Author Archives: mrdrivein

North York Drive-In calls it quits

Posted on by

Twilight at the North York Drive-InEven as we celebrate the unexpectedly large number of drive-ins that have weathered the storm of converting to digital projection, we need to pause and recognize those that aren’t going to make it. As CityNews Toronto tells us, the North York Drive-In announced that it will not be reopening this season, and apparently forever. The North York is between Holland Landing and Sharon north of Toronto.

On its Facebook page, the Murrell family wrote, “Regrettably the drive-in will not be open this summer 2013. Thank you for 58 years of support.” (Actually, the Murrell family used all caps, but I thought I’d spare you.) ““Unfortunately due to development and changes to digital film we are unable to continue the tradition this year. It is with much regret that we say goodbye to summer evenings at North York.”

CityNews Toronto wrote that it couldn’t reach anyone from the North York for further comment. How sad it is to see another great drive-in fade away.

Update: The Toronto Star ran a story quoting Mark Murrell, the owner’s son. “Yes, it is sad for all of us,” he said. “It was my dad’s life.” The Star article also discusses digital conversion and the future of other Ontario drive-ins, so you probably ought to go read it!

Montana drive-in goes digital

Posted on by

KULR, Billings MT’s news leader, had a nice story about the Amusement Park Drive-In just northeast of Laurel, which completed its conversion to digital projection. What sets this apart from all the other digital conversion stories is (a) it’s in Montana, (b) it includes video, and (c) I just love the name Amusement Park Drive-In.

Riley Cooke, co-owner of the theater, recalled the pre-digital days when something sometimes went wrong with the big film loop, made of spliced film from individual reels. “We had things called ‘brain wrap’, where it looks like a Christmas Tree,” Cooke said. “The film piled up, and you get to tell everybody out there ‘thanks for coming. This movie’s over until we spend about four hours straightening this mess up!'”

The story is really just an accurate retelling of the video segment, but the Cookes make it worth watching. So one way or another, go check it out!

Calvert DI reopens for 60th season

Posted on by
The screen at the Calvert Drive-In

photo by Bill Eichelberger, used by permission

The Murray State News recently gave us a quiet portrait of John Harrington, the manager of the Calvert Drive-In in Calvert City KY. Sometimes history is the sum of individual experiences, and reading what Harrington had to say about the Calvert can add to our understanding of what things were like in the early days.

Harrington’s grandparents built the Calvert, and four generations of his family have worked there. Recent improvements they’ve made to the place include a new screen (in 2003), a better concession area (2007), and now digital projection.

The part of the article that I liked best was the date Harrington picked as perhaps the beginning of the end of drive-in mania. It wasn’t what I would have guessed.

“1958 was a hard year for drive-ins,” Harrington said. “… In the late ‘50s/early ‘60s when TVs really started becoming popular, people could stay at home and catch up on the news. Back in the ‘30s and ‘40s, people would go to the theaters to see what was going on in the war, and there were a lot of newsreels.” That’s a part of the TV experience I hadn’t considered, that it broke a habit of going to the movies to see what’s news. Thanks to the Murray State News for giving us that look back.