Edmondson Drive-In
Catonsville, Maryland1954-1991
Shop Edmondson Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Catonsville theater on Baltimore National Pike advertised in big letters that it would heat your car, and Baltimore filmmakers used it for Polyester, Tin Men and Serial Mom. On weekends it hosted a busy flea market. Browse the styles below, and the full Edmondson history is further down. Down Home Apparel is an American small business remembering the best places and teams of yesteryear, and every shirt is printed to order in the USA.
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Edmondson Drive-In History
The Edmondson Drive-In in Catonsville, Maryland, opened on May 28, 1954, with Riding Shotgun and Fearless Fagan. It stood at 6000 Baltimore National Pike, U.S. 40, on the west side of Baltimore. George Brehm Sr. owned it and Jack Vogel designed it. It had one screen and a playground, and it held 1,200 cars until 1965, when capacity dropped to 950. The Westview Cinema opened next door that June.
It made its pitch for cold weather. A 1955 Motion Picture Herald photo shows the board advertising in large letters that it would heat your car. Brehm also ran the Elkridge drive-in, and in 1969 Boxoffice reported that he had ended dusk-to-dawn shows at both.
Baltimore filmmakers used it. A 2010 Baltimore Style piece lists it in Polyester, Tin Men and Serial Mom. The lot worked by day too, as a commuter bus stop and as the home of a busy weekend flea market that a commenter credits with keeping the place open.
The Edmondson closed in 1991 after Brehm decided the land was worth more than the business. Cinema Treasures gives the last night as November 17, with Ghost and Naked Gun 2 1/2 on the bill. A Home Depot was built on the site. As of 2010, the marquee was still there, with its arrow pointing down the hill toward the store.