View Larger Map If you remember way back in September, we talked about the Landmark Cinemas in Peoria IL. It’s an unremarkable indoor movie house, but it had the great idea to add a seasonal drive-in to its overflow parking lot. (Which means that even during its busiest times of … Continue reading
Category Archives: Illinois
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
Almost-famous old truck to help drive-in
Brian Grams, director of the Volo Auto Museum in Volo IL, had to search all the way to Kansas to find the beat-up 1963 Dodge D200 pickup truck that will be featured in this summer’s Superman movie Man of Steel. The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago had a nice story … Continue reading
McHenry Outdoor Theater getting ready for 2013
A recent story in the Northwest Herald, which serves McHenry County IL, described how a few seasonal businesses there were preparing for the return of warm weather. After spending the first half talking about an ice cream parlor, the article began discussing something we care about, the McHenry Outdoor Theater of … Continue reading
It’s Drive-In Reopening Season
With the last weekend of March upon us, it’s time to welcome the return of several drive-ins to active duty. The Belleville (IL) News-Democrat reports that the Skyview is scheduled to reopen today. The Essex-Middle River (MD) Patch reports that Bengies will open on or before April 12. And our … Continue reading
Clark 54 Drive-In for sale, cheap
KHQA, the Tri-States’ News Leader, reports that the Clark 54 Drive-In of Summer Hill IL is for sale, and the official Clark 54 web site confirms it. According to KHQA, owner Mike Glass isn’t selling because of the looming conversion to digital projection or a lack of business, but “for … Continue reading
Harvest Moon reaches its fundraising goal
The Paxton (IL) Record reports that the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In (Gibson City) reached its fundraising goal of $165,000 and will reopen for a new season on March 29. We’ve been following this saga on Carload here and here. Manager Ben Harroun said that he’s waiting to hear from his supplier to … Continue reading
LA Times profiles Rubidoux’s digital conversion
The Los Angeles Times ran a great story last weekend about the digital projection conversion and the problems it is giving drive-ins in general and the Rubidoux Drive-In (Riverside CA) in particular. I don’t want to bury the lead, so the good news is that the Rubidoux plans to make … Continue reading
Harvest Moon enters final fundraising push
There’s a short video update on the Harvest Moon Drive-In (Gibson City IL), previously chronicled here. WMBD, central Illinois’ new leader, said a couple of weeks ago that the Harvest Moon’s fundraiser has “been successful so far” but needs another $14,000 by the middle of February. When what happens, exactly? I … Continue reading
Cascade also turned to Kickstarter
From the St. Charles (IL) Patch comes word that the Cascade Drive-In (West Chicago) tried a Kickstarter campaign to help finance its conversion to digital projection. That seems to be the Illinois thing to do, as shown by the Midway (Palmyra), the Harvest Moon (Gibson City) and the McHenry Outdoor Theater … Continue reading