Video: Wichita Rallies To Save Starlight


The latest news from KSNW, Wichita’s News Leader, about the Starlite Drive-In Theatre there is that over 200 residents rallied at a nearby park to protest its shutdown. Last month, owner Chuck Bucinski abruptly closed for the season, announced that the drive-in would not reopen, and scheduled an equipment auction for Nov. 13.

The protesters were joined by Rick Cohen, owner of Lockport NY’s Transit Drive-In, occasional contributor to this blog, and generally nice guy. Cohen told KSNW, “There’s no other drive-in theater like this in the country, it’s just designed, engineered and built to the highest standards in the drive in industry.”

According to the Wichita Eagle, Cohen and Blake Smith, co-owner of the Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa OK, have extended a cash offer starting at $750,000 to purchase the Starlite from Bucinski and keep it running. They had been separately trying to buy the Starlite from longtime owner Jim Goble before he died of cancer in 2015.

I hadn’t mentioned that Eagle story or other followups because I’m just pessimistic about this whole situation. Bucinski has been quiet since making the closing announcements, and my guess is that his profitable sale of the Starlite’s land is already wrapped up. I don’t see any evidence that public protests are going to change his mind. I sincerely hope that I’m wrong.

At any rate, here’s one more chance to get a video glance at how the Starlite looks today. Just in case it’s our last look at a Wichita landmark.

Video: Wichita’s Starlite Has Closed

Bad news from the Wichita Eagle, which reported today that the Starlite Drive-In Theatre has turned off its projectors for the last time. That came on the heels of this morning’s email from the Starlite which said, “This was a difficult decision many years in the making with declining attendance and rapidly rising costs of maintenance and technology.”

The Eagle wrote that owner Chuck Bucinski told his employees that “the theater has been in financial trouble since the digital projectors were installed.” Which seems odd considering that those projectors should have been at least subsidized by the community fundraising the Starlite mounted at the time, when it was still owned by Jim Goble. That’s all according to the article, which said Bucinski bought the place in 2016.

Just a few months ago, Bucinski filed to change the Starlite’s zoning to allow for industrial and commercial uses for the drive-in land. At the time, he said the move was “strictly for estate-planning purposes”.

It’s a darned shame that Wichita is going to lose its only drive-in to ozoners’ eternal enemy – a landowner with more profitable plans for his property. Since that email suggested that the decision had been made a long time ago, it’s doubly sad that that loyal viewers were denied the opportunity to say goodbye in a farewell season, which would have boosted attendance and possibly boosted some sympathy for Bucinski. Instead, if he’s remembered at all, he’ll be known as the guy who turned out the lights at the Starlite.

Inc. Mag Spotlights KS Boulevard

Boulevard Drive-In marquee

Photo © Jim Good. Used by permission.

As part of a tour of small businesses, Inc. magazine ran a very nice feature about the Boulevard Drive-In Theatre in Kansas City KS. It described the festivities of June 15, which the mayor proclaimed as Wes Neal Day in honor of the man who bought the drive-in 1984 after working there 30 years. Wes still owns the Boulevard, which is now run by his grandson Brian.

Although the drive-in was profitable most years, its recent turning point was in 2012 when it bought the equipment to become the first drive-in with 4K-resolution digital projection. As someone who saw movies there before and after the conversion, I can tell you that the brightness and clarity are especially important because of the Boulevard’s unusually large, narrow viewing field. It’s constrained by Turkey Creek, whose flooding in 1999 led to the insurance money for digital audio the next year.

It’s no surprise that, with the return of family-friendly feature films, business is booming. “Now when a new Disney or Pixar flick is on the bill, cars may line up three hours in advance to snag a spot,” Inc. wrote. Wes isn’t in it for the movies, but for the people who watch them. “Every weekend,” he says, “I will have a lot of people come up to me. They say they appreciate what we are doing for them.”

There is so much more in that Inc. article, including a few photos, so you know you really should go read it!