The Drive-Ins

The Drive-Ins. “The drive-in was the place to be seen…”. “A neon drive-in casts long shadows across a vast parking lot as the sun drops behind a distant hill. A large neon sign buzzes in the foreground of MEL’S DRIVE-IN, while in the background, “Rock Around The Clock” blares from the radio of a beautiful decked and channeled, white with red trim, tuck-and-rolled ’58 Chevy Impala that glides into the drive-in.”, The drive-in was the place to be and be seen. It was where the action was. It was where George Lucas went to hang out, meet friends, and talk about cars and girls., The inspiration for Mel’s was Burge’s Drive-In, owned by Edward Burge. Located at 1514 9th Street, at the corner of O Street from 1948 to 1966, it was primarily an old Highway 99 stopping point and a Modesto High hangout through the ‘40s, ‘50s, and early ‘60s., Its unique, round design was a magnet for young cruisers. It was part of the cruise because the kids needed to eat, just like their cars needed gas. The cruising loop was 11th to F or G Streets and back around to 10th, with a turn-around through Burge’s Drive-In. It was always a “raucous roar” as cars came in from the hop or the movies, and other cars went out to the canal or back out to cruise., The drive-in featured carhops, both on foot and skates. Hamburgers were 30₵, cheeseburgers were 40₵, and Cokes were 10₵. The most expensive item on the menu was a New York Cut Steak with salad and shoestring potatoes for $1.90. Burge’s also served breakfast. Gerry Ramirez was a carhop beginning the first day Burge’s opened until the day it closed in 1967. Her husband, Tony, worked the soda fountain and she remembers how the kids would come in with their polished cars and how they tried to impress their dates., The Mel’s Drive-In that was featured in the film opened in 1947 at 140 South Van Ness in San Francisco. The location was demolished just as the film was released in 1973., producer Gary Kurtz said, “We looked everywhere for a round drive-in restaurant for Mel’s. We just couldn’t find one. Finally we located one in downtown San Francisco; if you’d turned the camera through 180 degrees, you’d have seen all these skyscrapers and tall buildings. It was in terrible shape. We had to repair the neon in the signs and repair the light bulbs and paint it. When Haskell (Wexler) saw it for the first time he decided, since we were going to do so much shooting there, to replace all the light bulbs with photofloods.”, When Downey High opened in 1951, the high school kids adopted Al’s Drive-In as their place to be seen, because it was closer and part of the new cruise route that included McHenry Avenue. Located at McHenry and Francis, on the east side of the street, it was supposed to be a little rougher than Burge’s., Not far away was Felix’s Drive-In, another typical high school hangout. It opened at the corner of Alice Street and McHenry Avenue in 1958. The owner was Leonard Felix, who had previously operated Al’s Drive-In. He subsequently sold it to Arlin and Betty Young. By 1963, it was closed., Other notable drive-ins and diners in 1962 included Web’s on both 7th Street and G Street and at Orangeburg and McHenry, the Sno-White at McHenry and Morris, Warren’s on Washington Street, the Orange Julian (later Orange Julius) on McHenry, the Scenic Drive-In on Scenic Drive, Ricky’s Drive-In on Coffee Road, the Blewetts on Downey, Velvet Creamery on 6th Street, and the A&W downtown. The Frosty Top was located north of town at McHenry and Standiford. Another key hangout was the Knights Round Table on Coffee Road, directly across from Downey High School. Downey students and those from the class of ’62 ate here regularly. It was also the reason Downey became “The Knights”., Located at 14th and G, A&W opened in 1957 and was the first “fast food” restaurant in town. Today, it keeps the spirit of American Graffiti alive, with Friday Night ‘50s Karaoke, roller-skating carhops, and a menu that still reflects the age of Eisenhower. Classic music plays and classic cars cruise., The relatively new Sonic Drive-In on McHenry and Orangeburg also feature roller-skating carhops and an oldie-but-goodie menu., MEL’S DRIVE-IN – The drive-in is emptying out finally as the midnight hour approaches then passes. The die-hard and the hard-ups are still wheeling through Mel’s looking for remains of any action., Where you there? Tell us your story at: [email protected] , Researched by: Chris Murphy . www.ModestoCruiseRoute.com