Warning: include(/home/content/t/r/a/transitdit/html/comments/comment.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/content/61/14013361/html/westernnewyorkregion/buffalo/include.php on line 11

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/home/content/t/r/a/transitdit/html/comments/comment.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/php5/lib/php') in /home/content/61/14013361/html/westernnewyorkregion/buffalo/include.php on line 11

Home > New York Drive-ins by Region > Western New York Region > Erie County Drive-ins > Buffalo Drive-in

Buffalo Drive-in
Status: Closed
Location: 3085 Harlem Rd, Cheektowaga, NY 14225
Screens: 3
Capacity: original capacity for 900 cars in 1941; expanded to three screens and 1,200 cars in 1974.
Original owner: Built by Irving Gandall and Paul Witntner; operated later by Alvin Wright and Fabian Valentine; operated later by Tom & Steve Valentine.
Opening date: August 1, 1941; Rebuilt/reopening date on July 18, 1974.
Final season: 2007
What's there now: Medical office park, snackbar being used as maintenance building, all other structures have been demolished.

This page was last updated on November 8, 2023.

Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Topo map from 1995, courtesy of TerraServer USA. Aerial image from 1951, courtesy of the Erie County Division of Information & Support Services. Aerial image from 1966, courtesy of the Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District. Aerial image from 1978, courtesy of the Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Aerial image from 2006, courtesy of Google Earth. Aerial close-up image from 2006, courtesy of Google Earth. Aerial extra-close-up image from 2006, courtesy of Google Earth. Buffalo Drive-in parking lot layout, plans from 1973, courtesy of Steve Valentine.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Grand opening ad from the Buffalo Evening News on July 31, 1941. Heavy rains forced the opening to be delayed one day, until August 1. Grand opening article from the Buffalo Courier Express on July 31, 1941. Grand opening article from the Buffalo Courier Express on August 1, 1941. Grand opening article from the Buffalo Evening News on August 1, 1941.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Grand opening ad from the Buffalo Evening News on August 1, 1941. Now opening article from the Buffalo Evening News on August 2, 1941. Grand reopening ad from the Buffalo Evening News on July 18, 1974. Buffalo Drive-in during reconstruction from 1973, courtesy of Mike Carroll.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Buffalo Drive-in during reconstruction from 1973, courtesy of Mike Carroll. Buffalo Drive-in marquee from 2000, courtesy of Drive-ins.com. Buffalo Drive-in marquee at night from 2007, courtesy of Tom McDonald. Buffalo Drive-in ticket booth from 2007, courtesy of Doug Benz.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Buffalo Drive-in screen 1, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Buffalo Drive-in screen 2, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Buffalo Drive-in screen 3, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Buffalo Drive-in snackbar, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Buffalo Drive-in snackbar, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Buffalo Drive-in snackbar, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Samantha Boyd, 6, waited to see “The Simpsons Movie” on screen 2 at the Buffalo Drive-in, image from 2007, courtesy of Doug Benz. Screen 1 is shown in the background. Buffalo Drive-in projection booth, image from 2007 courtesy of Rick Cohen.
Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size. Click on image to view at full size.
Former Buffalo Drive-in entrance from Harlem Road, image from 2023 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Former Buffalo Drive-in snackbar is now being used as a maintenance building, image from 2023 courtesy of Rick Cohen. Medical building on site of former Buffalo Drive-in, image from 2023 courtesy of Rick Cohen.  

[ New York Drive-ins by Region ] [ Open New York Drive-ins ] [ New York Drive-in Statistics ]

[ History of the American Drive-in Theatre ] [ Google Earth Map of New York Drive-ins ] [ Drive-in Links ] [ ]

 

NewYorkDriveins.com is not affiliated with the above mentioned drive-in.

© 2008-2023 NewYorkDriveins.com. All rights reserved. Our mail: [email protected]