09/17/01. Many thanks to Ken Mays for this excellent information on the Hastings!
The Hastings Drive-in was operated by Sterling Theaters, later bought out by
Pacific, becoming the Pacific-Sterling chain.
The name "Hastings" comes from the name "Hastings Ranch" which is that
section of Pasadena / Sierra Madre on which it, and several upscale homes
were constructed. It opened in 1952, with the rising baby-boom, as was the
cause for most of the "mobilization" of America.
The actual entrance to the drive-in was on North Halstead Street, about 100
yards or so north of E. Foothill Blvd. It does not qualify as one of the
"Route 66" drive-ins as Foothill turns north in Monrovia and route-66
continues west as Huntington Dr. until it turns north and becomes Colorado
Blvd. in Arcadia right at the split which encompases the Santa Anita Race
Track.
The screen sat at the corner of Halstead, N. Rosemead and Greenhill Rd.
Halstead ended at Rosemead after only a short run of about 1/2 mile.
Greenhill Rd. came down out of the Hastings Ranch housing track and also
ended at the same corner.
On the Halstead side, the drive-in set back behind a bunch of small, light
industrial businesses, the most prominant of which was "IBM". The
theater/lot was bordered on the east by Rosemead itself.
Up until 1969, the drive-in held 1200 cars. In that year, with the new
Sterling - Pacific - Edwards venture, a huge single screen indoor movie
theater was constructed. The new theater took up the entiresoutheast corner
of the theater/lot, (about 25%) and reduced the drive-in to 950 cars.
The new walk-in was one of the first, if not THE first, of the "stadium
seating" style theaters. With a sloping floor, surround sound stereo( no
dolby or THX back then), reclining oversize theater seats, and a huge
curving screen; it was state of the art. And art was just as much a part of
that theater as was the movie. Both the margue and the carpet was a jazzed
up, psychadelic, multi colored arrangement that looked like a bad acid trip
and was very much "in" at the time.
Also "in" at the time was Stanley Kubrick's "2001, a Space Odyssey".
Because of it's screen size/shape and the surround sound system, the new
Hastings Edwards walk-in was the place to see this film and that was the
theaters first "grand opening movie".
All through the years I worked there the Hastings charged by the "car load".
Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, admission was $1.75 a car. Monday
through thursday it was $1.25, except for Tuesday night, which was "$BUCK$"
night. You got to remember that the average cost for an adult ticket at a
walk-in was 75-cents in those days, with a top notch show in Hollywood
costing $1.50, plus parking, (and gas was about 21-cents a gallon).
Of course "car load" pricing took some of the fun and adventure out of
packing your friends in the trunk, but if you could get them in there, the
whole car got in for a dollar-seventy-five. Needless to say, the hastings
was the "cruise place" to be and after the show there was plenty of cruising
to do down Colorado Blvd., just a short mile away. Even at the minimum wage
of $1.25 an hour a guy could save up and spend the god awful amount of $950,
go down to a car lot on Colorado and buy himself a good used '57 Chevy.
Yes, the good ol' Hastings was a true passion pit. A summer of stories that
were tripple-xxx rated then, but would only qualify as a hard-R now, and the
real fun actually began after the drive-in closed for the night. "LOT
PARTY! anyone?" Yes, I do believe my first son was concieved there, as it
was the only place we had to go, or could go; if you know what I mean.
Incidentily, I had '62 Chevy Impala convertable, bought off a little old
lady from Pasadena, (really) for $450.00. There were always girls in it.
Today, the "Hastings" lot consists of the same walk-in theater, several
upscale furniture stores and an office complex.
"Copyright, Kenneth W. Mays, 2001, posted/reprinted with author's permission
for electronic review only. Not to be printed or forwarded without author's
expresssed written consent."