Vanguard Drive-In
3645 US-1,
Cocoa,
FL
32926
3645 US-1,
Cocoa,
FL
32926
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Kent Theatres Inc.
Previous Names: Vanguard Outdoor Theatre
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The Vanguard Outdoor Theatre wss opened on December 3, 1959 with a soft opening, screening the 1959 drama “Rabbit Trap” with Ernest Borgnine, David Brian and Bethel Leslie. The second feature was the 1959 western/comedy “Alias Jesse James” with Bob Hope and Rhonda Fleming. The Grand opening night was December 18, 1959, with free admission for all of the county school students accompanied by parents. The Vanguard Drive-In was opened by Charles E. Meyers dba Gold Coast Theatres, Inc. Mr Meyers is reported to have paid $140,000 for the property, which operated as an orange grove at the time. Meyers planned to build a combination indoor and drive-in theatre on the property, but it did not happen. Car capacity of the new airer was 400-cars.
The name “Vanguard” was from Project Vanguard, which was a program managed by the United States Navy Naval Research Laborratory (NRL). The program intended to launch the first artificial satellite into low earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket as a launch vehicle from Cape-Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida in 1957.
On January 7, 1961 Gold Coast Theatres, Inc. Deerfield Beach, filed a notice of intention to dissolve their corporation. Movie advertisements of the time showed that the theatre was still open but advertised as “Vanguard” for all of 1961 and part of 1962. Fred Kent dba Kent Theatres Inc. was the new owner of the drive-in. In April of 1962 it was advertised as Vanguard Drive-In Theatre.
The Vanguard Drive-In closed for good on September 2, 1979. The property was sold to Ron & Barbara Kool. They planned to build an auction house on the property. Kool also had plans for putting manufactured houses on the 22 ¼ acres lot. The screen tower was demolished on April 30, 1987. J and B Transmission took up residence at the theatre entrance for many years. A new storage unit business called “Your Storage Units” was built in front of the drive-in property in 2025-2026. Aerials from the 1970’s show that there were other unknown buildings in front of the drive-in. The old theatre property is now Vanguard Estates Mobile Park.
Contributed by
Randy Studer, James Monroe
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The Vanguard Drive-In However Had A Bit Of A Dangerous Life Than The Normal Happy Life For The Merritt Island Drive-In. The Vanguard Drive-In Opened On December 3rd, 1959 With Ernest Borgnine In “The Rabbit Trap” And Bob Hope In “Alias Jesse James” (Both United Artists Films).
Various Robberies Were Reported At The Vanguard Drive-In Throughout The Years, And The Theater Continued To Show A Mix Of First-Run And Variety Films Only For A Few Years Until Parts Of The Mid-1960’s Came Along When They Were Somehow Stuck With Drive-In Films, B-Films, Some X-Films, And Horrors. And Then Until The 1970’s Roll Along, In Which Later On The Vanguard Was Mainly Stuck With R-Rated Films Being Close To X (Even Some X Films Did Show At The Vanguard, But One Time Including Only 5% Of Family-Fare When The Vanguard Did Show The Planet Of The Apes Marathon Runnings In January Of 1972. I Do Think That The Theater Wanted To Be Nice Only For Once Until They Continue Show Random R And A Bit Of X Films Again) Throughout The End Of Its Life Until Closure A Year Later In 1973. It Was Left Abandoned Until April 29th, 1987 And The Vanguard Is Demolished.
Only the entrance and exit roads remain along with what might be the marquee.
article:
Vanguard Drive-In opening 03 Dec 1959, Thu Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida) Newspapers.com
As of March, 2021, the marquee is still standing. Over the past 15 years, it has been used to advertise a few of the businesses occupying the building.
It is now blank which may indicate that J&B Transmission is no longer operating since their sign was present on the marquee a few years ago.
The Vanguard actually closed in 1975.