Flanders Drive-In
299 Flanders Road,
Flanders,
NY
11901
299 Flanders Road,
Flanders,
NY
11901
2 people
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Joe Bob Report, Jan. 11, 1993: “Superior Being Alert! In 1977 God saw it to send Hurricane Belle to the eastern end of Long Island, New York, where it blew the Flanders Drive-In screen at least halfway to Connecticut. The drive-in has never been torn down, but this year a forest of scrub pine broke through the parking lot. Things are looking grim indeed. Bruce Thompson of Stanford, California, reminds us that, without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.”
Category 1 Hurricane Belle blew the screen over on August 10, 1976 with its last films being “Survive” and “The Longest Yard”.
Hurricane Belle hit around the Flanders area in 1976. I’m not finding any record of a hurricane near the Flanders area in 1974.
The drive-in remained untouched for nearly 30 years until development began in 2005/2006.
Dispute over closing date. Some say 1974. All mention a hurricane.
Opened with “Chief Crazy Horse” and “Captain Lightfoot”.
Time to resurrect in this time of social distancing? I believe the site is still open.
This one opened on June 10, 1955.
Additional opening announcement uploaded.
I remember going here as a kid! We saw Cinderella and had a popcorn fight with our friends in the next car. Too bad they didn’t repair the screen and re-open, would have been nice to have a drive-in closer to home than Rocky Point. I was born in Riverhead but moved to California in 1974, but spent all my summers back home, still remember the Flanders Drive-in though…sigh. Thinking about the drive-in brings up thoughts of The Big Duck, the Riverhead Raceway Indian, Wegert’s Grocery, and my grandparents place behind Long Island Kitchen’s. Good times.
You can still clearly see the remains of the Flanders Drive-in from Google Earth, on Route 24 between Riverhead and Flanders. The drive-in is on the south side of Route 24, and the closest side street is Ludlam Avenue.
wish someone had a picture….
I remember this theater in the 60’s. It was located on Rt 24, AKA Flanders about a mile outside the Riverhead Traffic Circle. The back of the screen faced the roadway. I remember in the 70’s it closed, fell into disrepair and a rental storage business sits today where the entrance was. As mentioned above, a radio station sits to the rear left of the property. I think it was am 1570. Never visited the drive-in, but passed many times on way to Riverhead.
Called the UA Flanders in 1970 and listed as Riverhead
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UA owned the property well after it was closed. There is an AM radio station located on the east side of the property. It is/was an interesting piece of property.
In August of 1969 the Flanders was playing “The Wild Bunch” first run which went out to Warner Brothers 7 Arts Presentation Theatres.