Eugene Drive-In Theater

The Eugene Drive-In had two different locations during its 40 seasons in Eugene. It opened at 2860 South Willamette Street on July 29, 1948. During the 1960's, while operated by Moyer Theatres of Portland, they began to feature first-run movies. In July and August of 1962, it presented a six-week run of "The Music Man". The theater closed, apparently for good, on September 11, 1962, when its listing dropped out of the Eugene Register-Guard.

It had a replacement, though, because the New Eugene Drive-In had opened the previous July 22 at 1450 Henderson Avenue (in Glenwood). Beginning in the 1963 season, the New Eugene Drive-In, also operated by Moyer, reverted to the name the Eugene Drive-In. According to newspaper ads, while under the Moyer Theatres banner, it closed after 1987.

Greg Giesy, long-time FAN resident, stated, "The drive-in theater took up most of what is Woodfield Station today. The screen faced into the hillside, and home owners above could pay the drive-in a monthly fee to have a speaker (that you normally hooked to your car window) wired in their living rooms so they could watch the movies with sound out their picture window."
 
The demolition date of the theater is unknown. Its location, superimposed on a recent aerial view of Eugene, is shown below. There is still plenty of parking, and still plenty of cars, but the movies aren't as good.

Read more information about other historic and current movie theaters in Eugene.