One sure way to find derelict classic cars is to visit a junkyard. Because that’s where most automobiles end up when they’re taken off the road. But many classics spend their retirement years in other places too.
Because some people don’t want to part ways with their old cars, some of them end up in barns and backyards. I’ve also seen quite a few abandoned properties that are still home to old vehicles no one cares about. But in Bombay Beach, California, you’ll also find derelict classics at the drive-in cinema.
Documented by YouTuber “Liv Scaffidi,” the seemingly abandoned theater is home to more than 20 vehicles of all shapes and sizes. And most of them are of the vintage variety. The list includes a Ford Torino and a Maverick, a late 1940s Chevrolet, and a Chevrolet El Camino.
Not surprisingly, it’s also home to a heavily modified Volkswagen Beetle, as well as a second-generation VW Bus. I say “not surprisingly” because both vehicles are very popular with beach goers and this open-air cinema has one nearby.
I also spotted an AMC Pacer and a Chevrolet El Camino, but someone also parked a couple of boats and even a milk truck there. More importantly, this mini car collection also includes a pair of Nash Metropolitans.
If you’re not familiar with this nameplate, the Metropolitan is a subcompact car that was born in the mid-1955, when all American carmakers were busy creating increasingly larger and more luxurious rigs. Built by Austin in England and imported by Nash (and later AMC) in the U.S., the Metropolitan swam against the “bigger is better” tide.
Yes, it was quite small and didn’t have a V8, but it was ahead of its time and performed well against subcompact imports. And needless to say, it’s downright cute when finished in a 1950s-specific two-tone paint combo.
Sadly, the Metropolitans parked here are in rather poor shape, much like all the other classics populating this drive-in. And they can’t be saved either. Because while this cinema may look abandoned, it’s not. Believe it or not, this is a working theater that was put together as an art project.
Specifically, it was created during the Bombay Beach Biennale, an event that “transforms abandoned housing, vacant lots, and decaying shoreline into a unique canvas for creative expression.”
A popular getaway for Southern Californians in the 1950s and 1960s, Bombay Beach was abandoned in the 1980s following extensive flooding and the rising salinity and pollution levels of the Salton Sea. Now a “ghost” town with fewer than 250 inhabitants, Bombay Beach has become a popular destination for urban explorers and photographers.