Author Archives: mrdrivein

Aut-O-Rama wins business of the year award

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Aut-O-Rama drive-in marquee

photo by Fan of Retail

The Aut-O-Rama Twin Drive-In Theatre has something to celebrate beyond switching to digital projection. This week, it won the North Ridgeville (OH) Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Business of the Year.

NorthCoastNow.com has the story of the local, family-run business that has found a way to succeed. Brothers Tim and Del Sherman, who are treasurer and vice president, accepted the award. Their mother, Deborah, is the president. Del’s wife handles the concession stand.

“We’ve been around for a long time, and it’s because of our community we stick around,” Del said.

Chamber CEO Dayle Noll praised the Aut-O-Rama’s local involvement and noted that it draws customers into the area. “Certainly with Aut-O-Rama being the only drive-in on the whole West Side of Cleveland and being located in North Ridgeville, they do a great job of bringing people to the city,” Noll said.

For the standard award presentation picture and more info about what the Aut-O-Rama’s been up to lately, go read the article!

Revamped Mission sits, waiting

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I was in San Antonio TX last week for reasons that, for a change, weren’t very much about drive-in movie theaters. But of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to revisit the locale that essentially inspired the creation of this web site. Plus, I got tired of grabbing other folks’ photos of the place.

The site of the old Mission Drive-In Theatre is in a depressed neighborhood in the middle of the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. I never saw its sign look as good as it looked last week, with bright colors and faux neon lights on the lettering.

The drive-in screen on the other side was also restored to its original appearance, a framed white screen with two long arms at its base extending to the sides of the viewing area. Where the projection stand used to be, there was a fresh little building with rest rooms and storage. But it was all fenced off, quietly resting in the warm Texas sun. The drive-in site was meant to be seen, not enjoyed, at least not that day.

I had been encouraged by reports of a new library on the site, and there it was. When I went in, I looked for anything that celebrated the history of the Mission, but there was nothing. I asked the guy behind the counter whether there were any movies or activities planned, he shook his head and said, “We don’t have anything to do with that.” Then he reached into his drawer and handed me a pre-cut scrap of paper with the phone number and web address of the city agency in charge. Not only was he indifferent to the drive-in next door, his indifference was premeditated.

Its nice that this touchstone of drive-in history has been restored to remind us all what it was like. Let’s hope that someone in San Antonio does something with it now.

Boulevard marks 60th year of movies

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Boulevard screen at dusk with vapor trails

photo by Terry Shuck, used by permission

KCTV, Kansas City MO’s news leader, ran a loving tribute to the Boulevard Drive-In, across the border in Kansas City KS. The occasion was the presentation of a plaque commemorating the Boulevard’s 60th year; it opened in 1954.

A particularly interesting sidenote is that, according to the article, Kansas City “is the only city in the country to have three” living drive-in theaters. Actually, that author must be referring to the metro area, since the Twin (Independence MO) and the I-70 (Kansas City MO) are really in different cities. That triggers all sort of memories for me, since that’s the metro area where I was born and raised. I’ve attended all three of these, and I also remember some drive-ins that are long gone, sitting in the back of a borrowed van at the 63rd Street, seeing Blazing Saddles at the Leawood, and watching Star Trek 5 with my dear wife at the State. I wonder what has made the KC area such fertile ground for drive-ins. My guess would be that land prices haven’t skyrocketed the way they have elsewhere.

Oh yes, back to the KCTV article. It includes a bounty of quotes from Wes Neal, a part of the Boulevard since 1954. For example, one of the Boulevard’s distinguishing characteristics is that it kept its speakers even as many drive-ins have gone FM-only. “We want to keep it like the original drive-in, and we keep every one of the speakers working perfectly all the time, so every week we have to check every speaker and repair them as necessary,” he said.

The article also points out another distinguishing point – the Boulevard was the first drive-in to go digital, early in 2012. I saw Men In Black 3 there during a visit last year, and it looked great. But maybe I should stop rambling about my Kansas City drive-in roots and just let you go read it!