So, 76 years ago, the first drive-in theater in the world, opened in Camden, NJ, the brainchild of Mr. Richard Hollingshead, partly because of a desire to show movies outside and perhaps because his mother was too large to sit in the seats at indoor theaters.
I found another account that said he started experimenting outside screening as far back as 1928. The main feature shown today, June 6, 1933, at Hollingshead's drive-in was "Wife Beware" from 1932. Poor drive-ins were already showing second-run movies.
Indoor movie operators did all they could to stymie the growth of the drive-ins, and their clout made it difficult for them to get first-run movies, so most early offerings were of the second-run and and "B" nature.
By 1942, there were 95 drive-ins in 27 states. At the peak in 1958, there were 4,063.
We used to have drive-ins in Lake County, Illinois, by Waukegan and Grayslake, but they are long-gone. And, of course, us road-folk just love anything old like that.
Gotta Love Those Drive-Ins, a Trip Back. Happy BD. --RoadDog
RoadDog's RoadLog Blog: Being my travels down those great two lane highways of this nation as well as news I learn about them from media sources. Since I'm also very interested in historic preservation, there will be a lot of that as well.
The Shamrock Court Motel in Sullivan, Missouri. It can be yours for $125,000. Lots of possibilities. Actually, now you're too late. Missouri's Roamin' Rich bought it.
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