Visalia, CA - The Mooney Drive-in Theatre was the place to go for an outdoor movie experience in the Central Valley town of Visalia. Located off of the main North South boulevard, the Mooney was open for nearly 60 years before closing on September 7, 2006. On September 9, the Mooney showed a farewell screening of Grease and Viva Las Vegas.

Mooney Drive-in
Visalia, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Mooney Drive-In Theatre in Visalia had the kind of marquee that could make a roadside photographer stop before checking what was playing. Its neon character, affectionately known as “Mr. Mooney,” gave the entrance a personality all its own. A movie title could change every week, but that familiar fellow kept his place above the road.

A close-up of the "Mooney" character on the marquee

Along South Mooney Boulevard, the sign promised an evening beneath the Central Valley sky. This was not a theatre where everyone disappeared through a lobby into the dark. The whole show unfolded outside, from the cars gathering at the entrance to the last headlights leaving after the second feature.

Mooney Drive-in during happier times
Visalia, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Mooney’s beginnings reach back to the late 1940s, when drive-ins were spreading across California. Families could bring the car, settle into a parking row and watch a movie without leaving their seats. For Visalia and the surrounding farming communities, it became a familiar way to spend a summer evening. Wait for the heat to ease, find a speaker that worked and make sure everyone could see around the rearview mirror.

Former Mooney Drive-in Lot
October, 2008
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Mr. Mooney was part of what made this particular theatre worth noticing. Plenty of drive-ins had a big screen and a reader board, but a custom neon character gave motorists something to remember. Even in daylight, the marquee advertised more than the evening’s program. It announced that an old-fashioned night at the movies was still waiting beyond the entrance.

Inside the grounds, the routines were familiar. A visit to the snack bar before the feature, children getting comfortable in the back seat and someone checking whether the speaker sounded better with the window raised or lowered. Then darkness arrived and the towering screen took over. A little breeze, a few distant headlights and a movie playing above the parked cars. Not a bad way to let an evening go by.

Former Mooney Drive-in Lot
October, 2008
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Mooney remained in operation long after many neighboring drive-ins had disappeared. As Visalia grew and newer entertainment choices arrived, the theatre kept offering something the multiplex could not quite duplicate. You brought your own seat, shared the evening with the people in your car and watched the picture beneath an actual night sky.

Its final program played on September 9, 2006. Grease and Viva Las Vegas made an appropriately musical farewell, sending Danny, Sandy and Elvis across the screen one last time. Two films tied to another era of cars, music and roadside life. Quite a bill for the last evening at a drive-in.

Mooney marquee at dusk
Visalia, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

After the closure, the theatre’s screen, projection facilities and entrance marquee were removed. Mr. Mooney no longer greeted traffic, and the grounds lost the familiar outline of the outdoor movie house. The exact opening day and demolition timeline remain uncertain, but its nearly six-decade run gave plenty of local residents a chance to make memories beneath that screen.

UPDATE: The Mooney Drive-in Theatre closed for good on September 9, 2006 after being open since the late 1940's. 12-06

UPDATE: As of October 2008, the Mooney lot is still vacant, with a sign stating that the property is for sale. 10-08

Snack bar and projection booth
Visalia, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: The original Mooney Drive-In is gone. A separate revival proposal, Mearle’s Mooney Drive-In, broke ground in July 2023, combining inspiration from the old theatre and Visalia’s former Mearle’s College Drive-In restaurant. That project should not be confused with the original movie house, and its present completion and operating status have not been confirmed. The historic Mooney screen and marquee are no longer at the roadside. 09-26

When the Mooney Drive-in closed, the property was to be the future site of office buildings. The old marquee was sold for $1,950 to a Visalia resident in October 2006 who planned to restore the sign.

Below are more photos of the Mooney Drive-in Theatre from when it was still open for business

Mooney ready for business Visalia, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	The drive-in screen Visalia, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Mooney ticket booth Visalia, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	Mooney screen Visalia, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out this YouTube video showing the last day of the Mooney. 12-06

Google Street View Image

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