99 Drive-In
4600 Buck Owens Boulevard,
Bakersfield,
CA
93308
4600 Buck Owens Boulevard,
Bakersfield,
CA
93308
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Correction to my previous post…
The actual address where the entrance road was located is 4600 Buck Owens Blvd, Bakersfield, CA 93308 now a self storage facility north of said motel now not Quality Inn…Please update.
Boxoffice, March 19, 1949: “BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. – A new 700-car drive-in, to be known as "9” was to open at Highway 99 and Pierce road near here next week. Built for Lloyd Miller, Joe and Bill Gannon and Owen Clark, the open-air project will costs $200,000 and will have in-car speakers, commodious restrooms and a large concession bar with bottle warming facilities."
Closed in 1982. The hotel is Quality Inn Suites.
Why the name 99?
The 99 Drive-In opened on Thursday, March 17, 1949 with a Big Double Bill Major Studio Feature Show. The regular Friday-Saturday attraction was Romance on the High Seas and Dynamite.
William..can you write us a overview of the drive-in?
For more photos, http://www.flickr.com/photos/89107783@N05/sets/
The 99 was enlarged to 1500 cars, the screen enlarged to Cinamascope and a 2nd snack bar adding about 1952.
The approx. address for this drive-in was 4500 Buck Owens Boulevard (formerly Pierce Rd.). The theatre was where the hotel stands as well as the business a block south of it.
September 8th, 1949 ad uploaded here.
Here is a view of the screen from drive-ins.com:
http://tinyurl.com/ya838ee
Actual capacity was 660. The operator in 1963 was the Five Star Theatre Corp.