Terrace Drive-In

451 Alemany Boulevard,
San Francisco, CA 94112

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50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on March 15, 2026 at 12:32 pm

Closed on January 31, 1954 with Robert Taylor in “All The Brothers Were Valant” and Rock Hudson in “Back To God’s Country” (unknown if extras added). The 1956 aerial view confirms that the screen is gone, meaning that this is EXTREMELY short-lived.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on December 23, 2019 at 2:20 pm

On Feb. 2, 1952, Boxoffice ran a two-page spread on the Terrace with plenty of photos, mostly illustrating how the drive-in used a San Francisco hillside in its construction.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on December 16, 2019 at 4:19 pm

Boxoffice, June 9, 1951: “Robert L. Lippert’s new Terrace Drive-In, which opened here (in San Francisco) recently, is an unusual theatre installation. Instead of scooping out the earth to provide the customary flat surface, designer Gale Santocono tailored a drive-in to fit San Francisco’s hilly contour. The parking area resembles an amphitheatre.”

rivest266
rivest266 on August 6, 2018 at 1:32 pm

This opened on May 29th, 1951. Grand opening ad in the photo section.

Drive-In 54
Drive-In 54 on July 23, 2017 at 7:20 pm

I knew that in 1951..Hope we can get date that it opened.

Kenmore
Kenmore on July 23, 2017 at 5:37 pm

According to one source I found, the Terrace Drive-In was open in 1951. A 1946 aerial photo shows no drive-in on the property, so it must have been built between those two years.

However, it did not last very long as a 1956 aerial photo shows it to be demolished. A victim apparently of the construction of HWY 280 and HWY 101 which cut off its entrance road.

Today, housing takes up most of the property, although there is a small corner where the screen once sat that is still open.

Drive-In 54
Drive-In 54 on July 23, 2017 at 5:02 pm

So when did it open?