Are There Any Drive-ins Movies in Las Vegas?

Are there any drive-in movies left in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas itself doesn't have any drive-ins, but North Las Vegas still has one.

The West Wind Drive-in Movie Theater is located at 4150 W Carey Ave. near N. Rancho Drive just south of the North Las Vegas Airport, across from Fiesta Rancho.

West Wind is a chain of drive-in movies that's been family owned since they opened their first one in 1952; the North Las Vegas venue opened in 1964. West Wind also owns four drive-ins in California, one in Arizona, and another in Sparks in northern Nevada.

It's an interesting mix of retro, in terms of the great fad of watching a double-feature from your car (there with 4,000 drive-ins in 1958), and modern, with a super-high-tech projection system that provides a crystal-clear digital image on a 65-foot-wide screen, double the size of an average movie-theater screen. In addition, the audio is beamed straight to the car stereo via FM radio signals (the days of the old squawk boxes that hung on car doors are long gone).

And talk about a bargain: General admission for a double-feature is $7.75 for adults, $1.50 for children 5 to 11 years old, and free for kids under 5. Drive-ins have been called "the world’s cheapest babysitter." Tuesday is Family Night: $1.50 per person. Popcorn comes with one free refill.

However, another drive-in movie and drive-thru burger joint is in the early stages of construction at 101 N. Decatur Blvd. a block north of the Decatur-US 95 interchange, still in Las Vegas. Burger51 is the brainchild of the proprietor of the Heart Attack Grill downtown and according to VegasEater.com, it's "designed with a sci-fi futuristic dystopian theme and 1950s' retro style, where customers will place their orders at the drive-thru, then park to watch vintage horror and science-fiction films on the outdoor movie screen." Eater says that Burger51 hopes for a grand opening before the end of summer.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Have a question that hasn't been answered? Email us with your suggestion.

Missed a Question of the Day?

Have a Question?

Tomorrow's Question

Has Clark County ever considered legalizing prostitution?

Comments

Jackie Jul-18-2019

I Wonder

Are todays drive-ins the steam covered car windows of yester-year or family togetherness?

Randall Ward Jul-18-2019

huh

we used to go when I was a kid because it was so cheap,  not really fond memories because my parents crammed 6 of us in the sedan in Oklahoma summer

Kevin Lewis Jul-18-2019

I wonder why...

In the Fifties and Sixties, teenage kids needed a private place to sneak off and play Hide the Salami. Cars were bigger back then--LOTS o'room in the back seat. I can only imagine today's kids trying to get it on inside a Honda Fit. So maybe that's the reason for the demise of drive-ins: smaller cars.
As far as a family outing goes--well, if you're in a car, only two people are going to have any kind of decent view of the screen. And a whole family crammed in a car is never any fun, at least not for the kids. But it WAS cheap family entertainment, and I imagine even now, could be used to shut up the little nippers who are whining to see the latest Avengers movie that would cost $12 a ticket at the multiplex.

Gator Girl Jul-18-2019

No drive-in memories here

I’m tempted to go, just to see what it’s like.  I’ve never been to a drive-in.  When I was growing up, the only drive-in anywhere near where I lived showed nothing but porn.  Seriously.  By the early ‘80s they switched to R rated movies, then ordinary mainstream movies, before going out of business entirely.  Many years later it was bought out by a church group who wanted to show Christian films.  Imagine their surprise when they started going through the office and found some old film canisters from the porn days. 😀

Question of the Day - 18 July 2019

Comments