3 of O.C.’s 6 Drive-Ins May Have Had Their Last Picture Shows

Three of Orange County’s six remaining drive-in theaters have closed, including the fabled one in Orange where televangelist Robert H. Schuller began preaching atop the refreshment stand, Pacific Theaters & Drive-Ins announced Wednesday.

Schuller, now host of the weekly “Hour of Power� TV show from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, rented the theater for outdoor services in 1955, soon after arriving from Iowa.

In recent years, the Orange Drive-In has featured Spanish-language films and Sunday swap meets.

The Los Angeles-based chain also closed theaters in La Habra and Buena Park on Monday. The La Habra theater has one screen, the Buena Park theater has three. Pacific closed a drive-in in Burbank the same day.

Company executives could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but an employee who provides the chain’s listings to The Times confirmed the Orange County closings. A small sign appeared at the Burbank theater.

Pacific continues to operate two other drive-ins in Orange County, the Hi-Way 39 in Westminster, with four screens, and the Anaheim, with three screens, along with about a dozen others in the Los Angeles area. Century Theatres, based in San Francisco, operates Orange County’s only other drive-in, the Stadium in Anaheim, with six screens.

For the last four years, the number of drive-ins in the county has dwindled. In 1985, three drive-ins closed, including Pacific’s Mission in San Juan Capistrano, which became the site of a shopping center. The Harbor in Santa Ana, another Spanish-language venue, closed several years ago.

Still, although the number of drive-ins in the country is down sharply from a high of 4,600 screens in 1955, the drive-in business has stabilized in recent years, according to Mary Ann Grasso, executive director of the National Assn. of Theater Owners.

Grasso said this is especially true in Sun Belt states, where the climate permits year-round operations.

As of Jan. 1, 1989, there were 1,497 screens in the United States. The Fox Theater chain in Reading, Pa., opened a new drive-in this month, Grasso said.