Entertainment

What’s showing at the drive-in theater? In South Florida, it’s mostly memories

By Miami Herald Archives
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways

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  • Drive-in theaters once thrived in South Florida but have mostly vanished by 2025.
  • The Thunderbird Swap Shop, in Broward since 1963, closed after a fire over a year ago.
  • Temporary drive-in revivals in Miami appeared during COVID-19.

Where are all the old drive-in theaters?

One of the biggest and best known in South Florida, the Thunderbird Swap Shop near Fort Lauderdale and around since 1963, shut down more than a year ago after a fire.

Despite all but disappearing from the entertainement landscape, drive-in movies had a revival during the COVID years, with outdoor screens popping up around the Miami area, including downtown.

MORE: Remember movie palaces? South Florida had plenty — and Hollywood-style premieres, too

Let’s open the photo album and take a look at drive-in movies in South Florida:

Boulevard

Boulevard Drive-In Theater in 1979 when it showed adult movies.
Boulevard Drive-In Theater in 1979 when it showed adult movies. Miami Herald File


A 1965 fire wrecked the Interior of the snack bar at the Boulevard Drive-In Theater, caused by a short in an overhead lighting fixture.
A 1965 fire wrecked the Interior of the snack bar at the Boulevard Drive-In Theater, caused by a short in an overhead lighting fixture. Bill Kuenzel Miami Herald File
In 1948, the screen at the Boulevard Drive-In in Northeast Miami-Dade.
In 1948, the screen at the Boulevard Drive-In in Northeast Miami-Dade. Miami Herald File
In 1980, the Boulevard Drive-In Theater in Northeast Miami-Dade.
In 1980, the Boulevard Drive-In Theater in Northeast Miami-Dade. Alan Freund Miami Herald File

Thunderbird Swap Shop

In 2002, the entrance to the Thunderbird Swap Shop Drive-In Movie Theater, 3291 W. Sunrise Blvd., near Fort Lauderdale.
In 2002, the entrance to the Thunderbird Swap Shop Drive-In Movie Theater, 3291 W. Sunrise Blvd., near Fort Lauderdale. CANDACE WEST Miami Herald File


Operations manager Stuart Addison looks out the ticket booth window at the Swap Shop Thunderbird Drive-In Theater in 2009.
Operations manager Stuart Addison looks out the ticket booth window at the Swap Shop Thunderbird Drive-In Theater in 2009. AL DIAZ Miami Herlad File


In 2009, the Swap Shop Thunderbird Drive-In Theater near Fort Lauderdale had 14 screen’s.
In 2009, the Swap Shop Thunderbird Drive-In Theater near Fort Lauderdale had 14 screen’s. AL DIAZ Miami Herald File
The Swap Shop Thunderbird Drive-In Theater in 2009. It closed in 2023.
The Swap Shop Thunderbird Drive-In Theater in 2009. It closed in 2023. AL DIAZ Miami Herald File

Others around town

In 1978, the Miami Drive-In Theater at Northwest 81st Street and Seventh Avenue.
In 1978, the Miami Drive-In Theater at Northwest 81st Street and Seventh Avenue. Miami Herald File


In 1967, the Turnpike Drive-in theater.
In 1967, the Turnpike Drive-in theater. Bill Kuenzel Miami Herald File
In 1995, the remnants of a drive-in theater at Northwest 87th Street and 27th Avenue in the Miami area.
In 1995, the remnants of a drive-in theater at Northwest 87th Street and 27th Avenue in the Miami area. Patrick Farrell Miami Herald File
The Tropicaire Drive-In movie theater in Miami-Dade in in the 1960s.
The Tropicaire Drive-In movie theater in Miami-Dade in in the 1960s. Miami Herald File
In 1994, Flea market vendors with the old Tropicaire drive-in theater screens in the background.
In 1994, Flea market vendors with the old Tropicaire drive-in theater screens in the background. Jeffery A. Salter Miami Herald File
Dixie Drive-In Theater in South Miami-Dade in 1979.
Dixie Drive-In Theater in South Miami-Dade in 1979. Miami Herald File

Drive-in revivals

In 2016, cars lineup at the Blue Starlite Urban Drive-In Miami for a showing of ‘Grease - The Sing-Along,’ in Palmetto Bay
In 2016, cars lineup at the Blue Starlite Urban Drive-In Miami for a showing of ‘Grease - The Sing-Along,’ in Palmetto Bay Miami Herald File
The movie “Sonic” at a drive-in movie during the height of COVID at Dezerland Park Miami, May 22, 2020.
The movie “Sonic” at a drive-in movie during the height of COVID at Dezerland Park Miami, May 22, 2020. CHARLES TRAINOR JR Miami Herald File
Flipp Posner, left, and Chandler Jaffe watch Suspiria at the Nite Owl Drive-In theater in downtown Miami, Florida on Friday, January 22, 2021.
Flipp Posner, left, and Chandler Jaffe watch Suspiria at the Nite Owl Drive-In theater in downtown Miami, Florida on Friday, January 22, 2021. MATIAS J. OCNER Miami Herald File
A drive-in movie theater pop=up on the grounds of the Miami-Dade Fair.
A drive-in movie theater pop=up on the grounds of the Miami-Dade Fair. Miami Herald File
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