At the Drive-In
These screens were the domain of creatures from black lagoons, aliens, blobs and rebels without causes.
There are no matinees at the drive-in. The sun might set a bit later, but that’s ok. School’s out, the nights are warm, and there could be no better way to spend an evening after a day at the pool than sitting under the stars watching monsters trample cities on 40-foot-high screens. These screens were the domain of creatures from black lagoons, aliens, blobs and rebels without causes. In their golden age, post WWII when freeways felt like the future, there were nearly 5,000 drive-In theaters across the United States. But with the advent of more advanced technology to amplify B-movie starlets’ on-screen screams than tiny metal boxes on the ends of chords clipped to car windows, the appeal of the drive-in dwindled. Their husks stand as monuments to a time when cars and trucks didn’t have to wait out in the parking lot.
In their golden age, post WWII when freeways felt like the future, there were nearly 5,000 drive-In theaters across the United States.
Today there are 336 drive-ins open and showing movies at night across the country, with theaters in every state except Alaska, Hawaii, Delaware, North Dakota and Louisiana. Here are some of the oldest still in operation.
Road trip?
