Wheel-In Motor Movie open for 60th season

Entrance to the Wheel-In Motor MovieThe 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 digital, the Wheel-In won’t be showing 3D movies. “Three-D doesn’t work at drive-ins,” Wiley said. “You have the windshield blocking you, there are no walls, and you can never get the glasses back at the end of the movie.”

You really should go read this article for an interesting portrait of this third-generation drive-in owner who enjoys the hard work it takes to keep it running. According to the Peninsula Daily News, “The day before opening, (Wiley) was cutting grass, installing speakers and installing the sign that his grandfather created 60 years ago.” It makes me want to go visit soon!

Chicago Tribune rounds up Illinois drive-ins

Harvest Moon Drive-In marquee

photo by Earl Leatherberry, used by permission

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 Tribune article mentions the Harvest Moon, the Cascade, and the McHenry as examples of drive-ins that have converted or are trying to find the money to buy the equipment. And it gets more profound than I ever did. According to the article, “The predicament has made this year something of a referendum on how Americans value drive-ins, and perhaps by extension, how much we value nostalgia and the offbeat ambience of taking a typically indoor activity outdoors.” See, I would have said ambiance, although both spellings are okay.

At the Harvest Moon, they threw a customer appreciation party to celebrate the successful fundraiser and  presented the first public screening of the drive-in documentary “Going Attractions“. It’s director, April Wright, touched on a very important reason why drive-ins are drawing good crowds again. Quoting the article again, “The other sign of hope is Hollywood’s trend toward superhero, animated and more family-friendly movies, Wright said. All of those factors play directly to drive-ins’ strengths.”

This is a huge, well-written article that accumulates a lot of Carload’s Illinois coverage over the past six months and adds a lot more. You know that you really need to go read it!

Update: RYOT.org picked up the Tribune story, and it added a good map of drive-ins by state.

56 Auto Drive-In pulls them in from across the border

Screen being repaired at 56 Auto Drive-InYes, 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 of the 56 is quoted as saying that it will convert to digital projection in time for the start of the 2014 drive-in season. One note of caution: “bug spray is a prerequisite on a night like this.”

The 56’s web site confirms that the first family waiting in line was from Cornwall. (That site also has a nice set of photos documenting the repair of its screen.)

The lengthy article in the Seaway News includes a nice little video clip of what it looks like from the projection room when the movie gets started, plus a small photo gallery. It’s worth a visit, no matter what country you’re from.