How many drive-in movie theaters were in Wilmington?
There have been at least seven drive-in movie theaters in Wilmington, with most of them operating between the late 1940s and the early 1980s. At one point, in the late ‘50s or early ‘60s, there may have been as many as five drive-ins operating at one time. The first proper drive-in theater in the Wilmington area was likely the Carolina Drive-In, which William Thrush opened on Carolina Beach Road near Monkey Junction in 1947, according to Thrush’s 1997 obituary in the StarNews. Thrush opened another drive-in theater, The Parkview (sometimes spelled the Park-Vue) on Oleander Drive in 1949, according to the same obituary. Perhaps the best-known Wilmington drive-ins were located across the street from each other on Carolina Beach Road. The Skyline Drive-In Theatrewas notorious for showing racy and even X-rated movies. But The Starway, located at the site of what is now the Starway Flea Market, is probably the best-known Wilmington drive-in, mainly because of its longevity. It operated from
