I have great memories of the drive-in theatres. Before the age of home video they were the only places you could see some of the greatest b-movies ever made.
"The drive-in theater was the creation of chemical company magnate Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. He was looking for money making opportunities while the U.S. was in the throes of the Great Depression
In 1932, Hollingshead conducted outdoor theater tests in his driveway in Riverton, NJ.
After nailing a screen to trees in his backyard, he set a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car and put a radio behind the screen, testing different sound levels with his car windows down and up. Blocks under vehicles in the driveway enabled him to determine the size and spacing of ramps so all automobiles could have a clear view of the screen.
Early drive-in theaters had to deal with noise pollution issues. The original Hollingshead drive-in had speakers installed on the tower itself which caused a sound delay affecting patrons at the rear of the drive-in’s field. Attempts at outdoor speakers next to the vehicle did not produce satisfactory results. In 1941, RCA introduced in-car speakers with individual volume controls which solved the noise pollution issue and provided satisfactory sound to drive-in patrons.
The drive-in’s peak popularity came in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in rural areas, with some 4,000 drive-ins spreading across the United States.
During their height, some drive-ins used attention-grabbing gimmicks to boost attendance. They ranged from small airplane runways, unusual attractions such as a small petting zoo or cage of monkeys, actors to open their movies, or musical groups to play before the show."
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6 comments:
We still have one in town here, open during the summer!
The first time I saw Star Wars was at a drive-in theater on Vancouver Island. Four kids up in the front seat (my brothers and a cousin) while my parents snuggled in the back. It was magical.
Later on I lived in a town that had no theater but for the local drive-in. My wife and I tried making out while watching the first Austin Powers movie but we ended up being bitten to death by mosquitoes.
Our town has a drive-in that is open in the summer. I've never been but my kids all have. There's obviously still some magic in those things.
The drive-in was one of the greatest inventions ever. I have fond memories too. xo
We still have two near our house, and we love them. Since the sound is by radio we give the kids lawn chairs and the boom box to sit in front of the car. But three other things make it great for us 3 movies for one price,if the kids crash they can sleep,but the huge one with 6 kids we can bring in food and drink.
We take dog and kids and have a picnic before the shows.
there are just a couple of them left in my area. Neither one of them shows movies anymore. They are used for swap meets and the like.
Lot's of memories from when I was younger though...
I remember when they later when you could turn your radio to a particular channel to get the audio.
My favorite thing was going to those 'carload' nights in high school. We would always con a person or two to allow us to smuggle them in the trunk, convincing them that we were getting away with something -then we wouldn't let them out, saying that the usher was close and we didn't want to get busted.
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