Moonlite Drive-In
2726 El Camino Real,
Santa Clara,
CA
95051
2726 El Camino Real,
Santa Clara,
CA
95051
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Golden State Theater & Realty Corp., United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.
Previous Names: Moonlight Movies
Nearby Theaters
Located to the west of Santa Clare near to Central Park. The Moonlight Movies was opened on October 28, 1949 with James Cagney in “White Heat” & Bill Elliott in “The Last Bandit”. It was operated by Golden State Theatres. Later it was renamed Moonlight Drive-In. It was closed on December 30, 1972 with Dean Jones in “Snowball Express” & “The Magic of Walt Disney World”.
It had been demolished by 1980. The Moonlite Center shopping center has been built on the site.
Contributed by
Billy Holcomb / Don Lewis / Billy Smith
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
From the late 1940s, a newsprint photo of the Moonlite Movies Drive In marquee.
Aerial at View link
in other years, you can also see the UA 150 in front of the shopping centre.
I may be remembering things badly, but wasnt there a walk-in theater nestled up against the Drive in screen here?
In looking at the 1980 aerial view it appears you may be correct. Have never seen ads for it in any old newspapers though. Quite curious.
I remember this. The entrance was actually on Kiely. I still remember going to the Cinema 150 and seeing the giant screen behind the shopping center.
there was also Moon Light bowling lanes
The Moonlite Drive-In, built in the 1940s was part of the United Artists Theater Circuit. It was on a large piece of land owned by UATC at El Camino Real and Kiely Blvd. in Santa Clara. Also on the site was Moonlite Shopping center, a strip mall which still remains, and two indoor theaters, the UA Regency and the UA Cinema 150, both built in the 1960s. The Regency was built partially on land that had previously been part of the Moonlite Drive-in. The drive-in closed around 1980 and condos were built on the site.
From the Oct. 8, 1949 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review: “Moonlite Movies, a new drive-in located near Santa Clara, Calif., owned by Golden State Theatres, is slated to open Oct. 21. The open-airer will be equipped with individual car-heaters for winter operation. Ben Stevenson has been named manager. He was formerly at the Parkside Theatre where Bud Sears is now in charge. Roy Young, assistant manager of the Noe Theatre, was made manager when Sears left for the Parkside.”
Opened on October 28th, 1949, as the world’s finest drive-in. Grand opening ad posted.
It appears that it stopped advertising on December 30, 1972 with Walt Disney’s “Snowball Express”, the Disney featurette “The Magic Of Walt Disney World”, and the featurette “African Lions”. The screen was already gone by 1980.