![]() Although some of the exterior features have changed through the years, the essence of Bengies has remained the same, making it (as its telephone recording states) a “real-live, honest-to-God, all-American, drive-in movie theatre.” It even says “All American Drive-In” on the marquee. The space that was once auditorium seating is now utilized for storage and offices. ![]() The original marquee was changed to the present marquee in 1973. Through the years, the appearance of Bengies has changed a little. ![]() At the time it was built, the drive-in had a capacity of 1000 cars. Most drive-ins are designed with a roadway between each ramp, whereas the Bengies features double ramps to allow maximum capacity in a limited space. The layout of the car ramps was unusual also. The restroom facilities were unusually large for a drive-in of its era. Twin auditoriums flanked each side of the concession stand to accommodate walk-in patrons. Theatre Designīuilt with streamlined efficiency and customer service in mind, the brand new Bengies not only sported the perfect and largest CinemaScope screen tower, but also featured a large, well designed snack bar with two serving lanes. ![]() Hank Vogel personally managed the Bengies from the day it opened until his death in 1978. President Benjamin Harrison (nicknamed Bengie). It was named the Bengies Drive-In Theatre to reflect the name of the surrounding Bengies community, which had been named to honor the 23rd US. The drive-in opened on June 6, 1956, exactly 23 years after Richard Hollingshead opened the very first drive-in theatre. Jack was the sole architect for the project and the Vogel Building Company, with Hank at the helm, did the actual construction. I don't like to rag on any drive-in theater because I truly tip my hat off to those who are running them/keeping them around as I believe drive-ins are tragically far and few between, but I think Electric Dusk has a lot of room for improvement.The Bengies Drive-In Theatre was the result of a collaboration by Jack, Hank, and Paul Vogel. They also were *completely* full for their Pulp Fiction showing as they're one of the few drive-ins in town that show "old/classic" movies vs. In comparison, the other drive-in I went to had a massive, constructed screen built on top of pillars was located in a quiet and scenic area away from any busy streets and the parking lot had elevated "ridges" so that each car got an equal view of the screen.Įlectric Dusk's one saving grace is that the food options were great - they had home-cooked hot dogs, burgers, candy, popcorn, etc. My friend and I were only located in the second-to-third row and even then, we didn't have full, clear vision of the screen. Secondly, the "screen" is a small, inflatable screen that wouldn't be out-of-place at someone's "backyard movie" sesh. In reality, the drive-in is located in a small and dusty parking lot *right* next to a busy intersection/entryway to a major freeway. I've only ever been to one other drive-in theater (also in the LA area) so I was interested to see how these two compare.įirstly, the Electric Dusk website has a little bit of false advertising the pictures depict this very scenic, "heart of Hollywood" drive-in experience overlooking a city. I went here yesterday with my friend to see a showing of Pulp Fiction.
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