Drive In Theaters

sara1998 · #1 08-27-2010, 03:07 PM

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 · #2 08-27-2010, 03:15 PM

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 · #3 08-27-2010, 03:52 PM

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 · #4 08-27-2010, 04:06 PM

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 · #5 08-27-2010, 04:15 PM

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

), but the thought of it could be pretty interesting

HomerMcvie · #6 08-27-2010, 06:10 PM

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 · #7 08-28-2010, 11:39 AM

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 · #8 08-28-2010, 12:47 PM

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 · #9 08-28-2010, 02:39 PM

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 · #10 08-28-2010, 09:31 PM

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 · #11 08-29-2010, 01:08 AM

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 · #12 08-29-2010, 10:21 AM

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! · #13 08-29-2010, 12:44 PM

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 · #14 08-29-2010, 09:27 PM

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 · #15 08-30-2010, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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!

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!!!!