I bought a garage and they gave me a house!

That's how I ended up where I am now. I thought that was pretty good...

But today I bought a sign...and they gave me a drive-in theater!

 

What's playing?

 

What are your plans for it?

 

You need to put some jumbled words made into cuss words and go around mumbling something about "those damn kids".

 

This sounds like the deals where they give you a free car with the purchase of a new house, I hope you know that they just rolled the cost of the drive in into the price of that sign. The bastards do it all the time.

 

Long story that's still developing...

They are tearing this theater down on the 10th of this month. I bought everything out of it....sign, all the movie equipment, tubes, amps, projectors, rewinders, fm transmitters, etc...

It's the end of an era for this stuff. It's all in great condition and fully functional. Even getting a few extra projectors I believe. Crazy stuff. Neat stuff. The rest is still to come...

 

Care to give the details? HRP

Damn that was fast!

 

FOR REAL??? Is that in Bloomington?? Have an old cars night!! Show CARS and Bullet and Gone in 60 seconds and American graffitti and Return to macon county and.........

My son and I would LOVE to see CARS at the drive in. I still cry everytime.....

 

You suck! That is just too cool. Why did drive-ins die? I'll never understand that. I haven't been to a movie house in years. But I'd go a drive-in this weekend if there was one anywhere close.

 

I totally understand why they are dying. It takes a minimum of 12 acres to run one. At $20k an acre land only needs to appreciate $10k per acre to be a $100k+ profit. How many nights of working your ass off to sell $500 worth of popcorn do you want to endure before you cash out?

The shame of it is that we are losing a great piece of American history. They are going fast and they won't be replaced. You can't put one in the city and nobody wants them near their neighborhood. The land is worth too much and the profits are too slim. That being said...

I'm working to save another one which prompted this whole thing to happen. Even if it never made money, we can't lose them all.

 

Save that stuff in case those guys buy that dragstrip... Cinematic, anyone?

~Jason

 

F'n'A, man..

 

i love that idea

 

Not many of them left here, but I know where a lot used to be. Some of the locations are still more or less in the middle of nowhere - one sits empty, one is a gravel pit, one has a factory on the lot, another is a strip mall - but they kept the sign.

They tend to also be a good place to have car shows, flea markets and swaps...

 

There was an article a couple of weeks ago about one we used to hit when I was a kid in Palmyra NJ just across the bridge from Phila PA. Apparently before it became a drive in during the 50s, it was an Army munitions testing facility for " top secret " artillery shells made in Phila at the Arsenal. It languished in recent years as a Flea Market site & recently they started clearing it out for development & I think they found over 100 WW2 LIVE artillery shells just under the surface, most near & around the original snack bar...

Cool huh!

 

wasn't there a drive in across from the dragstrip in indy ...? or am i thinking of somewhere else.... all of the ones on my side of the river in northern ky are gone....think there is still one in southern ohio still ...... starlite drive in , maybe...... brandon

 

When I first moved here in WV there were 5 within 15 minutes of where I lived. When I graduated H.S. in 1979 we held a grad party at one. They played R&R High School with the Ramones.

There is only 1 left. It's 5 minutes from where I live now. The place is packed on nice weekends. It's out all by itself though. Not a high property value area. 3 of the closed ones are still basically empty lots. There is still the screen left on one. The other (where we had our H.S. party is a Krogers).

 

Back in the early 70's they shut down a drive in theater, put up a strip mall with a home improvement store as the anchor. Tore went out about 5 years ago, they closed the restaurant, and the sporting goods store, and everything else is now closed. Rumor has it they are gonna tear down the buildings and put in a drive in......

 

very cool stuff you are getting

 

What No Screen .. How Can Ya Do Giant Pornographic Shadow Puppets Without The Screen...

 

Actually I can get a screen too. Anyone want to start a theater!? There's sooooo much stuff....

The Clermont finally closed across from the Indy drag strip this year. The remaining two are both said to be for sale or closing. Sad.

 

Looks like I've got a few extra projectors if anyone needs one.

 

they closed most of the ones around here. then all of a sudden someone found some money and they are opening a NEW ONE up this summer. im pretty sure it a refurbished one but either way. I hope to get out to it. Because its not worth it to the citizens if everyone just drives by and says yeah we have one, you have to go to keep it alive.

 

did ya get all the consession movies too
dancin popcorn taking a butter bath ..
while a big wienie dipiits head in mustard.....
and the remember to replace your speakers on the post before leaving
enjoy the show..

 

From what I hear Bill Simpson has bought the drive in across IRP, oops it's ORP now. Plans are to build more race shops.

 

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Can all the projectors and transmitters be mounted in a trailer? Just figure out a way to erect or hang a portable screen and all you'd need is an adjacent parking lot... Portable drive-in!!! hire it out for large multiple day car shows as nightime entertainment.

 

Pretty jazzed. I just bought the remainder of the stuff this morning and there are boxes of old carside speakers, film reels, two more projectors, and some other cool stuff. I'm gonna be busy...

Something different from the usual car stuff.

 

That's what they're doing around here. Inflateable movie screen and a small trailer for projection/ sound. They can set it up at the local Fairgrounds on the weekends or whereever they can find a big, empty lot. Portable concessions that probably make as much as the movie, too.

Like Scooby said about real estate appreciation- this formula bypasses the need to own 20 acres.

It's kinda sad, but on the other hand it's a way for the Drive-in experience to survive (in a watered-down way).