Around graduation time each year, the air seems thick with nostalgia. While graduates look back, parents evoke fond times of raising those grads, and alumni planning reunions are immersed in “the good old days.” For many, the great memories seem to include drive-in movies. In Culver City, we had our own Studio Drive-In, plus others nearby. 

For some of us, the memories of the drive-in began with family outings. Our parents took the opportunity to get us in our “jammies” and head to the drive-in for some fun family time. Food treats took the form of popcorn and candy, and sometimes homemade sweets. If liquid was involved, a trip up and down the speaker-dotted asphalt was almost assured to the snack bar/restroom/play area. Many times, parents turned to check out a quiet back seat, only to discover sweet, slumbering  children halfway through the movie.

By high school, parents were not so excited to send us off to the drive-in, and there seemed to be an abundance of rules in hopes we would actually see the movies. By that age, those who did not remember the movies were probably not sleeping! 

Some Culverites, like Alan Rowe, still remember packing the trunk of his ’53 Chevy with friends, “the excitement of pulling it off — the fear of getting caught and not having the money to pay … and swear it’s true!” Others admit slipping through the fences to meet friends.

Those days are hazy memories, and unfortunately, there are few old time drive-ins left in the Southland. While organizing photos recently, I came across this photo of the Studio Drive-In, which operated from 1948 to 1993. It was demolished in 1998.

Julie Lugo Cerra is the council-appointed City Historian of Culver City and author of three books and hundreds of articles on local history.