Drive-In Theater
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Popular during the mid 20th century, a drive-in is an outdoor movie theater venue in which people sit with their cars parked in front of a screen to watch films.
Origins and History
Richard M. Hollingshead
The concept of the drive-in is an invention of Richard Hollingshead Jr., a native of Riverton, New Jersey. According to legend, Hollingshead’s mother was too heavy-set to comfortably fit in the seats at traditional movie theaters, and her well-meaning son wanted to find a way to accommodate her. Since Hollingshead had worked for his father’s autoparts business, he knew a fair amount about automobiles, or at least enough to spark a novel idea. Hollingshead engineered a homemade exhibition set up comprised of a sheet nailed to his garage door, a Kodak projector on top of his car, and an FM transmitter. Although primitive, it worked, and thus the concept of the drive-in was born. On May 16th of 1933, Hollingshead applied to receive a patent for his invention, and his request was quickly acquiesced. From there, he went on to open the first official drive-in movie theater in Camden, New Jersey within the same year. It was an immediate success and the concept began to spread at a blistering pace. In the next six years, 18 drive-ins were built across the country from Maine to California. Just three years later, that number had grown to 95. So by 1942, although the roadside theaters were more popular than ever, the United State's entrance into World War II after Pearl Harbor sent the drive-in boom into a temporary remission.
First 15 Drive-in Theaters built in the U.S.
"1. Drive-In Theatre: Camden, New Jersey. June 6, 1933" "2. Shankweiler's Auto Park: Orefield, Pennsylvania. April 15, 1934" "3. Drive-In Short Reel Theater: Galveston, Texas. July 5, 1934" "4. Pico: Los Angeles, California. September 9, 1934" "5. Weymouth Drive-In Theatre: Weymouth, Massachusetts. May 6 1936" "6. Starlight Auto Theatre: Akron, Ohio. Summer, 1937" "7. Lynn Open Air Theater: Lynn, Massachusetts. July, 1937" "8. Providence: Providence, Rhode Island. July 21, 1937" "9. Miami Drive-In: Miami, Florida. February 25, 1938" "10. Detroit Drive-In: Detroit, Michigan. June 2, 1938" "11. Cleveland: Cleveland, Ohio. June, 1938" "12. Shrewsbury Drive-In: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. June, 1938" "13. San-Val: Burbandk, California. June 10, 1938" "14. Merrimack Auto Theatre: Methuen, Massachusetts. Summer, 1938" "15. Valley Stream: Long Island, New York. August 10, 1938"
Design and Logistics
The drive-in can be classified as a specific type of architecture: roadside architecture. Along with things like motels, truck stops, and gas stations, drive-in structures were built efficiently with little to no frills to minimize cost and maximize profit. “As a whole, roadside architecture has had a tremendous impact on the American landscape, especially evident in the array of forms, images, and colors that comprise the panoramic view from our windshields.” And their designs were so simple that building them cheaply wasn’t hard to do. There are four primary components to most theaters: the screen, the projector, the sound dissemination device and/or technique, and the viewing area. The screen could be anything from a white sheet to a professional grade, synthetic piece designed specifically for the drive-in. Concession stands were one other aspect that was a fixture at most theater. But as aforementioned, anything extra, like decoration or design elements, were added to increase profits. For instance, if a drive in’s sign featured an elaborate painting and lighting set-up, the only reason was so people on the highway would see it and exit to come check it out.
The Golden Age of the Passion Pit
The Baby Boom: Family Time at the Movies
The drive-in was a mechanism for post World War II rebuilding of the American nuclear family. It was a wholesome locale where dad, mom, child #1 and child #2 could go and spend time together, bonding, but without too much actual interaction. The concept of the suburb is interesting because of its paradoxical components. Originally, people moved to the burbs for privacy, and to get the space that wasn’t available to them in the cities. But historically, suburbs have become hubs for community interaction. Ironically, people wanted to live their private lives, together with other people doing the same. The drive-in became analogous with that concept. The theaters allowed people to maintain a sense of security and anonymity, because they remained in the privacy of their own vehicle, but they had company of hundreds of other cars, also filled with people doing the same thing.
More than just a movie
Drive-In Theaters on Film
Grease is one of the most famous movies to prominently feature its characters going to a drive-in theater. The scenes in Grease were filmed at an actual drive-in, the Pickwick Drive-In Theater, located in southern California in Burbank. Sadly, not even this iconic theater could survive the onslaught of the 'big box stores', like Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, whose proliferation has led to the tearing down of countless structures to make way for their personalized strip centers. In 1989 the Pickwick was torn down to make way for a Staples.
Megaplexes and the Downfall of Drive-In's
With the advent of the megaplex, the drive-in suffered. They flashy new centers housing 8, 10, 12, and sometimes 16 movie screens began drawing crowds by the droves. All of the issues that a patron might have dealt with at the drive in, sound quality, weather, distance from the screen, were erased with the megaplex.
Commodifying Nostaligia: Theaters Today
One of the reasons thought to have contributed to the great success of drive ins in the mid 20th century was the fact that it merged two of the most prolific inventions of the era: the automobile and the motion picture. But ironically, that concept might have contributed to the waning interest in the theaters in the 21st century. Neither the car nor the motion picture are anything to get excited about nowadays. The novelty for both has long since worn off, so the novelty of an invention that combined both of those would also have worn off. A few hundred drive-in movie theaters that still exist today collectively serve to help people understand America’s cultural heritage. They are symbol for the golden ages of the 1950’s and 60’s in America. Although more and more of the theaters close down every year, their legacy is etched into the history books of America. No matter how small in numbers, drive-in’s will always remain an important piece of Americana.
Guerilla Drive- In's
Links
http://www.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=158&format=tv&theme=hollywood
