I know this will only interest those in Tulare Co. and near by but some others on here may recognize this Drive-In from HotRot art. Mearles Drive-in built in the early '40s has been closed now since 2006 but there has been hope of it re-opening. Today at 2:00pm there will be an auction to sell off the interior fixtures (boths, stools, registers, ect) so now even if the do restore it there will not be that "Old" feel inside. I don't know what the new owners have planed for this part of California history but I know others and myself would like to see it back to it's original glory. http://apps.facebook.com/causes/440195/43709556?m=9e4cc0c7&ref=mf
Where is the Future Home Of Walgreens or CVS Sign? I believe the Bank in East Chicago, IN that John Dillinger Robbed was torn down to make room for a Walgreens a few years back. Who cares....Its just our Heritage.
I feel ya Bro! Our local small town A&W just died and became Jerrys Burgers or some such. Thank god we still have an original Drive-in theater. BTW They call it PROGRESS!
More Americana by the wayside, unfortunately. Some people think of this as "just an old building", and that is truly a sad commentary. For some, history is what happened on last night's "American Idol"; beyond that, they do not care. Yesterday is so...yesterday.
Yeah, It is across from COS, the local collage, and it was very popular but it got shut down in '06 for some violation and things snowballed from there. Now the new owners don't have a clue how to treat the place.
Yeah,you think no one is interested,but hotrodders across the globe look at the U.S. for inpiration and heritage:we copy you.The drive ins,hotrods,cheerleaders,are what make you American.Its all gone downhill in England since we stopped wearing bowler hats,
Here in Minneapolis, we have a sucess story as it were. The resturanteur that created Rainforest Cafe bought a local drive-in and upgraded it. It's nothing like it was, except the food and the concept of drive in dining. It's got a "retro" vibe in a commercial sense, but it's fun. It's parking lot lay-out makes getting in there tricky, but we take the good with the bad. It's www.galaxy-drivein.com if you want to look at it. The lesson is spend you cash in places you want to stay open.
Cruised Mooney Bouldevard past Merle's a lot in high school, blew up a healthy Pontiac one night just down the block. Took my kids to Merle's often in later years, usually on the way home from races at Famoso. Merle's gravy fries were famous, think they were 80 cents last time I was there. So sad to see the place closed.