The Wheel-In Motor Movie (what a great name!), south of Port Townsend WA, reopened for its 60th season this week, as documented in the Peninsula Daily News. The Wheel-In is owned by Rick Wiley, and he says that he’s “excited” about converting to digital projection next year. But even with … Continue reading
Author Archives: mrdrivein
Chicago Tribune rounds up Illinois drive-ins
The Chicago Tribune had a great article this past weekend rounding up a lot of the stuff we’ve been talking about here on Carload. A lot of Illinois drive-ins have turned to fundraising to finance the conversion to digital projection, and so far the results have been pretty good. The … Continue reading
56 Auto Drive-In pulls them in from across the border
Yes, drive-ins are so powerful, they can pull in visitors from other countries. Take as an example the 56 Auto Drive-In of Massena NY. It’s such an attractive draw that it’s featured in an affectionate profile in the Cornwall (Ontario) Seaway News. Still more good news, one of the owners … Continue reading
You should read my road trip report
I’m back from a weekend drive-in theater road trip, and the blog post I wrote about it is too big for a blog post. I gave the report its own page here on Carload, so if you want to find out what the active drive-ins of Arizona and New Mexico … Continue reading
Glen Drive-In looks to recoup its digital costs
View Larger Map The Glens Falls (NY) Post-Star ran a very nice, very long article about the Glen Drive-In (Queensbury) and its efforts to recoup the money it spent for new digital projectors. Unlike a lot of these local conversion articles, this one had lengthy quotes from John Vincent, president of the United … Continue reading
Two OH drive-ins show the wisdom of planning ahead
Vindy.com, a service of the Youngstown (OH) Vindicator, has a fine article about the digital conversion plans of its two nearby drive-ins, the Elm Road and the Skyway, both of Warren. Both of them seem to have conversion in the bag because of their forethought. Bob Hreno, who with his … Continue reading
Here’s the opposite of a coffee-table book
Just a few weeks ago, I got excited about a story I found about Alabama’s drive-ins. Not only was it a great round-up of the current status of the drive-ins of that state, it also made mention of a good book, Drive-in Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933 … Continue reading
Haar’s reopens with digital projection
We’ve got two sources for the great news that Haar’s Drive-In of Dillsburg PA is reopening this weekend with its new digital projection system. We had already written about its conversion efforts, and it’s great to see that they’re ready to go. The York Dispatch ran an article with a … Continue reading
More drive-ins in MI, PA commit to digital
Here are a couple more notes that support what, thankfully, looks like a growing trend. The Lehigh Valley (PA) Morning Call ran a happy note about Shankweiler’s in Orefield and Becky’s in Berlinsville, which have both switched to digital projection. Not only is Shankweiler’s indisputably the oldest active drive-in, it appears to … Continue reading
Delsea finds a great source for transition cash
New Jersey, the birthplace of the drive-in theater, is down to one active drive-in. But news this past week suggests that it’s going to stay around for a long time. The Daily Journal of Vineland NJ and nearby towns reported that the Delsea Drive-In was a little slow opening this … Continue reading