Waialae Drive-In
Honolulu, Hawaii1956-1986
Shop Waialae Drive-In tees, long sleeve tees and hoodies. The Waialae stood on Waialae Avenue in Honolulu's Kahala neighborhood, with one screen and a cemetery next door. In 1959 Honolulu papers reported rumors of a long-haired woman with no face in the ladies' room mirror, and the ghost story kept coming back for decades. Pick a style below, then read the full Waialae history 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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Waialae Drive-In History
The Waialae Drive-In in Honolulu, Hawaii, opened on May 24, 1956, with Elephant Walk and The Naked Spur. It stood on Waialae Avenue in the Kahala neighborhood, across from what became Kahala Mall, with one screen and a cemetery next door. Royal Theatres built it and ran it.
The big yellow marquee had red letters that were changed every Wednesday, and teenagers often rearranged them. A former worker told the Star-Advertiser that the snack bar made its own pizza and chili, used real butter on the popcorn, and that a Great Dane named Progress and a pet deer had the run of the lot.
The theater is best known for a ghost. In May 1959, Honolulu papers reported rumors of a long-haired woman with no face in the mirror of the ladies' room. Manager Albert Silva denied the place was haunted, and staff said they never saw her, though he allowed that the talk was good for business. The story kept coming back for decades, and folklorist Glen Grant later tied it to the faceless ghosts of Japanese folklore.
The last night was January 9, 1986, with Young Sherlock Holmes and Santa Claus: The Movie. The site became a driving range, then a storage building and a gated housing area. The street through it is Kiionioni Loop, from the Hawaiian phrase for moving picture.