Boulevard Drive-In Theater
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The Boulevard Drive-In Theater is a closed
drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...
theater, located in
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...
. It was one of two drive-in theaters in Allentown; the second one was Cinema Treasures.


History

Opened in 1949, the Boulevard was located on a 20-acre site in East Allentown, at 556 Union Boulevard, across the street from
Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...
. Like many Drive-Ins, the Boulevard was open from about April through the end of October of each year, being closed during the winter months. The theater opened about an hour before sunset each night, and normally showed two films on an average evening, the first being a first-run film, the second being either a "B" movie or a second-run film. The theater was located on a hill, with gravel over the natural turf for automobiles to park. Each of the 600 parking space had a monaural speaker which was attached to the vehicle's driver side window. The speaker had a volume control to adjust the sound volume inside the car or light truck. There were no heaters supplied for the vehicles, and it was common for car engines to be running during the films in the early spring and late fall with the heaters running. In the front of the parking area, a children's play area was provided with various swings, sliding boards and other playground equipment for families to take children prior to dusk and the beginning of the film. A concession stand, underneath the projection room was open with a wide variety of refreshments as well as rest rooms.


Closure and subsequent use

The Boulevard Drive-In closed about 1985 and the property was abandoned for many years. The ticket booth, projection/refreshment building and the metal speaker posts were torn down and removed about 1990. In 2013, plans were announced to redevelop the site into a "classic car" exercise site, in which a mile-long track would be constructed to drive museum-class vehicles. The track is not planned for racing, but instead, a network of roads designed to test and maintain cars from the America on Wheels Museum. Development, sponsored by
Nicola Bulgari Nicola Bulgari (born 1941) is an Italian billionaire businessman and grandson of Sotirios Bulgari, founder of the luxury brand Bulgari. Early life and education Nicola Bulgari was born in Rome in 1941, the third son of Giorgio Bulgari (1890–1 ...
, was completed sometime in 2015 and included preservation and restoration of the movie screen.


See also

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List of historic places in Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third largest city in Pennsylvania and largest city in the Lehigh Valley region of the state, was established in 1762. Allentown is one of the nation's oldest major cities with deep roots in its history. The city was ...
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List of drive-in theaters This is a list of drive-in theaters. A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, custom ...


References


Further reading

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External links


Boulevard Drive-In
{{Lehigh Valley Buildings and structures in Allentown, Pennsylvania Cinemas and movie theaters in Pennsylvania Drive-in theaters in the United States Former cinemas in the United States History of Allentown, Pennsylvania