At Stadium Drive-In, a Last Picture Show
After 26 years, the towering movie screen of the Stadium Drive-In on Katella Avenue, one of the last drive-ins in Orange County, went dark this week.
Century Theatres Inc. of San Francisco plans to use the 26-acre property for a 25-screen indoor theater complex. The new movie house will boast theaters with stadium-style seating, restaurants and shops.
The last show at the Stadium on Thursday night was the end of a summertime custom for the Croteau family of Orange, drive-in aficionados.
“Now there’s nowhere else to go,” said Steve Croteau, 40, who with his wife, Lana, and their children Alex, 10, and Cammie, 7, went to the last show to see “Jack,” with Robin Williams.
“It’s real relaxed and informal, and it’s great for a family outing,” he said. “The kids love it. It’s a big party for them.”
Croteau mourned the closing of the drive-in as the end of an era of inexpensive outdoor entertainment.
“It’s almost like going camping: You bring blankets, pillows and food,” he said. “What can you compare it to? Where else can you park your car and do something like that outside?”
The Stadium is one in a number of drive-ins disappearing as the owners of the large sites seek more lucrative ventures for the properties.
In Anaheim, Pacific Theatres of Los Angeles will build a 25-screen, 5,500-seat cinema complex at the site of the old Anaheim Drive-In on Lemon Street. Its original screen was demolished Sept. 6.
Drive-in sites in La Habra and Fullerton have also closed to make way for development, and developers have plans for a retail project at the Highway 39 Drive-In in Westminster. The Orange Drive-In site is still open, but only as a swap meet.
