Big Bear Drive-In
Poulsbo, Washington1955-1994
Order Big Bear Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. Three cartoon bears, Papa, Mama and Baby, walked along the top of the sign on animated neon legs, and some customers called the place the Three Bears. The sign was later photographed in a Seattle sign lot. Browse the styles below, and the full Big Bear history is further down. Every shirt is printed to order in the USA and carries the memories of bygone places and teams.
4 products
Big Bear Drive-In History
The Big Bear Drive-In in Poulsbo, Washington, opened on May 26, 1955, on Highway 305 between Poulsbo and Suquamish, near the Agate Pass Bridge. The first bill was Chief Crazy Horse, Killers of the Swamp and, in keeping with the name, Bear Country. It was run by the Lilquist family, who also had the Almo Theatre in downtown Poulsbo.
Its sign is what people remember. Three cartoon bears, Papa, Mama and Baby, walked along the top of the board on animated neon legs, heading for the entrance, and some customers simply called the place the Three Bears. A red oval on the same sign read BIG BEAR THEATRE. Fir trees closed in on the lot, which kept it cool on hot nights, and one writer on Cinema Treasures recalls an occasional live black bear walking through.
By 1981 it was running adult films along with everything else, G through X, to bring in a crowd. It closed in 1988. A new operator reopened it in 1993, and it closed for good in 1994. It was torn down in 1997, and the land became part of a concrete and gravel operation.
The sign outlived the theater. It was photographed in a Seattle sign lot near the Magnolia Bridge in 2004, and a local signmaker was reported to have acquired it in 2011 with plans to refurbish it.