A friend of mine, Richard Freng, took some pictures of the El Monte drive-in before they tore it down. His custom Merc is parked near the marquee. There is a bit of fictional gardening at play here to enhance the architectural majesty of this now extinct roadside Icon.

The El Monte drive-in and the Van Nuys drive-in shared the same architecture down to the style of lettering used on the marquee. For me it was the huge murals that captured my attention.  They were often a bit on the cheesy side but they were also perfect examples of what I call Promotecture, a combination of art and architecture designed to draw you in. (Oil on canvas, 1999.....24"x36")