Harbor Drive-In
23314 S. Vermont Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90502
23314 S. Vermont Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90502
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 40 comments
My dear Jamey_monroe45, I am very happy to see another enthusiastic poster here, but I am troubled that you may not feel the friendly, helpful vibe that some of us try to promote.
In this case, the previous address the CT had for Harbor was 23444 S. Vermont Avenue. That modern-day address is closer to where the old Harbor sign had been, according to comparison tools at HistoricAerials.com. On the other hand, 23314 looks to be closer to the original exit path; I can’t tell where the box office had been. Of course, these addresses are barely one block apart - either address is defensible, either guides the reader to the correct location. I might call it a tweak; I’ve been enough of a stickler to suggest similar minor changes.
About its city location, one of my earlier posts on this page outlined a logical thread to explain why the evidence that I found suggested that it the Harbor was in unincorporated Los Angeles County when it was active. If you’ve found something that suggests that it was was within the city limits back then, that would be a great thing to share. I always enjoy being proven wrong, as so often happens.
Way off!
Now Sesame Street (!) Townhomes @ 23314 S Vermont Ave, Torrance, CA 90502. This was LA when the theatre was open…
Please update.
After digging through the LA Times, I think the final ad for the Harbor in the drive-in theater section (between Covina and La Miranda) was Monday, May 15, 1972. The double feature was “The Hospital” and “Bloody Sunday”. In the next day’s ad, there was nothing between Covina and La Miranda.
Hey kencmcintyre, thanks for the Torrance Library link!
But the Harbor site was apparently never in Torrance, though that is the Zip Code for the post office that would deliver its mail today. First there’s a half-mile wide tendril of Los Angeles sits between the old drive-in and Torrance. According to Google Maps, the Harbor is east of that part of LA and west of Carson, so it sits in a small census-designated place (CDP), appropriately called West Carson.
The Theatre Catalog and Motion Picture Almanac both listed the Harbor under Los Angeles. Topo maps from 1953 & 1959 put the Harbor in unincorporated space, again across the LA tendril from Torrance. The 1966 & 1975 topos show Carson extending north of the drive-in site, which is still untouched. The 1982 maps shows the area in a small blob of territory - part of Ironsides? Is that a neighborhood or another CDP or something?
If I had to choose, I’d list the Harbor under Los Angeles. In the drive-in’s heyday, it was closer to Torrance than Carson, but it was closer still to the Los Angeles tendril.
The manager of the drive-in back in the early fifties was Joe Greene, as I mentioned in 2009. He was also an actor. In reading the local archives, there were a couple of occasions when he was an actor in the film that he was showing at the theater.
The Torrance Library recently digitized local papers going back to 1913. I have posted the link below. If you search for Harbor Drive-in, there are many entries about its colorful manager Joe Greene, along with ads, mostly in the 1950s.
http://www.torranceca.gov/libraryarchive/
Still looking for any photos of the marquee or screen.
This link should show an aerial view of the drive-in, circa 1952. If the link doesn’t work, let me know.
http://tinyurl.com/y9btafy
Here is a February 1960 ad from the LAT:
http://tinyurl.com/ngywh2
The LAT reported the robbery of the Harbor manager, Joseph Green, by a man and woman bandit team on July 20, 1954.
http://tinyurl.com/lbd3ac
Here is an August 1965 LA Times ad for a swap meet at the Harbor:
http://tinyurl.com/ktqpzg
Here is an August 1960 ad from the Long Beach Independent:
http://tinyurl.com/mdyqr9
PS. Hope someone finds some photos. I would love to see the place again!!
I used to live just north of the drive-in on Kaywood drive from 1962 till 1969. I remember the “farmers” wheat field south of my house and west of Van Deene Ave. as we would play in it all the time! I remember going to the theater for movies and also the swap meet on the weekends. And yes I do remember the chili dogs!!
If you look at the aerial photo at historicaerials.com and look at the 1952 picture you do see the theater but hardly anything else. The little housing tract and Kaywood Drive where I had lived did not yet exist. If you look at the 1972 photo you can see my house on Kaywood Drive and you see the construction site of the condos that are there now. So the theater did come down in 1971 or 1972. I have just returned to the area after living in Hawaii for the past 40 years and boy have things changed!!
See my comment of 8/20/05. If you change the address, I might get lost on the way home. 8-)
The address probably varied. The old aerial photo shows the DI taking up most of the block between Vermont and 228th.
The drive-in is listed at 23444 S. Vermont in this March 1952 ad in the Long Beach Press Telegram:
http://tinyurl.com/cas75r
If you enter the address on this site and click on the 1952 image, you will see the drive-in:
http://tinyurl.com/ddtd55
I think the Theater part of the name should be 86ed to be consistent. I don’t know too many other drive-ins listed thave have Theater at the end.
It would be great to see a photo of this drive-in. Please keep us posted.
My sister and I were delightfully surprised to find that people have fond (if “creepy”) memories of The Harbor Drive In Theater! Our father owned it and we have some great old memories of the swap meet, playground and snack bar.
We had the best chili….does anyone remember the chili dogs? Who knows what was in that stuff but it sure tasted good.
I remember my dad saying it was “the end of an era” when the land became a condo site. It certainly was true for us.
Some of your comments really made me laugh. Thanks for that.
Will look for some photos – of course there must be some around.
I met Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle at a charity softball game in Atlantic City, around 1980. They were working as casino greeters and had been banned from baseball by the commissioner. Willie seemed nice enough but the Mick was not too interested.
I don’t think there are any photos of this drive-in available. If any locals read this and happen to have an old photo, please let me know.
Here is a July 1959 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/yqew35
In October 1971, the Harbor was showing “Omega Man” with Charlton Heston. I know that the apartment complex on the site opened in 1973, so adding in construction time the drive-in must have been on its last legs:
http://tinyurl.com/yulsg6
The Harbor was still around in November 1965. Admission was $1.80 per car. Features on November 21 were “35 Hours” and “Children of the Damned”.