listed above with classic murals is the Whittier Drive-In. I saw it often from a passing car as a child and remember the Spanish dancers.
Anyway, it doesn’t have an entry here as yet. It was on Whittier Boulevard (probably still U.S. 101 when the drive-in opened), but it was not in the city of Whittier. I can’t recall the exact location, but I believe it was in Montebello or Pico Rivera.