America's Abandoned Drive-in Theaters Explained
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
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The Drive-in Theatre, an iconic American entertainment venue, emerged in the early 20th century as a novel way to enjoy movies from the comfort of one's car. Conceived by Richard Hollingshead Jr. in 1933, the concept quickly gained popularity, providing families with a unique cinematic experience. Its peak came in the 1950s and 1960s when it became a cultural phenomenon, offering a blend of leisure and convenience during the post-war boom. However, with the rise of multiplex cinemas and home entertainment systems, drive-ins faced a decline in the late 20th century. Despite this, nostalgic sentiment and a desire for outdoor experiences have led to a resurgence in recent years, with many drive-ins adapting to modern technology while preserving their classic charm. Today, these outdoor theaters continue to evoke a sense of nostalgia while providing a distinctive cinematic experience under the stars.
IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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Anyone who still has access to a functioning Drive-in Theater, consider yourselves blessed. 😯
Newton Iowa still has a drive-in. Tornado last year, but they rebuilt and are still in operation. I lived in Dallas for 37 years and I don't remember ever seeing a movie theater there 1984-2021. I've been back in Iowa now for 4 years. I was shocked to see this movie theater.
Drive ins are mostly still around in places with a relatively cool or low humidity evening. They dot mountain ranges and the Ohio Valley...as long as the winter doesn'tlast 6 mos. I can think of about a dozen in the Blue Ridge Mtns. We have one about 16 miles away. Only the peak of summer is hot and muggy on a clear weather night.
Ours tend to play movies geared to kids like the endless superhero films...which my wife and I have no interest and animated movies like Ice Age.
They did play Dune last month. I saw Inception there, and it was very impressive on the very big screen
@@paulacriss6451Ennis TX has one.
@paulacriss6451 they still have one south of Maquoketa, iowa too
After the pandemic, the time of the drive-in theater came back. No one was prepared.
We still frequent them in Southern California, my family often go to the Van Buren Drive-In, in Riverside.
The Van Buren is still open?!!! I remember going there as a kid in the 60s.
I’m fortunate to live 2 miles from a fully active and popular drive-in theater. I still like going to it. It reminds me of being a kid.
So cool
Vermont has a great drive-in, too. During the pandemic, they stayed open way into winter until they just couldn't anymore because of all the snow, it's a great place!
So lucky, they turned mine which is also about 2 miles away into an outdoor swap meet/flea market
IL still has one and it’s a very nice looking too
We still have a three screen drive in 10 miles from our house. Built and opened in 2015.
COVID almost killed it (because no one was releasing movies, so they had nothing to show)
I loved going to the drive-in. Truly made for a summer evening entertainment event.
There’s a couple of them in my area. I think nostalgia is bringing people back to them, and Covid was a big boost for them since cars are easy to space out
Montrose colorado has the best drive in , it's celebrating 75 years this year . I love going there
We used to go to the drive-in theater in the 70s. It was so much fun.
In the mid 1960s, it was thrilling to be playing with a hundred other young children in the playground, as the COUNTDOWN to the first movie displayed on the screen. And when the countdown reached ONE MINUTE, we all ran to our parents cars wearing pajamas!
That's adorable.
Lots of fun at the drive in when we were kids!
YES!!! And all the different colored lights in the playground!
Exactly the same here in Australia too! Cheers from Hunter VAlley Wine country.
You forgot to mention the studios are not releasing on film anymore, so the drive-ins that are left are required to update their projector to digital so they can show new releases. The projector is not cheap at $200K. Our local drive-in (Brazos Drive-IN in Granbury, TX) had to resort to crowdfunding to get the new projector so they could stay in business. This could've been the kiss of death.
1:13 Fingerlakes Drive-in still running near me in Auburn NY. Great place to go see a movie.
In Jax Florida, we had 2 multi-screen drive-ins up until the late 80’s early 90’s. One location played current movies, the other was in the middle of nowhere, and as long as you didn’t kill someone you could do what you wanted. It played movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and other horror movies, so you could be sure your girl would be holding on to you tightly all night long. Surprisingly they had great food, the owner also ran a food truck business and their sausage dogs were the best in town. We always had a great time there and if they re-opened I would go tonight.
My second comment to thank you for making this and bringing back some really good memories... I actually recalled sitting in the back of our station wagon in the 70s. Both my parents are still alive!
Here in S.W. lower MI. we have two drive ins that have been running up until this year! Both are up for sale now.
We still have a few in my area. Flea market during the day on the weekends, then double features on 4 screens
I feel very grateful to my hometown for saving one of the 3-4 drive-ins. I think there's only been a few summers when it wasnt open. It is still popular, and plays new and clasic movies.
That's so cool!
I grew-up going to The Valley Drive-In Theater in Montclair, CA. The back side of the screen, facing the street, had the worlds largest moving neon sign. Two oxen with moving legs, pulled a buckboard with moving wheels and a pioneer man in the buckboard moving the reins while they moved up a dirt road passed a Mission Church with our local mountains in the background and an Indian wearing a headdress sat on a rock watching the scene.
We used to go back in the early to mid 80s . Good memories
Not long ago (21st century) I lived in a small town south of Indianapolis - there was a drive in right next to my neighborhood, I could see it from my house (back of the screen!). It's still there and successful, the town has held onto some old Americana ways. I also recall, as a kid (I was born in 1969), going to the drive in theater. I remember seeing SNOWBALL EXPRESS - I'd have been 3-5 years old, depending when it screened there. That was in NE Pennsylvania (Saylorsburg). The site is now used for a flea market.
There is a six screen drive-in near my parents house in Sacramento, CA. It has been opened since at least the 70s when I was a kid.
I remember going to a drive-in theater as a young kid with my parents to watch the original Footloose movie. That particular establishment supplied mono single speakers for patrons to hang on their windows to hear what was being played and it had a volume knob on it.
As a kid I saw Conan The Destroyer and Ice Man in a drive-in movie.....think it was in Pennsylvania. A treasured memory.
There is still one in Ocala, Florida. It has three screens and is busy every week. It has state of the art digital projectors, and the movies are delivered on encrypted had drive packages that plug directly into the projectors.
I grew up in Aurora Illinois and there were 2 drive Inn theater. We had Skylark which was out by what is now Fox Valley Mall.
The second was Highlight 30.
I remember seeing Star Wars at Skylark.
You mentioned how some turned to "adult" movies well Highlight 30 had an actual indoor "adult" theater. With that being said it garnered its nickname of "Dirty 30"
Was Skylark the one on New York Street near Eola rd? That one was abandoned by the time I moved to Aurora in ‘88. We used to hang out there. The one near Parkside lanes was open longest though. I remember seeing the first Spider-Man there. It closed not long after that.
we have an active 3 screen drive-in here in Midland Tx. - some of the best food too
There's a 3 screen in Ft. Worth Texas (Coyote Drive-In) too. Although it's a newer build, still cool to see.
East side of Indianapolis. Pendleton Pike drive-in was awesome 😋
It was the 1st DI in Indiana, do you remember the tiny roller coaster and the Pike party.
@@bender7565 I do, actually. 🤔
There is still an operating drive-in theater in Glendale Arizona
I remember drive inn theaters and when they had double features. It is nice to see a few have made a come back.
Growing up in Southern California, Drive-In theaters were the place to be. Sadly, there are only a handful left.
I worked at The Rosecrans Drive In, ( in So. Cal.) right out of high school. My mom was a cashier at the box office where you drive up to pay. My job was working in the Snack Bar. It was a fun job and on your days off you could get a pass to visit Pacific Theatres in your area, including walk-ins!
eventually the land was worth more than a drive-in and now its a shopping center Many of these drive ins were sold and they became shopping centers!
I've been to the Starlite in Rosemead, the San Gabriel, Vineland in La Puente, Edgewood in Baldwin Park , Edwards near Arcadia in the 60s thru the 80s.
We've got a drive-in theater not too far down the road... about an hour away... that's still hanging in there! I'm not exactly sure about the cooler months but during the warmer ones, they have a variety of films they show from newer releases to some of the great drive-in classics! Thanks for sharing this very interesting piece Ryan! Look forward to what you bring us next! God bless! ~ Scott 💙🙏🏻
There’s the Glen Drive-In Theatre in Queensbury NY. It’s a great experience and I always go when visiting friends there. ❤
My Dad's company demoed a few in South Jersey back in the mid-80s. Pennsauken was one. I remembered how happy he was because the place was loaded with copper lines and he made a ton of cash scrapping the place.
Enjoyed them as a kid in the 70s. Mom insisted on bringing our own popcorn from home, so there was always a big, greasy paper grocery bag full on the front seat. Really enjoyed them as a teenager. Last time at a drive-in was more than 10 years ago, and wasn't thrilled by most of the people sitting around in lawn chairs instead of in their cars. It was like a huge tailgate party and you could barely hear the movie.
I remember going to the drive-in in Lebanon PA. I was between 6 and 10 so I don’t remember what was playing. I do remember falling asleep in the back of the station wagon. 😂
We had a Drive-in in Kenosha for decades.
I remember going with friends in the 90s and early 00s, it wasn't a fantastic experience with no visibility in the back seat, and if you got out of the car, it was often cold, wet, and you couldn't really hear anything. Often, you went to "see" movies you had already seen in theaters, and the Drive-in was for vibes.
They actually tore the place down in 2016 (I think?) It wasn't too long ago. The owners just said they were done and wanted to retire. You better believe there were people pointing out that it would have been good to have a Drive-in in 2020, but by then, the screen was already long gone.
Galesburg, IL drive-in closed, turned into a flea market, closed as a flea market, and renovated and reopened as a drive-in again. As far as I remember they had bragging rights to being one of the largest drive in screens in the nation
Wow great video. I just turned 56 and recently I went back and visited the movie theater we used to go to in Hickory North Carolina. Of course everything that was there is gone now it's a office complex. But I'll never forget going with my aunt and uncle and my cousins to watch Superman with Christopher Reeve. What my most cherished childhood memories. Thank you😊
Where I live in Melbourne Australia we are lucky to still have a triple screen Drive-in. It still pulls good numbers. On the weekends during the day they use the Drive-in for car shows and a Sunday market every other week. A lot of Hotrod clubs have their Saturday night cruises to this Drive-in.
You guys and gals down under have a great car culture.
Living in rural north western Pennsylvania I am fortunate to live within 20 miles of 2 revived and still operating drive-in theaters that operate as early as late Spring to early Fall, and even have had Halloween and Thanksgiving specials, weather permitting. And with the price of going to a sit down theater these days it has brought back the cheaper family entertainment option. Being a “Baby Boomer” born in the mid fifties I have many great memories of the drive-in theater, and later with my whole family. It was a great time to grow up in that era, sadly not so much today.
We still have an active Drive-In theater a few miles from my house. The Blue Fox. It's screen blew over in a storm, but between insurance and community donations it was restored. I love that place!
It even has a huge arcade, go-kart track, and pool hall!
I live in Indianapolis, and we have a really successful 4 screen drive-in. Tibbs drive-in is the best! ❤
Our drive-in was in operation until the early 80s but has since been made into a mini storage place. The former manager was a regular at the ticket gate, making sure that everyone was following the rules. Miss you Mike!
The Don Drive-In Was Destroyed By A Tornado In Bossier City, LA. In December '78. I Was At The Showtown Drive-In 15 Miles Away In Shreveport When It Happened. Thank You.
I'm actually going to the drive in this weekend.
How was it? lol
@@glitzyglam7827 It was great I try to make it there at least once a season. Unfortunately the movies aren't as good as they used to be though.
There is a fantastic traditional drive-in in McHenry IL. Well maintained, and the owners continue to invest in it. We love getting there early and parking in the front row. Kids run around in the grass in front of the screen. Play Frisbee, tag, catch and all kinds of outdoor games. Just like I used to back in the day. The drive-in is not just about catching the latest movie, it is an experienced onto itself.
When I lived on the Southside of Chicago, there was a Drive in along Columbus ave and if you sat on the top bunk in my room, you could see the screen of the drive in and watch the movie they were showing. We moved out of the house in the 90s and the drive in closed not long after, but I will always remember staying up late and watching the movies shown.
Im so glad i got to experience the drive in in my late teens. Thank you @milford movie theaters (Milford NH)
There's one in Glendale AZ that's still operating.
Thanks for sharing, I have many memories of going to the local drive in back in the 1960's and 70's Anthony Wayne drive in theater right across from the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne N.J. the drive in is long gone.
Funny there’s a Willowbrook Mall near me in Houston, TX 😅
@@tomaslopez2940 The one in Wayne N.J. was built in 1969 and I think one of the first modern malls, I thought it was gone but just looked online and apparently it's still their.
Hey! I'm originally from Wayne, New Jersey! 😃 Wow! Small world 🌍!
I remember that theater, as well one in Parsippany Troy-Hills Township, Morris County, NJ on Route 46 West and the Route 17 Drive-In in Lyndhurst, Bergen County, NJ near the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
I remember the Meadows Drive-In near Woodsville, New Hampshire. That was great place! Now, unfortunately, it's now a log cabin development. ☹️
Same here!
Back in the day its was fun to sneak a couple of extra people into the trunk of the car. Of course back then, trunks were a lot bigger! 🙂 Just out of curiosiity I googled drive in theaters near me and 2 in the vicinity (Tampa Bay) are still in business.
We still have a very popular drive in Concord Ca with 4 screens & a flea market on Saturdays & Sundays
Here in Wichita, starlight drive in theaters alive and well and always has been since 1974..
There's a drive in theater that's a couple towns away from where I live that's pretty popular during the summer. It was one of those ill fated drive ins that ended up going bust in the 90's. But it was very beloved by the community. Every summer it was always packed. It was so beloved that the town purchased the property, and now they run it as a non-profit. It opens in the summer and they play classic and family movies, and they even developed a really nice, big, town park behind that at one time was just a big open field and old buildings. They linked the park right to the drive in. They staff it with volunteers, and they keep it really well maintained. I wish more drive-ins would get this treatment. The first movie of their season this year is going to be JAWS. I've seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and 2001:A Space Odyssey (which was amazing to see on the big screen) there too.
We still have a few in Eastern Iowa; Valle and Blue Grass. Not something that springs to mind, but if someone said 'Hey, let's go see a drive-in movie this weekend!', I would totally be in to it.
Yup, the "Voy 61" drive-in near Maquoketa, IA is still open too...in its 74th year!
@@SMac-bq8sk Thank you! I'll have to give a visit when they're playing. Love drive-ins!
The last movie I ever saw at a drive-in theatre was Tremors, the first movie. I remember being in back of a truck with friends seeing it in 1990 when i was 12. I miss them.
8:40 Blue Dell Drive in was located in Irwin PA. Opened in 1949 but closed in 1984, it held 500 cars. Nice to see some Pittsburgh history represented here.
There were several drive in theatres in South Florida that were still operating in in the 1990's and early 2000's. The one in Sunrise (Broward County) may still be in operation. They made up for lost revenue from the theatre operation by hosting flea markets during the day. The Thunderbird drive in in Sunrise is one of the largest open air flea markets in the state. A few building were put up to house some flea market vendors in a mini mall set up, and the Flea Market runs every day, it's a huge tourist attraction.
That was the best and had the most screens, there is/was the same type flea market/ 3 screen drive in in east Tampa also.
I was at the final night of the Sanford Drive-In. There were 5 operating in the Orlando area up until the late 80's!
I’ve been fortunate to experience the Drive-in as a child right up to today in Connecticut. Friends and I watched Star Wars at the Waterford Drive-in, in the late 70’s. We also drove to the Clinton drive-in and Hartford drive-in. Today I try to get to the Mansfield drive-in once a year to support there effort to stay in business. (Hour, 10 min. drive). 😮Enjoyed the video.
Saw Phantom of the Paradise in '76 at the Crest Drive-In in KC. Loved drive-ins.
I am one of the Americans that have a soft spot in my heart for the drive-in theater. Living in the Chicagoland area, I am pretty lucky because we had a few. Unfortunately, the one nearest me in West Chicago closed a few years ago. However, lucky for me there there’s one south of 80.
Grew up going to the Scottsdale 6. That was open all year! I miss it.
I'm happy to know that the drive in I went to as a kid every summer is still in operation.
As a kid in the Long Ago, I remember seeing these in film and TV shows, and asking my dad why we didn't have lots of them here, and him patiently explaining to 8 year old me that the Scottish weather was not really designed for outdoor cinema!
God!! I miss drive in theaters!!! Some of my best memories were from them, so damn American!🤘🏴☠️
The Drive-in Theater in Weirs Beach, NH just announced a few weeks ago that they will not be opening this summer and are planning to sell the property. They say in the Facebook post that the owner is 86 and doesn't have the energy to keep doing it, and nobody else in her family is interested in keeping it going.
Cable TV and home video definitely helped end it, I had never thought of that before, but that makes total sense. And what did they show late night on cable? All the drive-in horror and teen/college sex cheapies that had been Drive Ins' bread and butter!
The Drive-Ins I went to in the 70s had a speaker that you hung on your window, so it wasn't great fidelity - and if I remember correctly, the speakers sometimes didn't work great, there could be static. (Expensive upkeep, hundreds of speakers!) I didn't remember the radio signal but that would definitely make sense by the 80s, when everyone had FM radios in their cars, better speakers, and movies were doing more and more in stereo. That must have saved the Drive-In business for an extra ten years.
Who remembers using PIC? It was mandatory at the Sanford Drive-In because it was next to a lake, and you would get bit non-stop!
99W Drive-In at Newburg, Oregon is still in operation showing first-run movies.
One thing you didn't mention is that drive-in theaters sometimes popped up in parking lots of arenas during the off-season. For example, in Irving, Texas, during the 1970's, there was a drive-in theater at Texas stadium during the off season of the Dallas Cowboys.
I watched twister for the first time at a drive in which is still operating till this day. Rodeo Drive in located in Bremerton, Washington. Probably the only relic from my past still going strong.
Starlite in Rosemead. San Gabriel, Vineland, Edgewood, Edwards all in the San Gabriel valley 60s thru 80s. It was so good back then.
Here in Maryland we still got Benji's Drive-In. My family has been going there since the beginning and I was brought in the tradition now my children are the new generation
9:49 Hazlet NJ, the last drive in in NJ closed in the early 90s. My parents shopped in that Costco. I see you Ryan with all your NJ Easter eggs in the videos I know you’re one of us!
I remember going to some drive-in movies with my parents, I was alone in the back seat of our Cadillac with tail fins.. 3 - 8 years old..
My family operated a drive-in under Loews/Sony. We were open until 1994. Sony originally planned to keep the drive-in operating after building the first 9 screen cineplex which opened that year. Our summer numbers were better than the new cineplex. We closed normally for the season that year (not open in winter) but never reopened. Everything was still left in the concession/projection right up to when the building was demolished about 9 years ago, but the roof had failed and the building was flooded. What a waste. We had offered to purchase the drive-in to operate ourselves but Sony refused to sell it.
When the Woodland Drive-In is mentioned, the aerial photo shown is the Cascade Drive-In, which was about 2 miles east on 28th st. The Woodland site is now occupied by a Lowes store, and the Cascade is now a Target and a Costco. The Cascade was a big 3-screen ozoner, and was a virtual twin to the M-78 Drive-an near Lansing. 🍿🍿
Had 2 drive ins here locally (Williamsport Pa) only 1 still open, the Pike Drive In, a 3 screener. The smaller 2 screener closed.
Great video!
Vineland NJ still has an active drive-in called the Delsea drive in. Multiple screens.
In Fairfield, Ca a huge windstorm tore down the screen of the Texas drive in while hundreds of panicked movie goers sat helplessly as the winds damaged their cars as well. Probably an F2. It also destroyed businesses in the area as well. It is now a Texas Roadhouse restaurant.
U did a great job for the length of the vid. There is much more to why the drive in started showing smut. I think amazon,had a movie about it. It eas called back to the drive in . Thanks for a great video
There was a drive in where I used to live, University Park Illinois. I think it's long gone as I moved to indiana in 2002.
I live within 15 minutes from 2 functional drive ins here in the RI/Mass area. 3rd Drive In, which had been shut down for a couple of decades, is now being leveled.
We got one here in eastern CT as well
It's my dream to own a new modern drive in theaters with the best style HD projection, playground, really good food with a back row option for speaker attachments. Also a nice pavement for a smooth ride
Good morning from Cape Cod ⚓ in wellfleet Massachusetts there is the wellfleet Drive-In which also is an antique flea market, they also have indoor cinemas on the property. They've been doing remarkably well. Thanks for bringing history to us Ryan 👍✌️🇺🇲
The Bengies in Middle River, Maryland is amazing and still in business! You’d better get there early because there’s a line of cars to get in.
I never been to a drive thru theater in my life. I only see them in the movies. They did had one somewhere in Jacksonville years ago but it closed down back in the 2000's I think. My dad told me he went as a teenager. He was that generation of kids that were teenagers in the 70's.
I would say that Daylight Savings truly dealt the deathblow to drive-in theaters.
The Woodland Drive-in became Woodland Mall, one of the badly decaying malls now.
Ngl sites like these should be preserved for the younger generations
I was recently very sad to find out that last year was the last season for the Weirs Beach drive-in in Laconia NH. I remember going there as a kid, and my mom went when she was young also. Apparently the owner was in her 80's, and her son didn't want to take it over, so now they're "exploring other uses for the land" - probably luxury housing. Drive ins provide family friendly, low-cost activities that get people out of the house. Shame there are so few left.
I remember going and seeing “Broken Arrow” at our local drive. I remember hiding people in the trunk to save some money. 😂😂
Ive been to the only functioning drive in in NJ many times...Delsea Drive In. Love drive ins. Been going to them for over 50 years. My first was with my parents, The Atco Drive In. Box Car Bertha was the later second showing. The first was a kids cartoon. LoL.
I made it to my first drive-in theatre a few months ago. Took my wife to see Barbie. I passed out in my trunk while she watched. It was beautiful
When I was a kid, our drive-in theater in Kanakakee, IL, would have church on Sunday mornings. My parents took us there once. The pastor was preaching on the screen. It seemed strange to me, even at 6 years old...
The drive-in in my area is used for various things when not showing movies, from flea markets to concerts. I should go back and patronize them again, sometime.
You're definitely back in the studio I had to turn the volume down and you scared me😅😅😅😅😅😅
only been to a drive in once, when I was a kid, we watched "Beetlejuice" ... its land is now reclaimed as fairly new apartments as its near the lake (im 45, so its been a relic for a while now)
I sat in the backseat of my sister's boyfriends Mustang to watch the Beach Blanket movies and took my girl to see the Exorcist in a driving rainstorm, GOOD times. You are the man but, if anyone had an FM radio in the 50's there weren't any stations. I remember that getting big in the 80's, I think they were losing too many souvenirs/speakers.
Circle Drive in Scranton/Dickson City PA 570!!