Garden State Drive-In
Cherry Hill, New Jersey1948-1969
Order Garden State Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey, theater opened in 1948 with John Wayne in Tycoon and room for about 710 cars. Its sign had a tall curved fin outlined in bulbs, and each winter its marquee told Route 70 it would reopen in April. Choose a style below, and the full Garden State 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.
4 products
Garden State Drive-In History
The Garden State Drive-In in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, opened on June 17, 1948, with John Wayne in Tycoon and Virginia Bruce in Butch Minds the Baby. The Savar chain of Samuel Varbalow built it on what was then Route 40 in Delaware Township, a few miles outside Camden, with one screen and room for about 710 cars.
The road became Route 70 in 1953, and a decade later the township renamed itself Cherry Hill. The Garden State racetrack was just up the road. The theater's sign had a tall curved fin outlined in bulbs, and in the off season its marquee told Route 70 it was closed for the winter and would reopen in April.
It closed after the 1969 season. One researcher gives the last night as November 30, 1969. A hotel went up on the site later, first a Hyatt, then a Crowne Plaza.