Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Downtown's Rooftop Drive-In Gets Booted From Its Location

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive. 

One of our favorite drive-ins Electric Dusk Drive-In (formerly known as the Devil's Night Drive-In) is looking for a new home.

Currently, the monthly drive-in event is held on top of a two-story garage at the intersection of 4th Street and Broadway downtown, and the movie is projected on an inflatable screen. At the current location, there's room for 80 cars (and if you don't get your tickets early enough, you can sit on the astroturf).

But that lot—owned by one of the most active groups downtown Pacific Investment Group—has been sold to a developer. It's being demolished to make way for a residential high-rise, according to the Los Angeles Times. Electric Dusk Drive-In was told last weekend that is has to vacate by April 14, so now it's scrambling to find a place to show "Goodfellas" on April 27.

Eric Heusinger, who runs Electric Dusk along with Darryl Semira, told the Times that while the current location had its charms, he's cautiously optimistic, "While this is kind of a scary time, feeling like we are rushed into having to make a change, it's also kind of exciting to see what the other opportunities and prospects might be. Whether we go into a park or there's some giant warehouse that we can operate out of, we're open to whatever that may be."

Support for LAist comes from

If you have suggestions about where Electric Dusk should head, the group would love to hear them. Yesterday it posted on its Facebook page, "We looked at a LOT of parking garages today. It wasn't very glamorous, but we did find a couple of possibilities!"

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist