Drive In Theaters

[sara1998]

Does anyone live near a drive in, and if so, do you attend?

I had one less than a mile from my house and it was torn down a couple years ago. There's another about 20 minutes from here we visit a lot. Going to see The Last Exorcism (not my choice) tonight. Not sure what the second movie is gonna be yet. We take our coolers full of beer and snacks, but make sure to go to the concession stand a couple times as well. Sara and I will play catch until it's dark and the movies start.

I love the drive in! Haha!

[GODDESS6]

growing up we had 5 in our city, we went all the time~ the last time i saw a movie at the drive in was when i was 18 in 1986~ they started tearing them down after that, the last of he 5 was torn down about 5 years ago~ it makes me sad too, because i enjoyed it so much~ there's nothing like loading up the car w/ goodies & blankets & such & watching a movie at the drive in~ i especially loved watching horror movies there~

i am super jealous your going!!!~ have a blast!!!~

[chiliD]

There used to be about 10 drive-ins within about a 20 mile radius of my house when I was growing up. Now? ZERO...either they've been torn down for shopping centers, condo complexes, or the one or two that are still standing are now venues for gigantic swap meets. The property value is just too high for the theatres to have stayed in biz.

I have a lot of memories of being a kid & going to drive-ins with my parents...the home-popped popcorn in Tupperware bowls, the pre-movie cartoons, the headlights on the screen after the movie ended. I remember the theatres used to be almost FULL when we went. Then in the early/mid 60s the multi-screen drive-ins started showing up.

A good friend of mine when he first moved into town back in Jr. High used to tell us stories about his family's drive in theatre where he used to live in a SMALL, SMALL town in Iowa.

[fringed n fab]

It was probably 1985 as a kid when I last went to a Drive In. Those were fun. With this disgusting national bed bug epidemic now making it's way inside movie cinemas, it would be nice to still have the Drive In. I'm almost afraid to sit down anywhere these days because of critters.

[MissLadyLoki]

I think there is one somewhere in the New York area, in of all places, Nassau County (it's a pretty industrialized place and it's funny something old-school would be there and have not been ripped down to become a mall or something lol). Either that, or way out East. I never actually been to one at all (I'm too busy spending 12 bucks a pop at the AMC Loews in Stony Brook, which is pretty much normal for me :laugh:), but the thought of it could be pretty interesting

[HomerMcvie]

We've still got one left here. It's way out in the sticks, which is probably why it's still in existence, that the property's not worth "town value".
And every year, we talk about going to it, but just never seem to get around to it.

[JWS]

The last time I went to a drive-in theater was in 1974 to see "Chinatown" in Van Nuys (Los Angeles). I wan just an infant, of course.

[jannieC]

I don't remember drive-ins from my youth on Long Island. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I have EVER been to one. The evening you described sounds like a lot of fun, Maria.

[daniellaaarisen]

We have one about 30 minutes from my house but I think there's only two in the entire bay area.... I've never gone.

[estranged4life]

to be one in my hometown of Muskogee, named the Sunset Drive-in but I doubt it is still open for business.

However, the Admiral Twin in Tulsa is STILL open and brings back good memories of the summers of 1990-1991 (I lived in a hotel across the freeway from the Admiral Twin, and I saw "Ghost" playing every night for a whole summer - never heard a word of dialog, hehehe!)

http://www.selectcinemas.com/admiral_twin_drivein.htm

[desertangel]

Went to one last year on a warm summer night. It was a double-header; Grease and American Graffiti, which also happens to be my favorite movie. This particular drive- in boasts being 99% authentic vintage. They don't have the speaker posts, but they do have the original bathrooms, snack bar, movie screen and playground. When I toured the place I got this weird feeling, almost like Vertigo, because I was totally flashing back to my childhood. It was so cool. Even though I didn't grow up in the area, it looked almost the same as the drive-in I used to go to when I was a kid, "Highway 39," with the picture of the sailboat, ocean and palm trees on the backside of the movie screen.

I love drive in movies!!!

[paleshadow]

There are two near me in Poughkeepsie, NY. Overlook and Hyde Park drive in. I like to go but only for certain movies. I wouldn't want to see a movie heavy with special effects at the drive in. The last movies I saw there were Salt and The Other Guys. You can't beat 2 movies for less than it would cost for 1 at a regular theater. The concessions are less too.

[GarboSpeaks!]

I used to go to the one a lot as a teen in Santa Cruz. Then in 94 when I first got married, there was one in Concord, and my hub and I would go all the time. They had upgraded so you could tune in the movie thru your car stereo on a radio channel, so ofcourse the better the car stereo....was so awesome. Could bring your food and beer....not have windows cracked w/ that big honkin' speaker, though memories of that make me all nostalgic...

[sara1998]

It really blows my mind to think some of you have never been! It's a shame that it's a lost attraction now days. I've always grown up going to them, and it's always an option for something to do on a Friday night for us.

Mom and dad told me there used to be one close to where they grew up in the '70s. It had bright stadium lights that would shine out on the road so you couldn't see in because it showed porn! Lmao!

[HomerMcvie]

It really blows my mind to think some of you have never been! It's a shame that it's a lost attraction now days. I've always grown up going to them, and it's always an option for something to do on a Friday night for us.

Mom and dad told me there used to be one close to where they grew up in the '70s. It had bright stadium lights that would shine out on the road so you couldn't see in because it showed porn! Lmao!

HAHA! Lord, the times have become politically correct! Bloomington's western suburb, dubbed Ellettsville, had a porn drive in, when I was a kid. People would always talk about how if you stopped at just the right place on the highway, you could see through the fence. And I heard stories about people who lived nearby, being able to watch the screen, from their houses.

RESURRECT the porn drive-in!!!! :] I'm starting a campaign, now!!!! :D ;)

[chelluversu]

There's one in or around Detroit that I used to go to every once in a while. I went last summer with my cousins and a few of their friends, and we ended up getting home at like 5am after because we had gone bowling before. I'd gone before when I was a kid to see Baby Boy. There was some eye covering for that movie lol (I was like...errr 6 (?) maybe).

[Wildheart82]

Went to one last year on a warm summer night. It was a double-header; Grease and American Graffiti, which also happens to be my favorite movie. This particular drive- in boasts being 99% authentic vintage. They don't have the speaker posts, but they do have the original bathrooms, snack bar, movie screen and playground. When I toured the place I got this weird feeling, almost like Vertigo, because I was totally flashing back to my childhood. It was so cool. Even though I didn't grow up in the area, it looked almost the same as the drive-in I used to go to when I was a kid, "Highway 39," with the picture of the sailboat, ocean and palm trees on the backside of the movie screen.

I love drive in movies!!!

Lol that was my drive-in growing up - but I had forgotten the name - off Beach Blvd. right? We used to call it Hwy. 69 back in high school:eek: I know - we were bad lol. The last movie I remember seeing there was Purple Rain - good times!

[chiliD]

Lol that was my drive-in growing up - but I had forgotten the name - off Beach Blvd. right? We used to call it Hwy. 69 back in high school:eek: I know - we were bad lol. The last movie I remember seeing there was Purple Rain - good times!

It's now a WalMart & Lowe's. It was one of the last ones in the OC area that was still operational.

[desertangel]

Lol that was my drive-in growing up - but I had forgotten the name - off Beach Blvd. right? We used to call it Hwy. 69 back in high school:eek: I know - we were bad lol. The last movie I remember seeing there was Purple Rain - good times!

It is, one in the same. Last time I saw it I was visiting from up north. My friend and I were driving by when she told me it was closed and would be demolished in a matter of months. What a shock! I thought that place would always be there, forever. Guess you can't stop progress, or Wal Mart.


http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/cathig2

I think there's a Facebook Group for Highway 39 too. I was saddened to learn the state of affairs the old place had been in before it met its demise. Not many sentimental people in O.C., eh? I'd forgotten how big it was until I went to the drive in last year and thought.. OMG, this place is SMALL! Highway 39 was HUGE!

[Zombie]

I freakin' LOVE the drive-in. We had a ton around where I used to live in PA, but now that I'm in Saint Louis, I can't find one anywhere, which is sad. I've been going to them pretty much all my life. My foster parents have this big-ass conversion van, and we'd pile it full (most of the drive-ins in our area were pay by the carload, not the person - but if we went to a by the person place, we just hid everyone under blankets on the floorboards, haha) of people and snacks, and then the kids would climb to the roof of the van to watch the movie while the adults made camp on the ground and in the van.

Seeing a movie at the drive-in is a whole different experience, and you get the added bonus of being able to smoke and also bring alcohol. Of course, in PA, many regular theaters serve alcohol (my best friend and I would often go to our favorite one in Meadville, where the first showing of the day was at like 11 AM when all the kids were in school, and they'd make us vodka Slurpees, because we're classy broads). But still.

I'd love to actually own a drive-in some day. I'd make it like Mecca for horror & grindhouse fans - from classic stuff to stuff that doesn't make it to US theatrical release in regular theaters, like most Asian horror and Asian extreme. And it would have to have enough room for a campground area, because I'd bring in Tromadance once a year, and do other stuff like themed film festivals.

It would be BOMB, yo. BOMB.

I'd also do numerous Mac concert DVD parties, because I can, dammit.

[paleshadow]

I'd love to actually own a drive-in some day. I'd make it like Mecca for horror & grindhouse fans - from classic stuff to stuff that doesn't make it to US theatrical release in regular theaters, like most Asian horror and Asian extreme. And it would have to have enough room for a campground area, because I'd bring in Tromadance once a year, and do other stuff like themed film festivals.

It would be BOMB, yo. BOMB.

I'd also do numerous Mac concert DVD parties, because I can, dammit.

That would be really cool. I always say that one or both of the drive-ins by me should re-open after the season in October for at least a weekend or two and do a double feature of some classic horror movies!

[Zombie]

^^^^

Thanks! I've always loved movies at the drive-in, but horror movies at the drive-in are the best. I'd trick it out completely - I think it would be a lot of fun. There'd be a lot of logistics issues, but maybe one day...

[paleshadow]

^^^^

Thanks! I've always loved movies at the drive-in, but horror movies at the drive-in are the best. I'd trick it out completely - I think it would be a lot of fun. There'd be a lot of logistics issues, but maybe one day...

It would be awesome to have it an "interactive" type thing too, where people in costume come around and scare the sh*t out of everyone!