Drive-in movies thrive in a streaming world

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by JozefK, Jun 17, 2017.

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  1. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    when I was a kid there was a drive in theater that would play "adult" movies....and the screen was visible from the road so if you craned your neck at the right time while driving by...75 percent chance of "boobies" ahh the good ole days
     
  2. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    That sounds like the infamous Red Bluff Drive-In in Pasadena, Texas.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US

    Yeah when we were 14 years old we ride our bikes down to the local drive-in if they were showing a grind house movie so we could catch some boobies over the fence.
     
  4. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia


    it was in Haiti of all places, def left an impression!
     
  5. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    The Fairyland Drive-In in Kansas City used to do that. People who didn't live through them have no idea how wild the Seventies really were.
     
  6. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    :laugh: That was really the name of the place?
     
  7. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Yup! Fairyland was a 1923 vintage amusement park at 75th and Prospect in Kansas City. The Wikipedia page is incomplete and doesn't mention the park's huge swimming pool (shuttered since the sixties) and doesn't mention the twin screen drive-in.


    [​IMG]
     
    Steve Litos, Dan C, izgoblin and 2 others like this.
  8. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Wow! That sounds like it was really amazing back in the day!
     
  9. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    They had one of the great wooden roller coasters, the Wildcat, but it didn't save the park once Worlds of Fun moved in. My brother worked there as a teen, running rides, especially the huge, multi-level Merry-Go-Round.

    Kansas City was, to some extent, the birthplace of the modern amusement park. The second Electric Park (the first being the location of Knuckleheads Saloon) was a huge inspiration for a young Walt Disney.

    It burned in 1925, and a young Walter Cronkite wrote:


    Our hill overlooked, a half dozen blocks away, Electric Park...One night after closing it burned in a spectacular fire. The Ferris wheel seemed to turn as the flames climbed up its sides. The grease caught fire on the two parallel tracks of the Greyhound Racer roller coaster, and twin blazes raced up and down with the speed of the cars that once toured the Disorderly conduct tumultuous circuit...


    — Walter Cronkite, A Reporter's Life (1996)
     
  10. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia



    thanks to you I've been googling old drive-in movie theater photos all afternoon:tiphat:
     
  11. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Haha! Made you look!

    It was sad that sign, which really was an amazing piece of commercial art, was never rescued.
     
  12. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Snack Bar Menu, Man Drive-In Theatre, Logan County, West Virginia, c. 1956.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. socorro

    socorro Forum Resident

    Location:
    pennsylvania
    The last one I went to was near Willow Grove 20 years ago (around 15 miles north of Philly and turned into tract mansions or a strip mall soon thereafter). I'm planning on taking the kid to the Del-Sea (South Jersey) or Shankweiler's (near Allentown) this summer.
     
  14. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Oh man, it would be so cool to go back in time to see a movie there that year (and pay those prices for snacks!).

    Some more vintage Logan, West Virginia Drive-In pictures and memorabilia are here- lots of cool stuff!

    Drive-Ins and Theaters - Logan, WV History and Nostalgia
     
    MikaelaArsenault likes this.
  15. ElevatorSkyMovie

    ElevatorSkyMovie Senior Member

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    The Wildcat is at Frontier City amusement park in Oklahoma City. We go there at least once a year. That coaster will rattle the fillings out of your teeth.
     
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  16. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
  17. MKHopkins

    MKHopkins Break out the Hats and Hooters

    Location:
    Beaver Falls, PA
    Took the kids to Dependable Drive In in Moon Twp., PA last night. We go at least once a summer, can’t beat the $8 adults/$4 kids for a double feature. You can bring whatever you want food and drink wise but their popcorn is some of the freshest I’ve had at a movie theatre.

    I always think the setups of the multiplex drive ins is interesting. This one has a long, narrow main screen lot and three short, wide screen lots.

    There was a Twin drive in maybe 5 miles from that one until a few years ago. Apparently there wasn’t market for two. Dependable is usually pretty packed on weekends but it was rainy yesterday, maybe 2/3 full. Just a couple sprinkles during the show.

    When I was a kid everyone would stay in their cars, to my recollection. Now people bring blankets, folding chairs, people next to us have brought cots..... it’s like a big social occasion on a nice evening.

    Their website unfortunately is straight out of 1998

    Dependable Drive In | Home
     
    Steve Litos likes this.
  18. unclefred

    unclefred Coastie with the Moastie

    Location:
    Oregon Coast
    The Drive in at the town closest to us closed recently. There is one about an hour away that was built in 1953. There are only two others in the state, several hours away.
     
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  19. bpmd1962 likes this.
  20. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
    I loved the drive ins - one time in high school - I had my two friends in the trunk - while I went "by myself" dahh - but it worked.
     
    kevywevy likes this.
  21. I was usually the skinniest of my gang of friends so I ended up in the trunk more than once.
     
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  22. Spaghettiows

    Spaghettiows Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silver Creek, NY
    I love drive-ins, and go at least twice per summer even though we live in a cold-weather climate and only have two drive-ins within a reasonable distance from our home, and thankfully, one of them is thriving. The closest drive-in to us closed about 10 years ago when the land owner sold out to Wal-Mart. Everyone was up in arms, but you know that you can't fight Wal-Mart. So the land owner dismantled the classic drive-in drooling over the big payout from Wal-Mart. Then, Wal-Mart decided not to put up a store there after all, and the land is now vacant, no Drive-In or Wal-Mart in sight, just vacant land.

    Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
     
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  23. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Other than that, how did you like the movie?

    1 dead after manager of Showboat Drive-In opens fire on would-be robbers, deputies say

    HOCKLEY, Texas - A robbery at a drive-in theater in northwest Harris County ended with one of the suspects dead after a manager opened fire, authorities said.

    The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. Monday at the Showboat Drive-In Theater on FM 2920 in Hockley, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

    Authorities said preliminary information suggests two men sneaked into the concession stand while it was still open and waited for it to close.

    They came out when they thought everyone was gone, but two managers were still upstairs and they heard rummaging, authorities said.

    Owner Andrew Thomas said one of the managers went to investigate and encountered the men.

    "At least one of them had a bat and hit her a couple times," Thomas said. "That's when she pulled her gun out (and opened fire)."

    One of the men was killed at the scene, the other took off running across the empty parking lot, authorities said.

    Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez commended the women for being in tune with their surroundings and jumping into action.

    "These two ladies were pretty alert and sharp, it seems, and took care of business," Gonzalez said.

    Authorities say the man who was killed was wearing a mask. The would-be burglars had a baseball bat and at least one knife, deputies said.

    Deputies tried tracking down the second person, but so far have been unable to find him, authorities said.​
     
  24. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    If you're in the Midwest, the Kansas City Boulevard Drive-In still exists. They actually have a 4K Christie projector and FM transmitter so you can use your car stereo for sound.

    They are currently showing Ready or Not and It Chapter 2.

    You can bring in your own cooler and food, and it's $10 per person.

    On the 27th, they are hosting the Terror On The Plains short horror film competition, followed by the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
     
    Steve Litos likes this.
  25. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Two are still in operation in my area, this one since 1947 in ELizabethton TN

    [​IMG]
     
    McLover likes this.
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