cinelog.org

Today marks the twenty third anniversary of San Juan Capistrano’s Mission Drive-In closure. At one time, Orange County featured eleven drive-ins, but, by the late nineties, all had fallen victim to the economics of skyrocketing property values and a declining interest in the viewing format. The Mission, which was the eighth drive-in to open in Orange County and the fourth to close, on September 8, 1985, exemplified  this unfortunate late twentieth century trend; after years of slumping attendance, the property became more valuable than the business, leading to the drive-in’s closure and conversion in to a retail center.

 

The Mission Drive-In opened to a capacity audience, in November of 1966, with the features “Paradise Hawaiian Style” and “Night of the Grizzly”. Nineteen years later, a sparse collection of vehicles closed out the venue with “Return of the Living Dead” and “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome”.