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Bringing back the Paramount Drive-In

A gull flies over the parking lot of the Paramount Drive-In -- formerly known as the Roadium -- which will reopen in April. Glenn Bianchi, son of the theater's founder, plans to bring the old-school drive-in into the high-tech era.

A gull flies over the parking lot of the Paramount Drive-In -- formerly known as the Roadium -- which will reopen in April. Glenn Bianchi, son of the theater’s founder, plans to bring the old-school drive-in into the high-tech era.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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All but erased from the Southern California landscape decades ago, the drive-in theater is headed for an encore. The Roadium Drive-In in Paramount -- later known as the Paramount Drive-In -- rose from an old cornfield in an era when outdoor theaters stood tall. Now Glenn Bianchi, the son of the theater’s founder, is planning to have the refurbished Paramount up and running by early April. It will have new wide screens, state-of-the-art projectors -- and an improved snack bar.

Paramount Drive-In

Dolores Resendiz sells her wares at the daily Paramount Swap Meet, where she has worked for the last 25 years.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Paramount Drive-In

Ignacio Torres cleans up at the end of the daily Paramount Swap Meet. Many drive-ins were cleared away to make room for shopping centers and big-box stores. Others were simply converted to outdoor swap meets.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Paramount Drive-In

A gull is reflected in the window of the Paramount Drive-In concession stand, which will be improved. The refurbished theater will also have two new 75-foot-wide screens, state-of-the-art digital projectors and an FM stereo radio sound system.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Paramount Drive-In

Swap-meet shoppers walk across the old parking lot at the Paramount Drive-In. In the late 1950s, there were more than 4,700 drive-ins in the U.S. Now only 360 are left, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Assn.   (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Paramount Drive-In

Construction workers Danny Solorio, left, and Manual Marquez build a 7-foot wall that will keep out ambient light from the neighborhood surrounding the soon-to-reopen Paramount Drive-In.   (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Paramount Drive-In

Darren Kurkowski, top, and Glenn Bianchi proceed to the projector room next to the 11-screen Bianchi Theatres in Paramount, located on a corner of the drive-in’s 45-acre site.   (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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