McHenry Twin Drive-In

3848 McHenry Avenue,
Modesto, CA 95356

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Additional Info

Previous Names: McHenry Drive-In

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McHenry Twin Drive-In

The McHenry Drive-In was opened on August 30, 1972 with Raquel Welsh in “Kansas City Bomber”. the single screen drive-in had a capacity for 620 cars. A second screen was added on July 3, 1970. It was closed in October 1984.

The newer screen was at what is now Towery Avenue. The older screens were opposite each other at what is now Wendy Court and Ramsey Drive. The Wal-Mart built on the site has its address where the Drive-In address was originally located.

Contributed by James Monroe

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on May 14, 2020 at 4:45 pm

We know that there wasn’t a 1970s drive-in at 3848 McHenry Avenue, because a 1967 aerial photo showed that a big-box store was already there. (Though it wasn’t a Walmart yet, since the company hadn’t expanded into California yet.)

There is a drive-in west of the intersection of then-Briggsmore Avenue and Prescott Road (now about 2200 Plaza Pkwy) that was a single screen in 1967 but a three-screen drive-in in 1982. Looking all along Briggsmore Avenue in that 1967 aerial, I can’t find any others. Could I have another hint?

RDA123
RDA123 on August 28, 2020 at 12:30 am

It was called the McHenry Drive-In at it was located directly behind the Wal Mart store at 3848 McHenry. This picture above is not McHenry Drive-In, it is the Prescott Drive-In. ( see the 99 expressway in the left corner of the image ) I have posted some images which show where the McHenry Drive-In was, a map from 1969 and an aerial photo from 1966 that was taken before the Drive-In was built.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on June 29, 2022 at 9:47 am

The McHenry Drive-In actually started life as a single-screener on August 30, 1972 with “Kansas City Bomber”, with a capacity of 620 cars, while construction of the second screen was in process at the time of the opening. The theater was actually named McHenry Twin Drive-In 1, in connection of the construction of the second screen.

A second screen was then added nearly almost a year later on July 3, 1973 with “Deliverance” at Screen #1 and “Fiddler On The Roof” at Screen #2, renaming as the McHenry Twin Drive-In 1 & 2. Both theaters had a total investment of $350,000, while the construction pays off only $200,000.

The McHenry Twin Drive-In closed its doors for the final time in October 1984. After sitting abandoned for approximately 3½ years, the twin screens were taken down and the McHenry Twin Drive-In was demolished on May 8, 1988 to make way for houses.

Sorry to say that this was not a 3-screen drive-in, and never known as the Briggsmore 3 Drive-In.

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