Let's all go to the drive-in!

Today's History Lesson

Do you remember watching movies under the stars, in your automobile? That's right, the drive-in movies, aka Park-In Theaters! The concession stand offered the best popcorn around along with true fountain drinks made from dark, rich syrup. Some of the best times were not so much watching the movie while sitting inside the automobile as sitting on the hood of the car!

Where and by whom did the first drive-in movie get started?

This Day in History: June 6, 1933

First Drive-in Movie Theater. 6 June 1933

Richard Milton Hollingshead, Jr. opened the first open-air, drive-in movie theater on this day, June 6, 1933 in Camden, New Jersey. The concept of watching movies outdoors wasn't new as people often set up screens at beaches or other places where a wide expanse of sky stretched upward and outward. The stars with their twinkling infinity added their own personal romance to the picture. 

What sparked Hollingshead's interest in a drive-in theater?

He first conceived the drive-in as the answer to a problem. "His mother was—how shall I say it?—rather large for indoor theater seats," said Jim Kopp of the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association. "So he stuck her in a car and put a 1928 projector on the hood of the car, and tied two sheets to trees in his yard."
Source: The History of the Drive-in Movie Theater

 First Drive-in Theater Images

The initial cost to watch a movie was 25¢ for the car, 25¢ per person and no car with no group paying more than $1.00 total. Unfortunately, the first drive-in did not last long. The sound was not of good quality. In fact, it was horrible. Having the speakers near the screen kept the sound and picture out of sync. In spite of all the complications, that did not prevent its being sold, set up in a new location and evolving, but sadly its presence was not everlasting. For the entire history with its journey of legal cases from one law suit to another, visit Drive-in Theater History.

Got some time to kill? If you remember the drive-in movies, you certainly remember the ads. The video below is a compilation of 158 ads from the 50s and 60s. Watching even a portion should definitely bring back the memories!

There are some fond, wonderful memories surrounding the drive-in movies. As of March 2014, a figure of 348 (down 9 from 2013) drive-ins has been published for the United States. It is for certain they have a place in history as a permanent part of American culture.

Latest and greatest...

Think the only way to see a big-screen movie is while slurping a 64-oz. soft drink, eating a $5 candy bar and shushing the wannabe film critic behind you? Check out the two links below...

'Guerrilla drive-ins' turn nostalgia on its head 

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Guerilla Drive Ins: Producing The Pop-Up Movie Business

What are your fondest memories of the drive-in movies?