Wonder what this was, and why it no longer is. Looks like spots for 1,000 cars to park.
Theater?
- Thread starter bobpbx
- Start date
Bob. There are actually two old theaters. In the upper half of the map is the old Atco Drive-in Theater. It opened in 1955 and closed in 1989. The area with the large parking lot was the old Atco Muliplex Cinemas. It opened in 1991 and closed in 2009. The Atco Drive-in closed because it's a thing of the past. I believe the Muliplex just never caught on at that location. I'm sure other members can give more detail on this who live in that area.
I remember going to the Atco Multiplex a few times in the 90's when my daughter was a student at Shawnee! Never went to the drive-in however.
Drive-in
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.780014/-74.904859/njgin1980/0.00/0.00
Multiplex
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.777475/-74.907563/pines1995/0.00/0.00
Drive-in
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.780014/-74.904859/njgin1980/0.00/0.00
Multiplex
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.777475/-74.907563/pines1995/0.00/0.00
Last edited:
I really enjoyed drive-ins and would still go. Atco, Circle, Tacony-Palmyra, Pennsauken. Bring the dog. The Atco Multiplex was nice, not too crowed but I think Multiplexes are becoming a thing of the past. I now prefer streaming with my 75" 4k TV and surround sound. I can wear what I want, pause it, eat and drink what I want and scratch where it itches.
Boyd, my family and I sat next to you in 1996 watching "Jingle All The Way". We went there a hundred times or more while it was open. Loved the fact that it was usually not super crowded, but that is probably why it closed. We switched to The Voorhees Multiplex but we have not been there for at least 4 or 5 years.
Because there is no depth sense in the photo, first thought that came to mind was an outdoor sort of amphitheater for the top one. The parking made sense, as people would walk to the amphitheater from the lot. 
Have a look at my 3d aerials (2007 imagery + LIDAR).
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.70/39.779600/-74.905873/mbx3dortho/-85.20/56.60
That area looks pretty flat, you can see the foundation of the multiplex though. I cranked exaggeration up the the maximum, which has a funny effect on other things. This is a preference setting (the wrench icon in the desktop version, main menu on mobile) that you would need to set yourself to see the same view.
It can be fun to just browse around with that setting, this view is nearby
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.70/39.787365/-74.964685/mbx3dortho/-46.80/75.00
Last edited:
You know, they could convert that into a concert arena. I mean a nice one, amphitheatre-like. Perfect fit for the area. Would not have to go to Philly all the damn time to see someone.
Oddly, the property was also home to a NJMV Inspection Station. It can be seen in the attached 1980's aerial with a row of waiting cars snaking along the driveway. It was the one I always went to as it was the closest to my hometown of Gibbsboro. It employed some of the most miserable pr*cks on Earth. I don't think anyone ever passed at that station on the first try.
They failed me with my brand new 1978 Yamaha DT-400 that I had purchased an hour before that. I rode from the dealership in Mount Ephraim right to inspection station. They failed me for noise with the stock exhaust that also included an integral USFS-approved spark arrestor. This guy was King of The Pr*cks and I remembered from other encounters. I asked how he determined that it was too loud because they had no meters for that that I could see. Then I asked what the maximum permitted decibel level was and at what distance from the source it would be measured and he just screamed that it was too loud for him. He told me that if I didn't like it to go see his boss which I immediately did. That guy was reasonable and friendly. He looked at my title and registration and said "Oh, a dirt bike. Yeah, they can be a little loud." He stamped my paperwork and handed me my sticker which I promptly put on my fork leg in view of Mr. Pr*ck.
They failed me with my brand new 1978 Yamaha DT-400 that I had purchased an hour before that. I rode from the dealership in Mount Ephraim right to inspection station. They failed me for noise with the stock exhaust that also included an integral USFS-approved spark arrestor. This guy was King of The Pr*cks and I remembered from other encounters. I asked how he determined that it was too loud because they had no meters for that that I could see. Then I asked what the maximum permitted decibel level was and at what distance from the source it would be measured and he just screamed that it was too loud for him. He told me that if I didn't like it to go see his boss which I immediately did. That guy was reasonable and friendly. He looked at my title and registration and said "Oh, a dirt bike. Yeah, they can be a little loud." He stamped my paperwork and handed me my sticker which I promptly put on my fork leg in view of Mr. Pr*ck.
Last edited:
One of those guys in Manahawkin inspection line was extremely rude, practically yelling at me to get out of the car. And (this sounds made up but it's not), when I opened the door it hit his leg and he screamed like I broke his kneepcap. He had my blood boiling.Oddly, the property was also home to a NJMV Inspection Station. It can be seen in the attached 1980's aerial with a row of waiting cars snaking along the driveway. It was the one I always went to as it was the closest to my hometown of Gibbsboro. It employed some of the most miserable pr*cks on Earth. I don't think anyone ever passed at that station on the first try.
They failed me with my brand new 1978 Yamaha DT-400 that I had purchased an hour before that. I rode from the dealership in Mount Ephraim right to inspection station. They failed me for noise with the stock exhaust that also included an integral USFS-approved spark arrestor. This guy was King of The Pr*cks and I remembered from other encounters. I asked how he determined that it was too loud because they had no meters for that that I could see. Then I asked what the maximum permitted decibel level was and at what distance from the source it would be measured and he just screamed that it was too loud for him. He told me that if I didn't like it to go see his boss which I immediately did. That guy was reasonable and friendly. He looked at my title and registration and said "Oh, a dirt bike. Yeah, they can be a little loud." He stamped my paperwork and handed me my sticker which I promptly put on my fork leg in view of Mr. Pr*ck.
The private, contracted companies that took over several years ago and perform the work now, appeared to be a little more considerate. Although, I haven't been to an inspection station in years since both of my trucks are exempt from inspection and they stopped motorcycle inspections around 2009.
Waited many hours over the years in that inspection line, sometimes the line would start almost as soon as you got off the the white horse pike. Ahh the good old days,lol
I once failed there because I had a small nail in my tire. Got home and pulled it out. It was so short it never made it past the treads.
I still have some ticket stubs from there saved, for some reason.
This movie was awful.
This movie was awful.
You could have feigned concern, went to get a closer look at his leg and then headbutted him in the nose "by accident" when standing up.
When I was in High School, my cousin's girlfriend worked at KFC in Berlin. KFC had a policy that employees could take home any un-sold chicken at closing time. We'd grab a case of beer, pick her up with a couple buckets of chicken & go to the drive in. Eating the chicken, we'd throw the bones out the window in front of the truck, wait a few minutes, light the KC Hilights & watch the rats scurry!
I always thought it was odd that one of the newest movie theaters went out of business so relatively fast.
My weirdest inspection station memory was when I went with my buddy to Manahawkin in his lifted CJ-5.
He was trying to get the coveted "stability" papers. They put his jeep through a mini Moab jeep tour in the back.
My weirdest inspection station memory was when I went with my buddy to Manahawkin in his lifted CJ-5.
He was trying to get the coveted "stability" papers. They put his jeep through a mini Moab jeep tour in the back.
Oh man that brings back some memories. I used to work at KFC in my senior year of high school and 1st year of community college. I occasionally worked delivery and we would deliver to various locations in Hamilton, but there were times when I'd get pulled to the Trenton location. This was in 1991-1993, before GPS, mapquest, or even the internet, so we'd look at a map and memorize the route and go. I had quite the experiences delivering in Trenton and even some parts of Hamilton. There were streets in Trenton that we wouldn't even deliver to.
We used to get the buckets at the end of the day too. A box of barbecue, a box of extra crispy, often a whole bucket of original, mashed potatoes and gravy, slaw, etc., all brought home. Used to feed myself and girlfriend's whole family sometimes.
My senior year in high school I had a girlfriend who lived in Toms River. When I'd visit on weekends, we'd go to the boardwalk, to the mall, or just hang around her house once in a while and occasionally we'd go crabbing together in the lagoon behind her house. One summer afternoon I asked one of the cooks if we had chicken that was close to expiring to use as bait and he gave me a whole bag of it that wasn't even close to expired (delivered out the back door in a milk crate). I put it in the trunk of my car and drove down on Friday night. Well it happens that no one else was home at her house for most of the weekend so we found other things to do besides go crabbing, and I forgot about the chicken in the trunk, which I blame on teenage hormones. Spent the whole weekend there. Sunday evening I got in the car to go home and almost projectile vomited as soon as I closed the door. I swear the air inside was green. I went back into her house and must have been as white as the computer screen. Needless to say it takes a LONG time to get that smell out of a vehicle and no one would get into the vehicle for some time. Those were the days (I think).
The reason the Multiplex Cinema closed was due to mold, similar to the closing of schools in South Jersey for remediation. That huge parking lot was dug up over a 3-5 year span to install french drains in an attempt to keep the water from reaching the cinema. Spent many years on the roof of that building servicing the hvac equipment. You might think that the planners of this facility would have noticed the downward slope of the parking lot, and the possibility of water runoff and the damage that was sure to occur. Guess not.