Sunset Drive-In

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Back in September I was in a wedding in San Luis Obispo, and it gave Patrick and I the perfect excuse to visit the Sunset Drive-In, which we had briefly stopped at just to snap a photo of on our Bay Area road trip last year. I honestly didn’t even care what was playing, I just wanted to go! Thankfully something I had some interest in, Gran Turismo, was showing.

Marquee, featuring a neon sun, and neon text reading "Sunset Drive-In" on the marquee it reads "Sunday Swap Meet Gran Turismo and The Equalizer 3"

According to Cinema Treasures, the Sunset Drive-In opened in 1950 and is still family owned and operated, which adds to the charm of the place. It even showed vintage intermission reels inbetween films, much like my beloved 99W Drive-In back in Oregon. Also like the 99W, inside the Snack Bar was a display case with drive-in artifacts! Unlike other drive-ins, that added more screens in an effort to compete with multiplexes in the 70s and 80s, the Sunset remains a single screen and features massive neon letters on the back. Another unique feature is the building attached to the base of the screen itself, a rare sight! Sometimes these would be the homes of the owners or caretakers, however I’m not sure if that was/is the case here.

Glowing red and blue neon reads "Sunset" on the back of the massive movie screen.

Marquee, featuring a neon sun, and neon text reading "Sunset Drive-In" on the marquee it reads "Sunday Swap Meet Gran Turismo and The Equalizer 3" in the distance, painted on a corrugated metal wall in red and white reads "Entrance"

View of the massive screen at the Sunset Drive-In.

View of the long and low concession stand, painted yellow with a red roof.

Myself, wearing a white tee and a red vest and blue jeans, leaning against the yellow snack bar wall, painted on it reads the radio station for guests to tune into to hear the movie.

Murals on the side of the snack bar, including a large cup of Coca-Cola, and nachos.

Entrance to the snack bar, with "Snack Bar" painted in red and blue letters.

A display case houses various artifacts related to drive-ins, including a packaged "Drizzle Gard" which reads "Drizzle Gard Auto Rain Visor Keeps rain off your windshield at the drive-in"

A trash can sits up against the yellow snack bar. Painted on the left in red lettered edged in blue reads "Snack Bar"

Inside the snack bar, remnants of a mural are tucked behind a refrigerator, text reads "Ah say Ah say, ya varmints try our buttered popcorn"

A vintage drive-in speaker

View of the long and low concession stand, painted yellow with a red roof.

A trio of signs, an anthropomorphic hot dog, cup, and popcorn.

A vintage hand painted sign on display reading "General Admission $1.60 children 12 & under free sorry no cash refunds"

Myself, wearing a white tee and a red vest and blue jeans, leaning against the yellow snack bar wall, painted on it reads the radio station for guests to tune into to hear the movie.

Popcorn, freshly popped

Projection on the screen reading "Sunset Drive-In Our Feature Presentation"

Red and blue letters notify the visits of the radio station to tune into above is a red bell shaped sconce.

Myself, wearing a white tee and a red vest and blue jeans, leaning against a corrugated metal wall painted with "Exit" in red and white.

Red letters edged in blue reads "Snack Bar" on a bright yellow wall.

Intermission reel, featuring an illustration of a candy counter with a redheaded woman behind it and blue text overlay reading "Let's all go to the Lobby to get Ourselves a Treat!"

Myself, wearing a white tee and a red vest and blue jeans, leaning against a corrugated metal wall painted with "Exit" in red and white.

See a movie at the Sunset Drive-In at 255 Elks Lane in San Luis Obispo. For movies and admission info please visit their Facebook or Instagram.

What’s Nearby?

Madonna Inn

NOTE: As mentioned, this visit was in September, but due to the film nature of the post, I delayed this post to stand in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA strike.

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