Formerly: Route 45 Drive-In
Walnutport, Pennsylvania · Founded 1946 · Building: circa 1948 current site; original drive-in opened in 1946
A family-run Lehigh Valley drive-in that began as the Route 45 Drive-In in 1946 and moved to its present site around 1948.
Becky's Drive-In operates at 4548 Lehigh Drive in Walnutport, Pennsylvania, in Lehigh Township. William D. "Becky" Beck and his wife, Alice, opened the original Route 45 Drive-In in 1946, then moved the business about a block to its present site around 1948. Their children, grandchildren, and later generations have kept the seasonal outdoor theater in operation.
William D. "Becky" Beck and Alice Beck opened the Route 45 Drive-In. Available accounts place its opening in 1946, but the exact opening date remains unresolved.
Source: Becky's Drive-In, "History"; WMFZ, "Iconic Lehigh Valley drive-in movie theater celebrates 80 years"
Family and drive-in history accounts say Becky's moved about a block from its original site to the present property around 1948.
Source: Becky's Drive-In, "History"; Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"; Cinema Treasures comments
The business became known as Becky's Drive-In around the period when the former Route 45 was redesignated Route 248. The exact state-road renumbering date requires confirmation from Pennsylvania transportation records.
Source: Becky's Drive-In, "History"; Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"
Family accounts report that William Beck retired and his son Dennis took over the drive-in around this period. Later accounts also describe Beck's children becoming owners.
Source: Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"; Cinema Treasures comments
William D. "Becky" Beck died. His family continued operating the drive-in.
Source: Becky's Drive-In, "History"
After an earlier period of adult-film programming, Beck's family returned the theater to family-film programming.
Source: Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"
Becky's added a second screen; later accounts say it was replaced with a permanent second screen in 2007.
Source: Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"; Cinema Treasures comments
Becky's remains a family-operated, two-screen seasonal drive-in with current film listings and admissions information.
Source: Becky's Drive-In official website; WMFZ, "Iconic Lehigh Valley drive-in movie theater celebrates 80 years"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Becky's own history identifies the original operation as Route 45 Drive-In and dates its opening to 1946. A 2026 local-news feature independently identifies the theater as opening in 1946 and names William D. "Becky" Beck and Alice Beck as founders.
The original Route 45 Drive-In was located about a block from the current property. The business's own history and drive-in historical research place the move to the present site around 1948.
William and Alice Beck founded the drive-in, and the business says their surviving children, spouses, grandchildren, and later generations continue the operation. A 2026 local report identifies third-generation owner Cindy Beck Deppe. The review did not retrieve a complete legal ownership and operating chain for every year.
Drive-in historical research places the initial second-screen addition in 2005, followed by a permanent second screen in 2007. No source retrieved supports a 2003 addition.
Becky's opened in 1946. Shankweiler's Drive-In in Orefield is identified by drive-in historical sources as opening in 1934 and as the oldest continuously operating drive-in in the United States, so Becky's cannot hold Pennsylvania's oldest-drive-in title.
Becky's Drive-In was founded in 1946 by William "Becky" Becker.
The theater's founder was William D. "Becky" Beck, who opened the Route 45 Drive-In in 1946 with his wife, Alice Beck.
Source: Becky's Drive-In, "History"; WMFZ, "Iconic Lehigh Valley drive-in movie theater celebrates 80 years"
Becky's Drive-In has been at its present site since opening in 1946.
The original Route 45 Drive-In was about a block from Becky's present site. Available family and drive-in history accounts place the relocation to the current property around 1948.
Source: Becky's Drive-In, "History"; Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"
Becky's added a second screen in 2003.
Drive-in historical accounts place the second-screen addition in 2005, with a permanent replacement screen added in 2007.
Source: Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"; Cinema Treasures comments
Becky's Drive-In is the oldest drive-in theater in the Lehigh Valley or Pennsylvania.
Becky's opened in 1946. Shankweiler's Drive-In in Orefield opened in 1934 and is widely identified as the oldest continuously operating drive-in theater in the United States.
Source: Carload, "Becky's Drive-In, Walnutport PA"; Cinema Treasures comments
Becky's stayed open by remaining a multigenerational family business while changing how it used the site. The theater expanded its capacity and services, briefly relied on adult films during a difficult 1970s period, returned to family programming in 1988, and later added a second screen—adapting without abandoning the drive-in format.
Becky's Drive-In in Walnutport, Pennsylvania, began in 1946 as William D. "Becky" Beck and Alice Beck's Route 45 Drive-In. The original theater was about a block from its present property, and family accounts place the move to the current Lehigh Drive site around 1948. The Beck family has continued to operate the seasonal theater through multiple generations, adding a second screen in the 2000s.
No. Becky's Drive-In opened in 1946, while Shankweiler's Drive-In in Orefield opened in 1934 and is widely identified as the oldest continuously operating drive-in theater in the United States. Becky's is nonetheless one of Pennsylvania's important surviving family-run drive-ins.
Becky's Drive-In opened as the Route 45 Drive-In in 1946 at an original site about a block away from its present property. The business's own history and drive-in historical research place its move to the current location around 1948.
Becky's Drive-In remains operated by the Beck family. A 2026 local-news report identifies third-generation owner Cindy Beck Deppe, while the theater's own history describes continuing involvement by the founders' children, grandchildren, and later generations.
4548 Lehigh Dr, Walnutport, PA 18088
(610) 767-2249
Becky's is a seasonal two-screen drive-in, generally operating from spring into mid-October. Check current movie listings, gate times, and weather updates before visiting.