Longtime Fountain Valley residents like to recollect about the city’s earlier days.
Case in point: The opening night of the Fountain Valley Drive-In Theater on July 12, 1967, 10 years after the city incorporated.
The Fountain Valley Drive-In on Brookhurst Street was Orange County’s 10th drive-in at the time. It could accommodate 2,000 cars and was notable for its large, curved movie screen that measured 140 feet wide and 90 feet tall.
How big is that? That’s 10 feet taller than the tallest building at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, which now sits on the property where the drive-in stood.
Motorists on the 405 Freeway could see the landmark movie screen at night – a reminder that they were traveling through Fountain Valley.
The gala opening night featured “Snow White,” with appearances by several movie and radio stars, free toys for kids and an appearance by circus clowns.
Trivia question: Anyone remember what the opening night second feature was? Answer below.
What were the movies that graced the screen back then? “Star Wars,” “Rocky” and “M*A*S*H,” among many others.
So why all this reminiscing about the drive-in?
Well in today’s cautious world of coronavirus, the Fountain Valley Recreation and Community Services Department decided to come up with something that can provide outdoor entertainment in a safe setting.
“Sonic The Hedgehog,” the 2020 family film featuring James Mardsen and Jim Carrey, will be shown drive-in movie style at 8:15 p.m. at the Fountain Valley Sports Park on Aug. 1. Car loading begins at 6:45 p.m.
Cost is $20 per car, and you have the option to buy pizza and snack bags. Interested? Register online at fountainvalley.org/recreation. For more information, call 714-839-8611.
So if you want to relive those drive-in days or experience them for the first time, bring the kids in their PJs and experience some outdoor fun at a time when everyone could use an escape.
Trivia answer: “Tammy and the Millionaire.” Bonus trivia: “Tammy and the Millionaire” was actually a re-edit of four half-hour episodes of the 1965 “Tammy” TV series.