SAY GOOD-BYE TO ONE OF NORTH AMERICAS DRIVE-INS

Here is one of the dancing Wiener after doin some tricks, he got to jump into the bun.......hmmmmmmm.....some truth there me thinks......

 

they built a Walmart on ours... ****ERS!

 

and the reward...........

 

This picture is hard to make out, but I'm gonna put it up anyway, It's the last one I took as I left for the last time. It is the light mounted on the fence on the right...and in the middle is the box office....with a shimmering night light.............I thought it was sureal...

 

here in henderson ky ,we have the starlight drive in.its always crowded.the town really supports it.we are very lucky .
we had a car show there saturday night and raised a ton of money for the heart group.they played .....you know what movie they played.
we used to have two the hi-y drive closed in the 60s.its just a little neighborhood down in a valley now,but as the story goes........a fella showed up one night and did a quick show on the roof of the concession stand.it was hank williams!

 

to all you guys just let me say that I feel your pain. A Drive-In is more then a screen and some buildings on a piece of real estate. It goes way beyond that. There's an energy that courses through the place, a soulfullness that transends going to the movies. A trip to my favorite ozoner, The Judy drive-In, is more then a chance to see a movie. It's like going home. Have you ever noticed that people are more friendly, more at peace at an outdoor venue. When's the last time you struck up a conversation with a total stranger at the local multi-plex? Maybe never, but it's a weekly occurance at a drive-in.
I can't imagine ever losing THE JUDY, it's just not an option. My friend Chris at the age of 26 has taken it upon himself to preserve this piece of heritage for the next generation. The fact that he owns the land is also a bonus. Of course there's all the free labor that the guys in our club are willing to put forth. The blessing of the blue collared, you could say.

I hope Jay can find a location and the Hillcrest legacy will live on. The fact that you guys have do***ented it well is great also. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you guys are watching movies under the stars again real soon.

As for this thread not having much to do with cars. Bull ****! With all the O/T threads that pop up here, this one will hopefully open the eyes of at least one person who doesn't recognize the importance of the Drive--In on our culture.

 

Man, I had no idea the Cinderella Twin was goin away...Damnit. I was sorta wondering why KOOL 105 wasn't doin that nostalgic Drive In night they've been doin in the summer / fall . Maybe the "re-development" will be delayed so long that the new buyers will give up and look elsewhere...God, I hope so, I love that place.

On a more happy note, I found this on the carload.com website. Good ol Joe Bob Briggs and his Guide to Impeccable Drive-In Etiquette...pretty funny reading..



"There are some people in M***achusetts who don't understand why God created drive-ins. There are even some people in New York who don't understand what the word "drive-in" means. If you know any of these people — or any of the unfortunate people behind the Iron Curtain who are denied the right to attend movies in automobiles — I urge you to clip this article out and send it to them immediately. This is for the poor turkeys who don't have the advantages that you and me have. This is for the ****ers who never got the chance to watch flicks in the outdoors the way they were meant to be seen.

RULE #1: Decide immediately whether you are interested in public or private entertainment. The beautiful thing about the drive-in is that the flick is public but your car is not. So if you have something more interesting going on in your car than on the screen, you should take advantage of the situation by purchasing certain options. One is the retractable steering wheel (to avoid hip injury). Another is the fold-back seat (to avoid the direct imprint of upholstory patterns on the skin). And a final, very important one, is various sundries and toiletry items to be deposited in the glove compartment (consult your pharmacist). If the screen is more interesting, and it usually is, all you need is one ice chest and anywhere from four to sixteen six-packs. (Löwenbräu specifically forbidden in Texas drive-ins, but permissible in wimp states like Vermont.)
RULE #2: No matter who or what you see at the drive-in, DO NOT bring lawn chairs. The worst you can do is take up space somebody could've used to park in. The best you can do is look like a jerk, sittin in a lawn chair with a speaker hooked on the back. This defeats the entire purpose — namely, to go out for an evening's entertainment while still enjoying all the comforts of your car.
RULE #3: When approaching another car, ALWAYS count the heads before opening the door. I think this one is fairly self-explanatory and falls under the heading of Cl*** C misdemeanors.
RULE #4: Keep your lights off at all times. Not only does this muck up the picture for people who are trying to watch. It can be damned embarr***ing.
RULE #5: Do not own a van. If you do own a van, do not bring it to the drive-in because it does not belong there. If you do bring it to the drive-in, please park it next to me so that I can shout loud remarks about your virility to the greasers in charge of keeping the hippies in line.
RULE #6: Never order Mexican food at a drive-in. This includes nachos.
RULE #7: When the sound goes bad or the picture goes blank, ride that horn like your life depends on it. There is nothing more terrifying than, oh, about 1000 car horns all blasting at once. The only place you can hear this on a regular basis is at the drive-in, the last place in America where the people can make more noise than the bureaucracy. Problems don't last long at the drive-in. This is why.
RULE #8: Never remove any article of clothing after the second feature. You think you're taking off your socks, but after three six-packs, you're actually taking off your pants.
RULE #9: Never say anything to the ticket booth operator like, "Hey, fatso, we're from Sigma Nu and we're ready to party." Ticket booth operators at drive-ins tend to weigh 240 pounds and carry weapons.
RULE #10: Never go alone to a drive-in. The ice chest can't hold that much beer.
© Copyright 1998/Joe Bob Briggs
Reprinted by Permission (Thanks, Joe Bob!)
To check in with the drive-in king, write to: P.O. Box 2002, Dallas, TX 75221
or better yet, send email to: JoeBob@joebobbriggs.com
You might also visit the Oh-ficial Joe Bob Briggs site

Having said all that, this essay actually comes from Joe Bob's first book, Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In, which is ©1987 by Joe Bob Briggs. Anyway, go buy some of Joe Bob's books, but don't copy pieces of them to the Net unless Joe Bob tells you it's okay. "


LONG LIVE THE DRIVE INS! AMERICANA AT IT'S BEST!

 

Thank's John......You hit it right on the money! When was the last time you saw a shooting star behind an indoor screen? Or have someone come up and tell you about his dad owning a car just like yours in the parking lot of the local Silver City? Don't happen....But she will be back...God willing!

 

Vagrant, that was funny!! Thanks!

 

Glad ya liked it Lil Jimmy! Sorta seemed like needed comedy relief. Like you I had a lot of good times at the drive in through out the years. I saw a few really cool , and now somewhat obscure , car films at the drive in with Pops when I was a kid. There was one , can't remember the name, and it was bascially a do***entary on drag racing ...had Don "the Snake" Purdome , Tom "****oose" McEwen, Shirley Muldowney, etc ...came out in the late 70's / early 80's . Oh man I seriously LOVED that film. I think Dad and I went to the drive in several times to see that in the same Summer.
And then years later, I was lucky to have at least one make out session w/ probably my favorite girlfriend at our Cinderella Twin...man she was cute...and funny...liked old cars too .....Anyway, what I'm sayin here is I feel your pain man Be strong...remember the good times.

 

Bittersweet, man, bittersweet. Anyone know of a weblink for drive-in's still in exsistence? There was one in Ceres, just south o' Modesto, when last I was in the area.
Dad took us to the drive-in alot when I was growing up, at a time when the drive ins weren't thriving, but staying alive. He worked at the El Monte Drive In and Big Sky in Duarte (So Cal) in high school, he and his best bud had "MASH" memorized word for word, says Mom.
Gearhead art in the new "Hot Rod" featured art of the El Monte Drive In, definitely gonna get a print. Hadn't realized that it was shut down, too! The artist is Kent Bash, his site's amazing: www.kentbash.com
The screen for the Midway here in Humboldt Bay is still up, though it's become a RV storage lot. Everytime I see driving up 'n down Highway 101, I dream of having the dough to bring it back to life.

 

Man, the web's making me lazy. Checkout Driveintheatres.com I was really surprised by how many in So Cal are gone, or recently shut down. I remember well the Edwards D.I. in Arcadia, but can't remember where it was, maybe on the east end of town. Big Sky was my favorite.
They've got one in operation up in Crescent City, Red's Crescent Drive In, definitely wanna cruise up 101 when the truck's good 'n ready with paint.

 

Vagrant- I believe the film you're thinking of is Heart Like a Wheel which is the Shirley Muldowny story.

 

The El Monte..... was used in a movie called Bikini Drive-In . Not much on oscar material. So don't rent or buy it if you like great acting or you don't like breasts. If you like old B-movies then you'll get a kick out of some of the references made in the story.

Oh yeah www.drive-ins.com

 

Well, add another to the list. The old SkyView. It hasn't operated in years, but every time I went to the market the road to it was still there and the land empty. Always a hope that someone with lots of cash would save it for the sake of saving it.

I can remember going there in my 55 Ford vert. Even with a guy in the trunk cause he didn't have any cash for admission.

Now it is a big pile of dirt with heavy equipment putting in roads.

Sad day!

 

[ QUOTE ]
they built a Walmart on ours... ****ERS!

[/ QUOTE ]

I grew up in Westminster and allways thought the Hwy. 39 drive-in mural of the beach and sail boats was sooo cool. My house was only about 2 miles from there, I was bummed when my Mom told me that is a Wal-Mart now.

 

They are talking about this being the last year for ours in Auburn Wa also hopefully not we have been hearing it was going to be the last year for the last couple of seasons. I guess I will find out when I get home in Sep.
Eric

 

Well, if it's ANY consolation, the Herald-Sun (Australia's biggest daily paper) ran a story the other day on a Drive-In in Melbourne that the owners have spent $600k-$700k with 3 operational screens and approval for a 4th.

Melbourne now has 3 Drive-Ins within an hour of the centre of town (well, maybe more than an hour for one of them) with a total of 9 screens between them.

 

Vagrant, why wouldn't people in M*** or NY know about drive-ins? They don't stop at the mississippi!!
I grew up in NY & there was the Whitestone drive in, Elmsford drive in & on in Croton(star).
I live in RI now & theres still 2 working drive-ins within 20 mins of me,Mendon drive in & the Rustic.There was also the Lonsdale drive in which was just turned into a bike path recently but the signs are still up, very cool looking.
We're not the uncultured slops the you avacuto heads thing we are
JimV

 

The one in my town(Route 66 Drive-In) just added a second screen!

 

HAHA Prime I remember that scene.

"Why don't you have a pepsi"

Fortunately the one here in granbury is still hanging on. It got damaged in a tornado a year ot 2 ago and I thought it you get torn down, but they brought it back

 

We've still got 2 here in town and they're packed on most summer nights.

Ever wonder how many of the Generation X and Tuner Boyz were concieved at the good 'ol Motor-View?

 

What Drive in was it? I was raised in the Eugene/Springfield area in the 40s,50s,until late 62 when Uncle Sam asked me to participate in Military Excercises in 63.
Back in those days we had the Eugene DI,(so Willamette), North Eugene DI, (off of N99 on the west side), Motor Vu in Springfield,(a little east of Spring) and futher east was the Cascade DI. Saw a lot of movies from the back seat in the 50s/60s before I left for Fort Ord, CA. Home was up in the Fall Creek/Lowell area. <font color="red"> </font>

 

The last one I went to was in Union City Ca. it was torn down for a shopping center....

 

Oakland Coliseum Drive in is now a ****py (non antique) swap meet. They ripped down 3of the 4 screens and it looks like poop.

a little blurb about the Union City Drive-In Theater:

Anyone who used to drive on the Nimitz Freeway (I-880, but formerly Highway 17) through Union City will know the Union City Drive-In Theater well. Its big screens stood out next to the freeway between Whipple and Alvarado-Niles off-ramps. Whether it was the lighted marquee or the short glimpses of the 6 movie screens, the Theater made an impression on all who drove past.

The Drive-In Theater is gone now. Bulldozed over and replaced by a 25-screen indoor theater and shopping complex. Before the Drive-In Theater was torn down, it was the last active drive-in theater in Alameda County.

Originally built in 1966, the Drive-In Theater was torn down on 1 April 1998, a day after showing its last movie. Three weeks before it closed, "The Last Picture Show" closing event was hosted. The theme for the evening was the 50's, mimicing the heydays of drive-in theaters. Local cl***ic car clubs brought their cars to set the mood. The films for the evening were: "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" from 1957, "Rio Bravo" with John Wayne and Dean Martin, "Go Johnny Go" with Richie Valens, and "Invasion of the Saucer Men" a B movie from 1959.

During the 70's, the Union City Drive-In Theater was one of 11 drive-ins in the Bay Area. Now only 4 remain, one each in San Jose, Burlingame, Concord, and Daly City. Despite the demise of drive-ins throughtout the U.S., they are popular, daid Century Theaters spokesperson, Nancy Klasky. "Nine of the company's 70 locations nationwide are drive-ins", said Klasky," and they are all profitable -- including the Union City Drive-In." It was not profitability that sealed the Union City Drive-In's fate, it was the price of land. Centry Theatures feels that a indoor cinema will serve area residents better than the Drive-In.

The Union City Drive-In Theater is not totally gone. Some parts of the theater have been saved and will be donated to the Union City Historical Museum once it has a Museum location.