Welcome to the Sunset Drive-In Theater! Some individuals who were born and raised in towns like Gearhart, Seaside, or Astoria may have heard of this theater. The Sunset operated from May 5th, 1950, up until the season of 1982. The theater was located at N. Gearhart Junction, now 499 W. Kershul Circle, Seaside, OR. This theater was originally built and operated by Robert Henningson, Harold Wright, and Cecil Wright. This project took nine weeks to build and was designed to accommodate audiences from the surrounding towns. With a 510-car capacity and each spot raised at the front to prevent obstruction, it had a sixty-by-fifty-foot screen, which was hoisted to a height of sixty-five feet. This lot had a central snack shack; one of the unique and most interesting features of this was the glass viewing area that surrounded the projection machines so you could watch as the film played! Opening night was a large event! With free accommodations, ice cream, coffee, doughnuts, and 5 “usherettes” to show you to your space! The opening show began at 7:30 and was “Canadian Pacific” with the legendary Randolph Scott. And so began the long life of the Sunset.
Soon after opening, the theater would experience some adversity and change. In the first year of operation, due to its location, they experienced a severe windstorm on 0ct 11, 1950, which caused an additional 2,000 dollars in damage to the sign on the road front. A year after, in 1952, general manager Harold Wright announced that the theater had purchased several sets of swings and a teeter-totter for installation at the Drive-In. This playground would be located at the front of the drive-in, under the screen, to keep the kids out of view. This project took about ten weeks to complete and remained at the drive-in for the rest of its lifespan. While this addition would cater to the audience, programming tried to attract all crowds; the Sunset had a vast selection of films come in and out. Commonly were PG and saw a lot of ads for action, comedies, musicals, and even some Disney to appeal to the younger crowds.The Sunset also was the second outdoor theater to ever show a 3D movie! With their promotion “3D movie at the beach” being pretty hard to ignore, starting August 14th, you could see House of Wax outside in 3D. The next large piece of change came when Greg Kershul, the man who took over in 1955 (eventually went on to purchase the Times Theater). Gregory Kershul remained the owner through the rest of the Drive-Ins' golden years. As time went on and a residential area was built around it, showings at the Sunset began to diminish, and ads began to become less frequent in the paper. While there is no sure date on when the Sunset closed, the best information points to 1982 as the last official season with openings.
