Panama Sights Community

I am a cinema researcher and historian living in Australia. For the past several years

I have been working on a research project and I am seeking information to allow me to complete it.

I am seeking information about the long gone Auto-Cine Drive-in theatre, which I believe was located

opposite or near the Panama university in Panama City.

Here is what I am seeking:

1.  The opening date of the drive-in, which I believe was in the latter months of 1952.

2.  Contact with any of the original proprietors or their next-of-kin. I believe the name of one of the founders

     of the drive-in was a Mr Elton Todd.

If anyone can help me I will be genuinely grateful.

Please email Allan at: bioscope@optusnet.com.au

Many thanks.

 Interesting post, almost a blast from the past if I may say so!.

 The drive-in in question was not opposite to the University of Panama but was nearby (arond 500 meters) and in fact I used to live nearby as well. The cinema you are talking about no longer exists (sad) and I wonder if it was just because the drive-ins ceased to exist in most of the world.

This place was called "MULTICINES" and was located in Avenida Ricardo J. Alfaro (also known locally as "Tumba Muerto"). It had a drive-in with current movies and it also had about 4-5 regular movie theaters. So basically you could either visit the drive-in or if the weather was not nice or anything else you could also choose from any of the regular showings, all in one place! that is why it was called "multicines" (multiple cinemas) but it was the only multi-saloon movie theather in the whole of Panama that ALSO had a drive-in cinema. The "restaurant" inside (where you bought your drinks, popcorn, chocolates, etc.) was shared in such a way that from one side you had the drive-in customers and on the other side the customers of the regular movie theater.

 I do not know who where the original owners but I can tell I -as well as most people in the surrounding neighbourhoods- where very disappointed when it ceased to operate. I no longer remember when it ceased to operate. What I do know is that I don't think it opened in 1952, more like in the early seventies.

 Nowadays the whole area (don't know about the drive-in area) where the regular cinemas where are being used for stores, kind of run down I must say.


 

Thanks for your reply with all that information degt. The Drive-in I am seeking information about was called the Auto-Cine. If it is the same place that you call MULTICINES it may have had a name change in later years when the indoor cinemas were built.

It DID open in 1952. I have a four page article on it that was published in an American cinema trade journal in 1954. Unfortunately it is mainly coverage of how it was built and does not give the actual opening date. I also have an advertisement from an Australian cinema trade journal from January 1953 that mentions that a new drive-in has opened in Panama City, Panama. I still believe that the Auto-Cine opened in the latter half of 1952. The 1954 article says that there were articles in local (Panama) newspapers in the weeks prior to the opening. If a librarian happens to read this, perhaps he or she could find the articles for me.

One of the owners was named Elton Todd. If still living he would be quite elderly, but it's possible he is still living. Someone reading this may know him or his family.

Any Panama City historians out there?  Any elderly projectionists out there?

Someone knows!  Someone can help.

As I live in Australia, finding this information from so far away is very difficult.

Thanks,

Allan. 

Hi Allan,
   I am checking this with some of my fellow highschol classmates (we are in our mid 40's already). If it really opened in 1952 then the multicinemas part were appended later on (in the 70's) and then the entrance to the drive-in must have been through  another neighbourhood. There was some access road.

My doubts arise only because I lived a mere 700 metres away from the autocine/multicine and this area in particular was "monte y culebra" (bush and snakes) in the 50's. It was not until the 60's when this area started to get urbanized. I know that because we were nearly "founding neighbours".

I am also checking if they can get me the (approximate) closing date of the autocine/multicine and perhaps some info about the owners. If Mr. Elton Todd was one of the owners then I am almost sure he was a resident of the former Panama Canal Zone. Should that be the case it is most likely that he relocated to the US by the time the Panama Canal reverted to Panama when the last of the american "occupation" was repatriated to the US. For that matter you may also try to enquire in the CZBrats.com forums as I think it is a good bet to thinkMr. Elton Todd was a resident of the Panama Canal Zone (and thus a "Zonian").

By the way, if you have the Google Earth program installed on your PC (or from the web) you can use these coordinates (Latitude/Longitude):

 University of Panama (you mentioned it on your original post:  N 8.985808 W 79.533517
 Autocine : N 8.99642  W 79.5339

The entrance to the drive-in is in what is shown there as "Av. Juan Pablo II" and the indoor cinemas where on what you see there as a grey building roof. In the back (you see an empty area with some cars) is where the drive-in area was located. The part shown as a red-roofed building on the corner was kind of an outdoor extention of the "restaurant" where you could park and have your order delivered to you (sometimes on skates when that was popular). The actual distance between the university grounds and the autocine is around 1.15 kilometres.

 I hope that helps in your current search.

Emilio 

Hi Allan,
     I just received some update from a friend of mine in Panama. Apparently we were both talking about two different drive-ins.

The one I mentioned was indeed something of the 70's and it was called MultiCines and I believe it was owned by Panamanian capital.

The one you inquired about was another one called "AutoCine #1" or something like that. It was closer to the University of Panama than the one I mentioned, to be more precise behind the cartographic institute "Instituto Tommy Guardia". Now some vague memories have come to my mind and I THINK and uncle of mine took me there with my cousins when I was little.

Unfortunately I have not received more specific information.