Van Buren Drive-In Theatre & Swap Meet

History

The Van Buren Drive-In Theater, named for its location on Van Buren Blvd. in the historic Arlington district of Riverside, CA, opened in 1964 with a single screen. Built on the site of a former orange ranch, the theatre was expanded to four screens in 1975. Like most drive-ins, the Van Buren was not built to last more than a decade before it was redeveloped, for a higher value, in the booming So Ca real estate market. Although the Van Buren was never forced to close, because it always had been popular, 40 years of continuous operation did result in some disrepair. in 2006, when a real estate deal fell through, the Van Buren's owners decided to invest in a long postponed remodeling project including installing FM audio Transmitters and Technalight, the state-of-the-art projection system. Beginning in 2007, the old Van Buren was given a new image, reminiscent of the surrounding community's cultural history, paying tribute to Old California's Orange Ranch heritage.

Specialties

We show current movies, double features every night, all year. Adults $10, Kids 5-9 only $1: Cash or Credit/Debit cards only. In a culture where family time has become so rare, and the price of movie tickets are breaking the budget, the time is right once more for the drive-in to satisfy the national thirst for affordable, good quality family entertainment. The drive-in theater is no longer a forgotten relic, but an exciting living history and, thanks to the Van Buren Drive-In and other theaters like it, the drive-in is once again poised to become the premiere American movie going experience.