Roof Garden Drive-In
Somerset, Pennsylvania1949-1975
Order Roof Garden Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The name likely comes from Somerset County's nickname, the Roof Garden of Pennsylvania, for its high elevation, though the drive-in sat on the ground on Route 219 and parked 350 cars. In 1951 it ran a second grand opening ad that boasted of the largest lamphouse its maker had ever built for a drive-in. Browse the styles below, and the full Roof Garden history is further down. Every shirt is printed to order in the USA and carries the memories of bygone places and teams.
4 products
Roof Garden Drive-In History
The Roof Garden Drive-In in Somerset, Pennsylvania, opened in July 1949 on Route 219, just north of town, and was on the ground like any other drive-in. Somerset County has long been called the Roof Garden of Pennsylvania because it sits high up, and it holds the state's top point, Mount Davis. That nickname is the likely source of the name, though no record found says so outright. J.R. Betters and Louis Hanna of Hanna Theatre Services ran it, and it parked 350 cars.
In March 1951 it ran another grand opening ad, boasting of the largest lamphouse its maker had ever built for drive-in use. A 1956 ad brought back an adults-only picture for those who had missed it the week before. A program from the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis years carries the name in bold type on a purple band.
It closed for the last time at the end of the 1975 season. A fire that November damaged what was left of the screen, and the property sold in March 1976. It was gone by 1982. A business uses part of the land now.