Park 'N' Y

Kennewick

So named because it was located in a neighborhood called the Richland Y. There's some debate if this is really Richland's Island Vue drive-in, though this place is definately in Kennewick, across the river from Richland. The neighborhood name on the topo map says Island View, and the remains seemed in too good of a condition to be neglected since the Park & Y's reported closure in the 1960's so now I'm not sure. I got the name information from an entry of Evil Sam's Washington Graveyard:

PARK-N-Y -- Kennewick -- It was located in the area between Richland, Kennewick and Pasco called the "Richland Y". It was down by the Columbia River next to a park and a golf course. I remember going to it only one time. It must have flooded in the spring along with everything else down there before the Columbia was dammed up. I remember the back of the screen faced the river and the front faced the main highway between the Tri-Cities so that you could see what was playing as you drove by. If I remember correctly, it was the first to close (sometime in the early 60's). When I went back in 92, I remember that part of the old marquee still stood off the highway. Craig Morton, 1996

Island Vue isn't mentioned, and by process of elimination with other drive-in names, the theater at this location would have to be the Park & Y, unless the information is wrong.

These two blocks of screen anchors are actually parallel in line with the projector. This lone surviving pair must be a front and back base while all the side ones have been removed. In the back is an inlet from the Columbia River.

The foundation for the snack bar. In person you can even see where the toilets were installed.

Next to the snack bar area are yellow pavement markings, either for traffic control, employee parking or outside parking for a swap-meet.

Even though this theater closed years before the other theaters in the Tri-Cities, some of the remains seem to be in good shape, such as this speaker pole with the number "28" painted on the base.

Microsoft Terraserver view of theater.

USGS Kennewick 1964, 1973

Also in Kennewick was the Highland theater, but that site was so obviously covered up by new shopping that I didn't bother doing a close up examination.

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