Home » Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science Remembers the Vanguard Drive-In in Cocoa

Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science Remembers the Vanguard Drive-In in Cocoa

By  //  May 11, 2020

among featured artifacts are a pair of speakers from the Vanguard Drive-In movie theater

During the month of May, the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science, located at 2201 Michigan Avenue in Cocoa, will highlight some of their favorite items from the archives. (Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – During the month of May, the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science, located at 2201 Michigan Avenue in Cocoa, will highlight some of their favorite items from the archives.

These featured artifacts are a pair of speakers from the Vanguard Drive-In movie theater, once located off of U.S. 1 on the northern side of the 528 in Cocoa, Florida.

The Vanguard Drive-In closed down in 1981.

Even though drive-ins were introduced in 1933, watching movies on large screens from the comfort of one’s automobile did not become popular until after World War II.

Drive-ins reached their height of popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, as American car culture emerged.

With the introduction of new highway systems and increased leisure time, Americans spent more time in their cars than ever before.

With the year-round pleasant weather, Florida was an ideal state for drive-in movie theaters.

In 1938, one of America’s first drive-in theaters opened in Miami. By the late 1950s, at the peak of drive-in popularity, there were more than 150 drive-in theaters in Florida. There is now less than 10 drive-in theaters left in Florida.

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These featured artifacts are a pair of speakers from the Vanguard Drive-In movie theater, once located off of U.S. 1 on the northern side of the 528 in Cocoa, Florida. (Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science image)
This advertisement from the Causeway Drive-in Theater in Merritt Island lists Clint Eastwood movies and other classic films that were popular during the peak era of drive-in theaters. (Image courtesy of Patricia South Wild)

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