Cpt Scarlet
[Moderator - Cartier - WristScan]
34489
Drive-In Movies...
The Drive-In Movie is part of social history and with it being the theme for WristScan this weekend, I thought that the history of the drive-in would be interesting to some of us. 
The first drive-ins are thought to have opened around 1910, but records show that the first patented drive-in was opened on June 6,1933 by Richard Hollingshead in New Jersey.
He created it as a solution for people unable to comfortably fit into smaller movie theater seats after creating a mini drive-in for his mother. His aim was to get families to go to his drive-in. Hollingshead advertised his drive-in as a place where “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”The success of Hollingshead’s drive-in caused more and more drive-ins to be opened in every state in the country and eventually internationally.
Drive-ins gained immense popularity 20 years later during the 1950s and ‘60s with the Baby Boomer generation. There were over 4,000 drive-ins throughout the U.S. and most were located in rural areas. Some Drive-ins opened in desert locations showing pornographic movies.
The gold era of the drive-in started to decline in the 1970s, as people downsized their cars during the oil crisis in order to save money on the inflated cost of gas, making cars not as comfortable to watch movies at the drive-in. To make up for lost revenue, drive-ins began losing their family-friendly atmosphere by showing exploitation films like slasher horrors as well as adult content. The development of the VCR made it more appealing to stay at home and watch movies without paying for a movie at the drive-in.
It took around 10 years for drive-ins to lose their appeal. In order to make a drive-in profitable it had to be on at least 15 acres of land. Economically speaking, it became more practical for owners to close down their drive-ins as the land was redeveloped to build Malls.
The drive-in is an important part of social history and it would be interesting to hear any memories if you went to one. Without them several of us may not even have been born !
Drive-In Movies...
The Drive-In Movie is part of social history and with it being the theme for WristScan this weekend, I thought that the history of the drive-in would be interesting to some of us. The first drive-ins are thought to have opened around 1910, but records sho...
Very popular in Seattle in the Fifties & Sixties
The rain doesn’t matter so much as steamed up windows in the cars. We would have to run the engine periodically to warm up ourselves and defrost the windscreen. Some deluxe slots in our drive-in had little electric heaters on the speakers you put in your ...
They were big in Canada and I spent many nights there...
When I was younger I went with my parents and sister and they were usually double features which we fell asleep halfway through. When I was in my late teens I had a hearse that I drove and my girlfriend and I would park backwards, open the back door, clim...
Have fond Drive In memories
From the late 60s. None related to the actual movies! Also recall that there was more than just steam clouding up the interior of some vehicles here in So Cal.....
Interesting reading dear Captain!! I feel that drive in cinemas ...
... had a greater popularity in the USA and is part of its popular culture. In my Country Auto Cines was the name and arrived around the 1970’s and they were received with great curiosity as our people was eager to experiment what was only known through f...
