Sunnyvale Drive-In
1035 Aster Avenue,
Sunnyvale,
CA
94086
1035 Aster Avenue,
Sunnyvale,
CA
94086
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Century Theatres, Syufy Enterprises
Architects: Vincent G. Raney
Nearby Theaters
In 1966, on a piece of land bounded by E. Evelyn Avenue and Aster Avenue, Syufy Enterprises built a typical 1960’s drive-in. The Sunnyvale Drive-In was entered via Aster Avenue. The screen was a simple, no-nonsense structure, but the building housing projection, concessions, and restrooms was a circular, cement block design with a low-profiled dome, and 1960’s Googie style stretched diamond ornamental elements attached to the exterior piers. This building design appeared at several of Syufy’s drive-ins, and had much in common with their domed hard-top theatres, aesthetically, Vincent G. Raney being the creator of Syufy/Century’s look for most of that chain’s existence. One such building survives intact at the Coliseum Drive-In in Oakland, now fully given over to swap meet use.
I moved to the neighborhood in 1998, and all trace of the Sunnyvale Drive-In was gone by that time. Today, the site is occupied by condominiums.
Contributed by
Gary Parks
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
I neglected to state that the Sunnyvale Drive-In had TWO screens.
Solano Drive-In in Concord has a similar building, as does the Santa Barbara Drive-In. The less stylish dome snack bars still exist in Sacramento, San Jose and Glendale (AZ).
Corrections—revealed by the posting of the aerial photo of the drive-in: The theatre was bounded by Aster Avenue, and Evelyn Avenue. As stated earlier, it was entered from Aster. The site is now indeed condos. The adjacent small shopping center occupies an adjacent plot of land, just out of the photo, to the Right.
Approx. address for this drive-in was 1035 Aster Avenue.
The condominiums are called Willowbank Apartments.
Willowbend.
Yet another correction: The aforementioned shooping center no longer exists! An empty field I’m afraid…
We could see the movies from our roof. They used a speaker system and not a radio frequency so we couldn’t hear it.
Opened in 1966.