Abandoned Elmvale Drive-in

Located just off the highway near Elmvale, Ontario, the old drive‑in stands frozen in time—a fading white screen, a boarded-up concession stand, and an overgrown field where families once gathered under the stars.

📽️ A Little History

Opened in the 1960 season, it was run for over 52 years by Sam and Joanne Russ, becoming a beloved local ritual.

In its heyday, it hosted up to 1,500 people in 500 cars, so popular that sometimes cars were turned away .

🌙 From Boom to Silence

By 2012, screenings dwindled to weekends and half-price Tuesdays, averaging around 350 visitors per night—and that was the final season.

The shift to digital projection proved too costly—film distributors phased out the old celluloid, and upgrading was beyond the Russes’ budget.

After almost a decade of silence, the projector was shut off—leaving behind a battered screen, a weathered projection booth, and nature reclaiming the parking field.

🕯️ Now, the ticket booth, concession counters are now gone, demolished in recent years. The huge white screen’s panels are peeling from the steel frame. The Abandoned Elmvale Drive-in is a haunting monument to a bygone era—this piece of Ontario’s cultural fabric waits for stories to bring it back to life or fade away forever.