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Historic place

Orlando Drive-In Theatre

1001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL

The area's first drive-in opened on February 7, 1940, with Vivacious Lady and a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

📅 1940–1984🏛️ TheaterDemolished
Open on the mapSlide back to 1940

The story

Harris Robinson, doing business as Dixie Drive-In Theatres of Atlanta, built it. Cinema Treasures calls it the company's second drive-in in Florida. It opened on February 7, 1940, with the 1938 comedy Vivacious Lady, a Mickey Mouse cartoon and a sports reel.

It was originally called the Drive-In, and on October 5, 1948 it was renamed the Orlando Drive-In Theatre. Orlando Memory's list of closed area drive-ins shows it as the first in the area, with a closing date of June 17, 1984, the date of the last films. Cinema Treasures marks it closed and demolished. The year of demolition is not given.

What's There Now

A Dollar General, a 7-Eleven, and a large parking lot used by the City of Orlando.

Everything that was here

Did you know?

The first feature was a 1938 comedy, already two years old on opening night.
It was a Georgia company's second drive-in in Florida.
It was renamed in 1948, after eight years under its plain original name.

Nearby history

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Sourceshttps://cinematreasures.org/theaters/67751