When the Rhododendron Drive-In opened on April 30, 1953, the theater distinguished itself from many other drive-ins of the time by showing almost exclusively first-run films, a practice that seemingly remained throughout the theater's lifespan which ended in 1979 with its final showings being that year's Last Embrace and Bloodline. This was partially due to the theater's close proximity to downtown Florence, unlike many other drive-ins which were located in more rural areas. Another notable aspect from the theater's first year of programming was its heavy scheduling. The grand opening of the theater was delayed for nearly a month from April 3 to the 30th due to weather, but once it opened it maintained a strict schedule, operating 4 nights a week with two double feature programs until May 10, then being open all 7 nights a week (separate Friday-Saturday, Sunday-Monday, Tuesday-Wednesday double features, with new programs opening on Thursday). This heavy schedule would stay in place until October 2, after which there would only be 1 double feature program a week that would show on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights until the season's end late on November 29th. The theater would not begin its next season until March 12 the next year.
One of the most interesting aspects of the theater choosing to programs first-runs is the diversity of distributors needed to play all of their films. Members from the Majors, Minors, and Indies were all present in the first year of the theater's showings. Even in its final showings, the two films were produced by United Artists and Paramount, respectively. There seems to have been an incredible emphasis on the pictures themselves at the theater, as it was constructed with one of the west coast's largest screens at 60ft x 60ft and featured Technicolor films from the very beginning.
