Bethlehem Drive-In
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania1954-1994
Shop Bethlehem Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. It was the city's first drive-in, opened on Friday, August 13, 1954, with Francis Joins the Wacs. Billboard described it before it opened as the first outdoor theater built only for CinemaScope. Pick a style below, then read the full Bethlehem history further down. We are an American small business bringing back the signs and logos of places and teams that are long gone but remembered fondly.
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Bethlehem Drive-In History
The Bethlehem Drive-In in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, opened on Friday, August 13, 1954, at 3050 Easton Avenue near the Butztown line, with Francis Joins the Wacs and Flight Nurse. It was the city's first drive-in. Billboard had reported it that March as a 900-car theater on 20 acres, with a May opening planned. The company was the Bethlehem Amusement Corporation, and Harold Hirshberg of the town's Palace Theater was its secretary.
That same report called it the first outdoor theater in the country built only for CinemaScope. That was a claim made before it opened. It later joined the Boyd circuit of Philadelphia, and it held about 830 cars.
The Bethlehem ran for 40 years. A commenter gives the last night as September 5, 1994, with Natural Born Killers and Blown Away. It was torn down in 1999, though its outline could still be seen from above years later. A photo shows the marquee reading closed for season, which in the end covered every season after that.