Author Archives: mrdrivein

Dec. 27: Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre, Orefield PA

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It’s Day 361 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. On another cold, sunny day, it took barely 20 minutes to drive the short distance from Becky’s Drive-In just east of Walnutport PA to Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre in Orefield PA.

Shankweiler’s is the oldest drive-in still in operation, and it was probably just the second drive-in theater to open, period. Kerry Segrave’s book Drive-In Theaters lists the opening date as April 15, 1934, echoed on the drive-in’s own excellent history page, but calls the date “questionable”. If it’s accurate, Shankweiler’s opening comes before the next known drive-in, a very short-lived enterprise in Galveston TX.

Its humble beginnings are a big reason why it’s hard to independently fix the date. Wilson Shankweiler was a movie buff who saw the original Camden NJ drive-in while on vacation in 1933. As Segrave writes, “Behind the hotel he owned in Orefield was a deserted (biplane) landing strip, which Shankweiler converted to a makeshift drive-in.” (The hotel building, still there, was converted to a funeral home in 2010.) “The first screen consisted of two poles and a sheet. A 16-mm projector sat on a table in the middle of the landing strip, while audio was provided by one large horn speaker down front.” Patrons could also walk in and sit on benches near the screen.

The company of drive-in inventor Richard Hollingshead later sued Shankweiler’s for patent infringement but lost. When locals instituted an amusement tax, the drive-in tried to dodge it by advertising free movies with a parking fee of 50 cents a car.

The first external reference to the drive-in that I could find in The Morning Call of nearby Allentown was on May 22, 1937 when an ad for Shankweiler’s restaurant added “Shankweilers’s Open Air Theatre Now Open” (for the season, I presume?) “Talkie Shows Every Sun., Wed. & Fri. Evenings”.

From there, Shankweiler’s evolved into a regular drive-in. It switched to in-car speakers in 1948. Hurricane Diane destroyed the projection booth and “Shadow Box Screen” in 1955, so the drive-in rebuilt with a CinemaScope screen and a typical concession / projection / restroom building.

According to Lehigh Valley Business, in 1958, Shankweiler rented the drive-in to Al Moffa, a close friend who had helped him build it. “The next year, Shankweiler sold it to Moffa’s manager, Bob Malkemis.” Electrician Paul Geissinger was working there as a projectionist in 1982 when the drive-in added AM radio sound to supplement the speakers.

Before he passed away in 1984, Malkemis sold Shankweiler’s to Geissinger and his wife to keep it going. (An article in The Christian Science Monitor said the purchase was in 1985.) In 1986, Geissinger built the first FM broadcast unit for use in a drive-in, as I once mentioned in an old article recap.

That Lehigh Valley Business article from August 2015 said that the Geissingers still owned Shankweiler’s, and it looks like that’s still true today. “I felt obligated to keep this place going,” Geissinger said. “I fell in love with the place.” It made the switch to digital conversion by 2013.

You’re not going to find many better drive-in profiles than the embedded YouTube video of the day from Retro Roadmap and Mod Betty. It shows what it’s like today and talks about its history, all in an entertaining package. Enjoy!

Shankweiler’s closed its season on Labor Day. I’m glad that such a historic place is still going strong.

Miles Today / Total: 11 / 39959 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: I don’t know whether Norma J’s Restaurant in Orefield came before or after the drive-in, so it’s definitely vintage. It’s not fancy, but it’s a fine example of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. I had a huge omelette for a late breakfast, with enough coffee to make me forget the temperature outside.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The closest hotel to Shankweiler’s is about four miles away, a Holiday Inn Express in western Allentown. That works. There were cookies and coffee waiting at check-in. My comfortable room had all the modern amenities including a Keurig coffee maker. Breakfast was the usual high HIE standard including its addicting cinnamon rolls. All this and proximity too!

Only in Orefield: What, the world’s oldest surviving drive-in theater isn’t enough for you? Roadside America says you can also find a landlocked lighthouse in Orefield that really just a redecorated grain silo on a family farm.

Next stop: Sky-Vu Drive-In Theatre, Gratz PA.

Dec. 26: Becky’s Drive-In, Walnutport PA

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It’s Day 360 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, time to return to Pennsylvania for the final six drive-in visits. On this cold, sunny day, that meant spending a bit under four hours driving from the Southington Drive-In in Southington CT to Becky’s Drive-In just east of Walnutport PA.

Becky’s, the legacy of William “Becky” Beck, opened as the Route 45 Drive-In in the 1940s. The exact dates vary in the telling, but Beck opened a drive-in on leased land, then two years later purchased a lot that was a block away and built there. Cinema Treasures has a Grand Opening ad from June 26, 1946. The Lehigh Valley Marketplace wrote that Beck “opened the Route 45 Drive-in on leased property; in 1946, he bought the land where his namesake theater now stands.” Which would put the first opening in 1944.

The Blue Mountain Town & Country Gazette wrote in July 2014 that when the Route 45 opened, it had two loudspeakers for the whole viewing field. “Around 1981, he put in the radio transmitters in AM, so people couldn’t steal or damage the speakers,” said Beck’s son Darrell. “Then it went to FM and it’s done that way still today.”

Around 1971, Beck switched to adult movies “for survival” according to later generations. “People would snicker, but we had to do that or there would be a store here now,” co-owner Cindy Beck Deppe told The Allentown Morning Call in September 1997. It was also about that time when Pennsylvania promulgated a change to that highway’s number from 45 to 248, and about when the Route 45 changed its name to Becky’s. (However, a Morning Call traffic accident story in September 1972 still called it the Route 45.)

By all accounts, Beck gave generously of his time and talents and was a beloved figure in the community. The Morning Call wrote in October 1982 that neighbors weren’t bothered that Becky’s was showing X-rated movies. It said that he had retired and his son Dennis had purchased the drive-in “at the beginning of the year.” That matched when the Gazette said all five Beck siblings bought the business.

William Beck died in 1987, and the following year his widow and children switched back to family films. Second-eldest Dale Beck passed away in 1997, but the remaining siblings and their families still run Becky’s. The drive-in added a second screen in 2005 and swapped it for a permanent second screen in 2007. More recently, they put in a new refreshment stand (midway between the screens) and expanded the restroom facilities.

In 2013, drive-in historian Don Sanders called Becky’s the best drive-in in the country. “It offers everything a drive-in’s supposed to offer,” he told USA Today. “Really good food, a pastoral setting, a field sloped so you can see.”

The embedded video of the day is another rare treat. It’s a collection of news reports about Becky’s in 2001-2003, posted on the drive-in’s Facebook page.

Becky’s closed its season in mid-October. I’m glad that such a class act is still going strong.

Miles Today / Total: 200 / 39948 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: The Fire Stone Pizza & Grill sounds like just a pizza joint, but it’s got a lot more than that. More than strombolis and calzones, the Fire Stone also takes pride in its topped French fries and hamburgers. I had the “loaded” fries with bacon and cheddar, then a mushroom swiss burger. Maybe I’ll just eat a big salad tomorrow.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The closest hotels to Becky’s are in Lehighton, about 11 miles away, and one of those is a Hampton Inn. There were cookies, flavored water and coffee waiting for me at check-in. My comfortable, standardized room had all the modern amenities. The fine standard Hampton breakfast had plenty of warm protein to go along with the continental favorites. Staying here was just a no-brainer.

Only in Walnutport: Next door in Slatington, there’s a historic Fireman’s Drinking Fountain. The 12-foot high statue depicts a volunteer fireman carrying a child and holding a lantern, illuminated with an electric light at night. It was erected in 1909 in the center of Slatington to provide a drinking fountain for people and a drinking area for horses and dogs. After it was damaged in a 1979 car accident, it was restored and rededicated in July 1980.

Next stop: Shankweilers Drive-In Theatre, Orefield PA.

Dec. 25: Southington Drive-In, Southington CT

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It’s Day 359 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. On a sunny, cold day, it took about an hour and a half to drive from the Hyde Park Drive In Theatre in Hyde Park NY to the Southington Drive-In, Plantsville CT. Like the Hyde Park, the Southington is an example of local non-profits supporting the drive-in, but the details are very different.

A March 1950 Billboard magazine article suggested a long gestation period for the Southington. It wrote that property owners were appealing the build approval given to James A. Holmes. They must have found plenty of avenues for delaying the project, because the drive-in didn’t open until May 18, 1955, owned by Peter Perakos and Perakos Theater Associates. (Many sources mention 1954, which might have been when Perakos bought the land.)

By all accounts, the Southington was huge, with capacity estimates between 900 and 1100 cars for its single screen. John Perakos, one of Peter’s sons, added a second screen in July 1979.

In December 1992, the Hartford Courant wrote that the Perakos family had informally offered to sell the drive-in for $2.75 million to the town of Southington, but the town wasn’t interested. More about that later.

An August 2002 article in The New York Times wrote, “For Mr. (Sperie) Perakos, (the drive-in) is a family business, opened in 1954 by his father, and now owned by himself and his brothers, John and Peter Perakos Jr.” The article also quoted the family talking about their dedication and how they were hooked on the business, and mentioned that “despite stormy weather, car after car pulled into the Southington Drive-In.”

Just a few weeks later, the Perakos family closed the drive-in permanently. An article in the Republican-American, captured at the CinemaTour forum, wrote that as of July 2003, a For Sale sign was on the property, and “Sperie and Peter Perakos referred questions about the property to their nephew, Peter, a Hartford-based attorney.” That attorney said in August 2003 that “the theater closed this year because the Perakos family members who run the theater, now in their 80s, were unable to get help.” But there was still a lot of talk about the family wanting to sell the land to somebody, and in April 2004, Southington voters overwhelmingly approved the $1.61 million purchase of the 40-acre parcel.

The New Haven Register had a nice article about the next phase of the Southington’s life. It began in the winter of 2009-10 at a Southington Town Council meeting when resident Mike Riccio asked what it would take to get that drive-in up and running again. He was told that the town couldn’t run a drive-in theater. But council member Dawn Miceli had “a light bulb go off in my head.” What if local civic groups, a different one each week, could run the drive-in? Miceli and Riccio began the Southington Drive-In Committee, and in June 2010, the Southington lit up for the first time since 2002.

The weekly Saturday night showings feature movies voted on by residents and have become a nice income source for the volunteer civic groups. Instead of a snack bar, local food vendors set up tables and booths. Patrons are also allowed to bring in food and beverages. To see a typical year of movies, you can check the 2017 schedule here.

The YouTube video of the day is a rare treat – a view of the drive-in as it looked decades ago. In this case, we see its heyday in 1990. This year, the Southington closed after its annual Halloween Festival in late October. I’m glad it’s in such safe hands.

Miles Today / Total: 85 / 39748 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: It’s not easy to find a decent meal on Christmas Day. Instead of resorting to convenience store beef jerky, I was very happy to find the Gobi Mongolian Grill. If you’ve never tried a Mongolian grill, you really should experience it. I watched the cooks prepare my selections with a variety of sauces, then I brought my full plate back to the table to add brown rice. I washed it down with a Budweiser and was glad to have such a nice dinner on such a quiet day.

Where I Virtually Stayed: One of the closest hotels to the Southington is the Comfort Suites, which was again was a great deal for the price. There were cookies and coffee waiting for me at check-in. My comfortable room had the full set of modern amenities. Breakfast had some meat and eggs to go with the Comfort waffle machine and the continental standards. I was glad to have stayed here.

Only in Southington: Just south of Southington in Cheshire, you’ll find the Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum, tens of thousands of items of cartoon character memorabilia from the personal collection of Herb and Gloria Barker, who bought many of the items for less than a dollar apiece at garage sales in the 1970s.

Next stop: Becky’s Drive-In, Walnutport PA.