Gilmore Drive-In
Los Angeles, California1948-1977
Order Gilmore Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Los Angeles theater stood on West Third Street beside the Farmers Market, in a Streamline Moderne tower with a curved crown carrying the name. Ed Ruscha had it photographed from a helicopter for his 1967 book of parking lots, and it turned up in Annie Hall. Choose a style below, and the full Gilmore history is further down. Every shirt is printed to order in the USA and carries the memories of bygone places and teams.
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Gilmore Drive-In History
The Gilmore Drive-In in Los Angeles, California, opened on July 18, 1948, on West Third Street just east of the Farmers Market, with Silver River on the screen. Sero Enterprises ran it. It stood on land the Gilmore family had held since the 1880s, a ranch where oil turned up around 1900 and which by 1948 also held the market, Gilmore Field and Gilmore Stadium. It had room for 650 cars.
Balch and Bryan designed the building in the Streamline Moderne style. The back of the screen faced Third Street as a tall stepped tower, with a curved crown carrying the name, a column of pierced grillwork down the center, flat panels on each side and a curved marquee on slanted legs at the foot. Color photos show green panels and salmon side wings. A 1949 photo from the top of the screen shows the lights of the ballpark nearby.
Pacific Drive-Ins took over in 1954, according to Boxoffice that February, and one researcher has the Gilmore as the first Los Angeles drive-in to show CinemaScope, that March. A 1957 film clip shows the marquee advising the street to get more out of life by going to a drive-in. Ed Ruscha had it photographed from a helicopter for his 1967 book of Los Angeles parking lots, and museums hold the print. It also turned up in Annie Hall.
It closed on October 31, 1977. A 1978 comedy ends on a helicopter shot of the dark lot, and a 1978 photo shows CLOSED on the marquee. The building came down in the early 1980s, and a nursery used the land for years. The Grove shopping center now stands on the site.