You’ve probably driven past one of these without knowing it. The Aldi off Route 309 in Montgomeryville sits where carloads once swapped a driver’s license for an in-car heater on cold nights.
The food court at Plymouth Meeting Mall covers the ground where moviegoers once sat near a fountain that never worked. And the office building at First Avenue and Fayette Street in Conshohocken used to draw lines of kids around the block for an 11-cent Saturday matinee.
Long before streaming and multiplexes, Montgomery County families spent weekends at amusement parks, drive-ins and neighborhood movie houses.
Most are gone now, paved over or redeveloped. Here are ten that shaped local family life, and what stands there today.
Tap a numbered pin (or a name below) to see what stands there today.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Willow Grove Park
Opened in 1896 as a trolley park, Willow Grove Park grew into one of the region’s signature destinations. The Thunderbolt coaster, the Alps ride, and a summer concert series that brought John Philip Sousa back nearly every year from 1901 to 1926.
It closed after the 1975 season.
Today: The Willow Grove Park Mall nods to its past with historic banners and a carousel installed in 2001.
West Point Park
Known first as Zeiber’s Park starting in 1867, then West Point Park from 1947, this Lansdale-area park drew school groups by yellow bus for end-of-year outings built around the Wild Mouse coaster and a boating pond.
It closed in 1987.
Today: The space is mostly housing, though the old boat pond and its island still remain.
309 Twin Drive-In
Opening as the Starlite around 1949, this Montgomeryville drive-in grew into a two-screen operation holding roughly 800 cars.
In winter, patrons left a driver’s license as collateral for a propane in-car heater.
It closed in 1986.
Today: Gwynedd Crossing Shopping Center, with an Aldi standing roughly where the screen once lit up Route 309.
Ridge Pike Drive-In
Far less documented than its 309 counterpart, this drive-in served Conshohocken and Plymouth Meeting families before commercial development overtook the corridor.
Today: It is heavy retail and roadway development, with little visible trace of its past.
Plymouth Meeting Mall Twin
The Cinema on the Mall opened in 1966, was rebuilt as a two-screen theater with 1,100 seats after a 1970 fire, and closed in 1996.
Today: It’s part of the mall’s food court and entrance, marked these days by a large Lego giraffe sculpture.
Riant Theater
This Conshohocken landmark opened in 1921 and charged 11 cents for Saturday matinees that drew lines of kids around the block.
It closed in the early 1970s and was demolished in 1976, contrary to local legend, “MASH” was not actually its final film.
Today: The Keystone Building is home to Conshohocken’s municipal offices.
Forrest Theatre
A few blocks from the Riant, this 1,200-seat movie palace was Conshohocken’s largest, opening in 1927 with sold-out shows for “The Blood Ship.”
It closed around 1950.
Today: The Forrest Theatre was sold in 1951 to a canvas and cotton goods manufacturer, ending its run as a theater.
Ambler Opera House
Before the Ambler Theater anchored Main Street, this second-floor hall in a Civil War-era building hosted vaudeville acts and early movies, reached by a narrow staircase.
Today: The 1928 Ambler Theater carries on Ambler’s movie tradition just down the street.
Suburban Theatre
Tucked inside Ardmore’s Suburban Square, this 800-seat theater was known for sharp projection and sound until the shopping center’s 1979 redesign pushed it out.
Today: The space became a clothing store, then by 2015 a restaurant that dines guests on top of the old marquee.
Valley Theatre
By 2004, decades of wear caught up with this East Greenville theater, and its auditorium ceiling began collapsing before it closed.
New owners restored the original 1924 tin ceiling panels piece by piece.
Today: The Grand Theater, reopened in 2005, still shows movies on a single screen with a working pipe organ.
These places may be gone, but their footprints are everywhere, hiding behind a grocery checkout line, a food court table, or a restaurant booth.
Which lost Montgomery County attraction do you remember most?
