Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann

The Shore Drive-In opened in 1954 three miles west of Ocean City on Route 50. The large screen was visible from the highway and the parking area could hold up to 500 cars.

One of Ocean City’s most popular attractions, there are few locals who don’t remember watching movies under the stars at the Shore Drive-In Theatre (or trying to sneak an extra passenger or cooler of beer into the parking lot).

Drive-in theaters began fading from the American landscape in the 1970s and the Shore closed in 1976. The screen and projection booth are crumbling and hidden by trees and the roadside sign is in bad shape. The former Ocean City landmark is slowly being reclaimed by the Woods.

Photo by Bunk Mann