Showing posts with label drive-in theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drive-in theatre. Show all posts

Monday, May 05, 2014

Kent, Washington's El Rancho Drive-In

By Jack Brummet, Green River Valley Ed.





There were three drive-ins in Kent, but we mostly went to the El Rancho, because it was cheap. They showed whatever was cheap to rent, like spaghetti westerns, scary movies like I Saw What You Did And I Know Who You Are, monster movies like The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or ass-kicking movies with Billie Jack, Charles Bronson, and Clint Eastwood.

If you were lucky, you might see an R-rated potboiler by Russ Meyers, like Vixen, or The Stewardesses.  There were also the memorable exploitation movies like Wife Swappers.  This is where I saw my first Woody Allen movie—Take The Money and Run.


There were several other El Ranchos around the country.  One survives in Nevada, at 555 El Rancho Dr, Sparks, NV 89431.


There were two other drive-ins in Kent: The Midway, on West Hill, which still exists, as a swap meet location (the screen has long been dead), and the Valley Drive-in (which closed in the last two years). 


The fantastic marquee out front showed a gigantic cowboy on the range, cooking bacon in a cast iron skillet over a campfire. At $3.50 a carload, so you could see a movie for about seventy-five cents.

Lining the street in front of the drive in were a row of stately Lombardy poplars. The El Rancho was torn down in 1975, but you can still see a few of those poplars, in between the concrete tilt-up buildings and warehouses.


More drive-ins close every year, but a few remain in Washington State, but a few remain:

  • Samish Twin Drive-In Theater, Bellingham
  • Auto Vue Theatre, Colville
  • Dayton Drive-in Theater, Dayton
  • Puget Park Drive-In, Everett
  • Your Drive In Theatre, Longview
  • Rodeo Tri Drive-In Theatre, Port Orchard
  • Blue Fox Drive-in Theater, Oak Harbor
  • River-Vue Drive-In, Pasco
  • Skyline Drive-In Theatre, Shelton (with an actual Indian totem pole at the entrance)
  • Wheel-In Motor Movie, Port Townsend
  • Vue Dale Drive In Theatre, Wenatchee
  • Country Drive In Theatre, Yakima



one of the two murals in front of the theatre


An aerial land survey view of the El Rancho before it was demolished
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Monday, November 26, 2007

More on the El Rancho Drive-in in Kent, Washington

By Jack Brummet, Green River Valley Ed.



click to enlarge

There were three drive-ins in Kent, but we mainly went to one, because it was cheap. The El Rancho was our high school choice to see spaghetti westerns, scary movies like I Saw What You Did And I Know Who You Are, and monster movies like The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Day The Earth Stood Still, or Billie Jack, Charles Bronson, and Clint Eastwood movies, or sometimes R-rated potboilers by Russ Meyers, like The Stewardesses, or the memorable Wife Swappers.


There were two other drive-ins in Kent: The Midway, on West Hill, which still exists, albeit as a swap meet location (the screen has long been dead), and the Valley Drive-in (which closed in the last two years). The El Rancho opened the year after I was born.


The fantastic marquee out front showed a gigantic cowboy on the range, cooking bacon in a cast iron skillet over a campfire. At $3.50 a carload, so you could see a movie for about seventy-five cents. Lining the street in front of the drive in were a row of stately Lombardy poplars. The El Rancho was torn down in 1975, but there among the concrete tilt-up warehouses and strip malls, a few of those poplars still exist, in between buildings and warehouses.

Drive-ins close every year at a quickening pace, but in this state (Washington) a few remain:

Samish Twin Drive-In Theatre
Bellingham

Auto Vue Theatre
Colville

Dayton Drive-in Theater
Dayton

Puget Park Drive-In
Everett

Your Drive In Theatre
Longview

Rodeo Tri Drive-In Theatre
Port Orchard

Blue Fox Drive-in Theater
Oak Harbor

River-Vue Drive-In
Pasco

Skyline Drive-In Theatre
Shelton (with an actual Indian totem pole at the entrance)

Wheel-In Motor Movie
Port Townsend

Vue Dale Drive In Theatre
Wenatchee

Country Drive In Theatre
Yakima



one of the two murals in front of the theatre


An aerial view of the El Rancho before it was demolished
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Saturday, November 24, 2007

snack bar ads, intermission countdowns, and the El Rancho drive-in

When I was growing up, the drive-in theatre was a cheap place for families to go. I remember the El Rancho drive-in in Kent, Wash., for many years charged $3.50 for "a carload."

Even back in 1960, the ads at the drive-in seemed corny. Here are some choice gems from the late 50's and early 60's.









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