Sutton Motor-In
110 Worcester Providence Turnpike,
Sutton,
MA
01590
110 Worcester Providence Turnpike,
Sutton,
MA
01590
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Originally opened on May 16, 1947 with The Marx Brothers in “A Night in Casablanca” & James Cagney in “Great Guy”. The Sutton Motor-In was a drive-in located on the main highway between Worcester, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. It was closed on August 4, 1996, and much of the 10-acre property (now for sale) is thickly overgrown with weeds and brush, giving the place a “haunted-drive-in” look.
The marquee over the entrance was still there, albeit with broken glass and some loose lettering. Walk through it and you can see the original ticket booth, the large single CinemaScope-ratio screen, and the projection booth on the right in the distance.
The screen tower was destroyed by fire on May 2, 2022. The remainder of the drive-in was demolished in April 2024.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 24 comments)
I took my daughter here yesterday and it really broke our hearts to see the condition it was in. One quick question….what is the story behind the dam/waterfall in the woods behind the screen? I couldn’t find any info online. Aside from that the place is trashed. So sad the town did this to such an amazing place. I got a TON of great pics regardless. Just wish the town would stop being d-bags and let it open. Real potential and great place to keep kids out of trouble!
well drive-in theater preservation society i hate that the sutton police wouldn’t allow the state police to direct traffic for free. ti’s rude and correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t that illegal. state police officers have more power than municipal police officers. also the raising of the price due to retail interest was a bunch of crap. they were doing that so it wouldn’t reopen.
With the coronavirus these days, it would make sense to open this theater again.
12 minute video, published October 24, 2021, on the ‘Jason Allard’ channel documenting it’s history and current condition. Dave Lounder (commenter above and former operator) assisted in the research.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcldt51aB5E
Google maps aerials show the screen as gone! It was either torn down or what I believed happened fell down everything else is still there though.please update
Dan - Arson. Grass fire caught screen tower. The intense heat crumpled the inner, pre-scope screen structure. Also, fairly recently, the A-frame box office (not original) blew over in a wind storm. - Dave Lounder (Last operator, 1996)
The screen was still standing as of July 2021, but by September of 2022 it was gone.
The Sutton Motor-In closed for the final time on August 4, 1996 due to nonpayment of a $2,692 bill for police details.
@Kenmore - The screen fire happened May 2, 2022. - Dave
It opened on May 16th, 1947. Grand opening ad posted.