East 30 Drive-In
Fort Wayne, Indiana1950-1987
Shop East 30 Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Fort Wayne theater opened in 1950 on U.S. 30 with a 60 by 64 foot screen and an orchid for every lady. A late 1960s ad led with moon landings and heart transplants and asked what would come next. Choose a style below, and the full East 30 history is further down. Every shirt is printed to order in the USA and carries the memories of bygone places and teams.
4 products
East 30 Drive-In History
The East 30 Drive-In in Fort Wayne, Indiana, opened on October 6, 1950, on U.S. 30, with Randolph Scott in The Nevadan. Its ad placed it midway between Fort Wayne and New Haven and promised a 60 by 64 foot screen, an orchid for every lady, and gifts for the children and Dad. Carl H. Schwyn ran it first. It held about 450 cars. A go-kart track and a miniature golf business later operated beside the screen.
An undated ad from the late 1960s, with a New Haven phone prefix, tried to tie a pair of older science fiction and caveman pictures to the news of the day. It led with moon landings and heart transplants, then asked what would happen next. Whatever the answer was, the snack bar was new.
The theater changed operators several times, passing through Alliance Amusement, Cinecom and Sportservice, and it ended with Y and W Theatres. Its last season was 1987. New Haven's parks department now has the address, and the double entrance road is about all that's left. A different East 30 Drive-In, in East Canton, Ohio, opened in 1980 and is no relation.