The Electric Dusk Drive-In is back from an uncertain fate and relaunching with a series of outdoor film screenings just in time for the final weeks of summer. The location has changed, but the vintage movies—and astroturf—remain.
In previous years, the pop-up drive in took place on the roof of a building on San Julian Street in DTLA. A big inflatable screen went up and cars parked in rows on the open-air parking lot to watch a movie with a skyline view. However, like so much of Downtown, that building is now part of a massive redevelopment project and Electric Dusk was informed that when their season ended last year, they would not be able to return.
Hit with that hurdle, the owners of Electric Dusk found themselves at a crossroads. This was already the second time they had found themselves scrambling for a new screening location after a short stint on yet another Downtown building back in 2012, and they knew that relocating might be an expensive and arduous process. In October of 2015, they ultimately announced they would be shutting down the project unless a new investor or buyer wanted to come in and take the reins.
After that, things went pretty quiet on the Drive-In front, until a post on their Facebook page at the end of May announced new management was in place and the screenings would be returning in 2016—and now we finally have the details!
The new location is a parking area on the campus of the L.A. Van De Kamp School in Los Feliz. Many of fans’ favorite touches will come back, including a retro ‘snack shack’ and astroturf plots to sit on if you prefer not to stay inside your car. The grand reopening is an August 13 showing of The Devil Wears Prada, followed by movies each Saturday night through September 17.
To purchase tickets or see the full schedule, click here.