The Return of Drive-In Movie Theaters

Whether it be the awkward car seats getting in the way of cuddling, or the popcorn you find sprinkled on the floor of your car afterward, this American pastime is one for the ages.

There has always been a romantic appeal to drive-in movie theaters. Dating back to 1933, when Richard Hollingshead opened the very first drive-in theater in New Jersey, it was not long before these large parking lots would dominate the entertainment industry for the next twenty years, popping up all over the map.

Being one of the most popular ways of entertainment, rules were set in place to maintain order and peace when large numbers of cars would come in for movie showings. Drive-in theaters had a structure to limit the chaos, in which the cars would first go through a gate where they would pay the price for the evening. Viewing at the Hollingshead’s very first theater cost 25 cents per car or 25 cents per additional person if a car held more than 3 people. Each car would then pull up to their parking spot, which was designed to be able to view the full screen from all angles. The rows of the outdoor theater were created so that the people sitting in the back were on platforms and/or ramps. This way, the car in front of them was not blocking their view. Then, the viewer would either tune into the radio channel that the audio of the movie was being played on or turn up the volume of the speaker that hung next to their parking spot. This system was perfected after months and years of work.

Soon, a wave of baby boomers in the 1940s - 1950s offered a larger audience and a more interested crowd. Individuals wanted a place to spend their time, and the movies were at the top of their list. To better suit the public, each theater was tailored to the town it was in. Most of them included a playground in the front and a restaurant nearby. There were also candy, drinks, and snacks available to be purchased. As more and more people wanted to take part in this new leisure activity, the number of theaters, as well as their sizes, started increasing. One of the biggest theaters was the All-Weather Drive-In theater in Copiague, New York. It had indoor seating, a restaurant, cafe, playground for young children, and enough parking space for 2,500 cars. Getting there in the first place was also quite the adventure, as people had to take a special shuttle to navigate through the 28-acre land.

Rewinding the Tape

This experience did not last forever. The number of theaters started to remain stagnant and dropped rapidly as indoor movie theaters and home television sets became the new craze. Movie theaters allowed more than one viewing to occur at a time, in a reasonable location, while drive-in theaters were located among fields and vast lands. Movie theaters were also air-conditioned, well-maintained, and easily accessible. In addition, daylight saving timings also played a role in the demise of drive-in movies when they inadvertently caused the movies to start an hour later (an inconvenience to many children who needed to sleep on time for school) in the 1970s. Profits began to decrease and these theaters were primarily targeted towards teenagers. Who knew that fifty years later, in 2020, only 348 of the once 4,151 drive-in theaters in the United States would be left functioning.

Fortunately, the nostalgia of the past has kept these tapes rolling and it seems that there is a chance that these theaters will be making a comeback. On account of several states shutting down to reduce the curve of COVID-19 cases, many teenagers have found that their entertainment endeavors lie in the past… or rather their backyard. Movies on projections are making an all-around comeback, as young adults tie up white sheets on trees and deck out on their lawns to enjoy a euphoric evening in the summer sun.

Many owners of theaters and showrooms are also using this as a replacement for their usual theater settings, as they are not allowed to be on the job with the number of cases rising. Moreover, a trickling number of customers is not convenient to escalate their profits or jack up prices. As a result, owners have set up distanced seats for movie showings, publicized them through social media, and gained a loyal fan base. Of course, this is by no means a permanent replacement for theaters, but it is doing the job well and everyone loves a good, backyard movie night. According to an article recently published in the New York Times, "At the Drive-In: Thrills, Chills, Popcorn and Hand Sanitizer", a drive-in theater in Warwick, New York, recently opened up to the public and was met with more audience members than anticipated. It seems slightly coincidental that this is how Hollingshead's first viewing in New Jersey went down almost 90 years ago.

Staying 6 feet apart is easier when everyone is in their own vehicle, and with rumors of drive-in concerts becoming a reality, it is possible that the coronavirus has brought us back to the 1950s. This overall societal embracement of the past has pushed some drive-in theaters to open to the public, advising them to be parked in a socially distant manner. Although it does mean more empty parking spaces, it could hint towards a cultural revolution that welcomes the vestige of the forgotten.

Sources

Chauncey Alcorn CNN Business. (2020, May 26). Drive-in movie theaters are making a comeback thanks to coronavirus. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/23/business/drive-in-movies/index.html

Drive-In Theater History. (n.d.). Drive-In Theater History. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from http://www.driveintheater.com/history/

Jacobs, J. (2020, May 23). At the Drive-In: Thrills, Chills, Popcorn and Hand Sanitizer. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/movies/drive-in-movie-theater-coronavirus.html