Why did Drive-In's die off?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by The Doctor, Oct 12, 2017.

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  1. m5comp

    m5comp Classic Rock Lover

    Location:
    Hamilton, AL
    There are 2 drive-ins still operating here in NW Alabama: the King Drive-In in Russsellville and the Blue Moon Drive-In in Guin. I went with my parents to the King Drive-In as a child in the 1960s; I remember enjoying the Woody Woodpecker cartoon, but the main feature (a western) bored me to death.
     
  2. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    there is 1 drive in near me. never been
     
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  3. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Price of hot dogs. :)

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Well, if he did that, there wouldn't be anr reason to start a conversation about it, now would there? You also can't get personal anecdotes from a Wiki page. It's all about being social.
     
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  5. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Someone mentioned that they were only open half the year. In my part of the country, the southwest, they operated all year around because the weather was warmer. They lasted until somewhere in the late 80s or early 90s.

    I think the big killer of the drive-in was the popularity of home video. The movie business was becoming more in style starting in the 80s. Sound was becoming sophisticated, and sound effects couldn't be replicated outside with cheap speakers. Also, there was the rise of gang violence and drugs in the 80s. All those were among the factors that contributed to the demise of drive-ins.

    Yes! It was a big contributor.

    I have posted this a couple of times in this forum, but I grew ut across the street from a drive-in theatre in the 70s. In the summer, and on some weekends, we kids would stay out late at night riding our bikes, and watch the movies. The fence wasn't very high, and the screen was huge. One of the older kids would sneak in and turn up the speakers, as there was no security. I remember a few times they would show damn-near X-rated films. Our parents never had a clue, which was funny because there was a major street that ran right alongside the screen where you could see everything.:laugh: I had a friend at the time whose bedroom window directly faced the movie screen. Well, they were also a military family who came from Germany, so they were used to nudity.
     
  6. kronning

    kronning Forum Resident

    Up in California's Central Valley, Ceres Drive-in had an admission of $5 a carload. This was 1973 and about 4 of us would squeeze into the cab of our buddy Bob's flatbed truck. Parked backwards into a good viewing spot, we would sit on the back of the truck with blankets.
    One double feature was Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Wispers" with Liv Ullmann and "Ash Wednesday" with Liz Taylor. "Cries and Wispers", recommend. "Ash Wednesday", not so much.
    The drive-in closed in 2009 and reopened in 2012 as a flea market.
     
  7. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Wow, it lasted until 2009? That's a pretty great run! Sad that it closed, though.
     
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  8. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    Had one in my region until the mid-eighties. They'd show stuff that was a year old or more. I remember watching the (underrated, IMO) Walter Hill film, SOUTHERN COMFORT, in a downpour that turned the dirt lot into a muddy bog -- which made sense, if you've seen the movie. Dolby Surround Sound? Try True Immersive Environment [tm], courtesy Mother Nature!

    Another reason for their decline I haven't seen mentioned is that traditional large theaters were largely replaced with multi-screen units. Even in our long-distance commuter county, we went from three screens in reasonable driving distance to twelve. There was no longer scarcity of the movie theater experience.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
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  9. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Slightly later. I took dates there 78-79ish (high school). They were disappearing quick in the early 80's.

    The only ones that remain around here are out in the country (small towns) where no one is building on the property anyway.

    Around here they were only viable in the summer. In related news, a couple golf courses have closed recently - though I think they had over-built (great for me as they are cheap due to competition).
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
  10. Nice Marmot

    Nice Marmot Nothin’ feels right but doin’ wrong anymore

    Location:
    Tryon NC
    I think it's because the family movie died. Before Disney became the conglomerate that it is, there were the Kurt Russell, Don Knotts & Tim Conway, and The Lovebug movies, movies that kids could watch and eventually fall asleep to, while parents were also entertained. Moves simple enough that if you missed any of the plot, who cares? The second feature, then, was the adult movie that parents could watch with the kids sleeping in the back seat.

    Or, it could have been because of VHS.
     
  11. Kyhl

    Kyhl On break

    Location:
    Savage
    If you want to see the change in the value of real estate, take a look at one of the Twin Cities drive ins then and now.
    The 4 lane on the left of the picture is I35 about 10 miles south of Mpls.
     
  12. Raf

    Raf Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    !
     
  13. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Suburban sprawl was one factor. All that land, so many condos can be put on it. Developers making offers no sane person could refuse. Besides, many of those owners from the 60's/70's were probably at the age when the load of money from a developer was a pot at the end of the rainbow for them. Instant Florida house.

    The ones near where I grew up were sold off to strip malls or condo developments. The one in the Hooters And We Danced video was bought by a guy who started a landscaping business; I think he stores trucks on it now.
     
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  14. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    I last saw a movie at a Drive-In Theater in 2014 - "Anchorman 2" in Riverside, California with my two oldest teenagers.
     
  15. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    I think I only went once as a kid. And it was with the neighbors. I remember that I spilled my coke (soft drink) in their VW bus. My family went to movies but it was always in theaters.

    All the other times I went was with dates in high school. I have no idea what movies as I sure as hell was not paying attention to the movie.

    P.S. I don't think I had to clarify about that it was a soft drink. I was only 11ish. I don't know what kids in other parts of the country were doing at 11 in 1973 but we were deep into soft drinks in these parts.
     
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  16. James Slattery

    James Slattery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Long Island
    Everything has its place in time, drive-ins, Roller Derby (not the garbage game they have now), discotheques, station wagons, etc. I'm sure we could make a very long list of things which were ubiquitous at some point and are now either scarce or non-existent.
     
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  17. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    Who wants to watch a movie through a dirty windshield and a s****y car speaker?
     
  18. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    The screen is huge! :winkgrin:
     
  19. These are two easily remedied issues.
     
  20. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    My old man detested Jerry Lewis. Found out later he was at a drive in with my mom (probably late '40's/early 50's) and Jerry was there in a car with his wife. People began to recognize him and started coming over to the car. Mt father was coming up from behind and Jerry didn't see him. As Jerry surveyed the people walking toward his car he said to his wife "get out the peanuts. Here Come the monkeys." My father retuned to his car with no autograph and a lifelong grudge.
     
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  21. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    The second option; not so much in the 50's.
     
  22. davmar77

    davmar77 I'd rather be drummin'...

    Location:
    clifton park,ny
    we still have a drive in about 20 minutes away. the lines getting in during the summer are crazy long. although it says they close in September they are still open.

    The Malta Drive-In Theatre, Malta NY

    The Malta Drive-In Theatre was built in 1949 and has been in continuous operation for over 50 years.

    Located on Rt. 9, 1 mile south off exit 13s of the Northway, the theatre is easily identified by it's large flashing marquee.
    The theatre is open from the last weekend in April until September.
    Come and join us for a movie under the stars!
     
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  23. Cato

    Cato New Member

    Why were drive ins used? Having used them in my youth, I think there were a couple of customer bases. First, a family with kids. It was probably cheaper than theatre tickets and you could have your toddlers crawling all over and screaming and so on, and it would not disturb anybody. Second, young couples. In the blue collar neighborhood where I grew up, you have working dads and stay at home moms. Almost all the families are two parent, and there are some strongly enforced sexual morals in the 1960s. So, for a young couple courting, a drive-in was almost the only way to have some privacy together. It wasn't completely private with people walking past the cars, so the parents didn't have to worry too much.

    Well, also, a drive-in was a place teenagers could drink alcohol as well. When we weren't lucky enough to have a date, one would load the trunk of the car with beer and guys. The charge was per passenger, so if one could hide in the trunk it was a money saver. But the cashiers were also vigilant in looking for cars where the back end was suspiciously lower than the font end. ;) The central snack area could be a place for socializing as well.

    Why did drive-ins go away? They took up a lot of real estate and many eventually became worth a lot more money as office buildings and the like. The advent of TV and video tape players gave a family with young kids some good options for at home movie nights. Sexual mores relaxed quite a bit and with both parents working, so courting teenagers had more options for privacy.
     
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  24. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    All about the wording, sir. The title was about being factual and didn't leave much room for opinion or personal anecdotes.

    According to sources, there were about a handful of reasons why it occurred. The discussion could then turn into which specific one was more impactful but the thread title was quite direct.

    It insinuated more of a need to be educated rather than fishing for anecdotes.
     
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  25. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    Same with those drive-in eating establishments or "motor inns" that cashed in on the post-war boom in middle class affluence and mobility of car culture. I think the '60s was a time where a lot revolved around the car- we'd go to the drive in with "dates" or sometimes, as a goof with bad movies in the very early '70s. They were, as you said, already run down by then.
     
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