Coliseum Drive-In - Oakland

c.1982, from Syufy Enterprises collection ¹⁰

The Coliseum Drive-In was a drive-in movie theater near I-880, and opened in May 1964. The opening features were "PT 109" with Cliff Robertson, "Spencer's Mountain" with Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, and "McClintock!" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. ^7,8 But the theater's proposed sign and huge screen near the freeway almost sunk the project.

At first, the council expressed concern over the proposed 62-foot tower for the marquee, worried that the signage would be a distraction to drivers. They gave it preliminary approval, but after criticism, reversed their stance and rejected the marquee. A few weeks later, they approved a smaller (but now taller 65-foot tall) sign, but had come to realize the screen itself would be visible from the southbound freeway and would itself be a distraction: "Wait till they see Cleopatra up on that screen." (6,600 Square Feet of Liz Taylor Hazard to Drivers) ⁴

But the theater did open, and eventually expanded to 4 screens.

It closed in _?_ (before 2007), but the location is still used for a large swap meet. A photo dated 1997 shows a sign for the swap meet Tuesday through Sunday, so it likely closed before that. The West Wind Swap Meet is also owned by Syufy Enterprises which owned the theater.

1970 ¹¹