Forest Drive-In

There were two Forest Drive-In Theatres in Raleigh. This was the original and was located on a 12-acre tract of land on the east side of U.S. 1 / Capital Boulevard and Buffalo Road near Forest Drive just a bit north of Crabtree Creek and just south of it now called Old Buffalo Road. It had a 40'x50' screen at opening and accommodated 500 cars. This drive-in theatre was located on Capital Boulevard in the Brentwood section of North Raleigh. Consolidated Theatres opened the venue on April 13, 1949 with Bud Abbott & Lou Costello in “In the Navy” supported by four cartoons.

In April of 1963, Consolidated announced a New Forest Drive-In Theatre would be built just to the north of the existing Forest Drive-In and on the opposite side of the road. One reason was that a bypass highway construction project would take a bite out of the Forest Drive-In’s spot while making for challenging navigation. The original Forest Drive-In closed on June 4, 1963 with Elvis Presley in “It Happened at the World’s Fair” and Tom Ewell in “Up Front".

The New Forest Drive-In (which has its own page on Cinema Treasures) then launched on August 1, 1963 with “Tammy and the Doctor” and “Harbor Lights” supported by two cartoon shorts. The original Forest Drive-In was razed. In more contemporary times, the location was home to an Auto Zone retail store in the 2020’s.

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