Drive-In Theaters - Experience American Pop Culture

The Sunset Drive-In in San Luis Obispo offers a rare chance to experience a part of American Pop Culture. Operated by the same family since its beginning it is one of the few remaining Drive-Ins in the USA. Perhaps it is because the popularity of American Drive-ins peaked during the 1950’s that they still hold a nostalgic charm.

The Sunset Drive-In was started by Mr. Raymond Rodkey and has been run by his son, Larry Rodkey, ever since. The following short film details the entire history of the Sunset Drive-in.

Sunset Drive In @ Yahoo! Video

All Drive-ins were basically the same layout. They all had a giant outdoor screen. The size of the screen itself must be seen in person to truly respect the engineering that went into its design to be able to withstand wind, earthquake, and time.

Giant Movie Screen - Sunset Drive-in - San Luis Obispo

The projection booth was always centrally located and almost always in the same building as the snackbar. Many drive-ins featured a playground as well for the children to play prior to the start of the first movie. Ticket prices often made it more affordable for a family to attend a film at a drive-in. During the double feature intermission the Sunset Drive-in snackbar has been a meeting place for local friends for decades.

As Americans we show great concern for rare and endangered species. If Drive-ins were birds they would surely be on the endangered species list. During the fifties the drive-in was where many young people experienced their first kiss. Many fifties car clubs include a meeting at a drive-in as one of their events. If you have never been to a drive-in, try to place visiting the Sunset Drive-in high on your “must do” list.

California was the King Drive-in state at one time. The drive-in website DriveInMovie.com sums up California drive-in history as follows:

California’s first drive-in movie theatre opened in
June of 1938 (there were less than 15 “auto theatres”
in all of America at that point). Within just ten years,
another 43 drive-ins had opened up and Calfornia was
on its way to becoming one of the top drive-in states.

Between 1948 – 1958, the number of drive-ins in the
state of California more than quadrupled and, while
the number of operating drive-ins in most states had
peaked in the late 1950’s, the number of drive-ins in
the state of California kept climbing through the 60’s,
with more than 220 in operation by end of the decade.

Since that time, the number of drive-ins operating within
the state has declined by 90%. Still, California is one of
the Top5 Drive-in states and more than 20 remain open.

(Current estimates place the number of operating drive-ins in California to be as few as twelve.)

During the fifties that real estate could still be found at a price that would allow a drive-in to operate for a profit. Wikipedia points out that it has largely been due to the rising land values that drive-ins have been pushed out of existence. Put simply, drive-ins have been torn down and replaced by shopping malls.

San Luis Obispo Swap Meet

The remaining drive-ins have subsidized themselves by offering swap meets during daylight hours and showing films at night. The Sunset Drive-in in San Luis Obispo is no exception. The marque reveals this as the words “Swap Meet” share equal billing with the latest Hollywood blockbusters. Every Sunday you can find bargains on almost anything that you can think of starting from 6:00 A.M. until almost noon. Adopting a flexible business model and including a Swap Meet has made it possible for San Luis Obispo to still enjoy the benifits of having its own drive-in.

Driving Directions to get to the Sunset Drive-in.