Category Archives: Video

Sept. 20: The Saco Drive In, Saco ME

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It’s Day 263 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It was another day in the suburbs of Portland ME, requiring less than half an hour to drive from the Prides Corner Drive-In in Westbrook to The Saco Drive In in Saco ME.

The Saco is the second-oldest drive-in still operating; only Shankweilers Drive-In Theatre in Orefield PA predates it. Based on the list in Kerry Segrave’s Drive-In Theaters, the Saco is probably one of the first couple dozen drive-ins ever built. It opened on July 15, 1939, a decade before in-car speakers came to town, so those first patrons must have been listening to the single loudspeaker with their windows open. Back then it was called the Saco Open Air Theatre.

According to Camille Smalley’s book The Saco Drive-In: Cinema Under the Maine Sky, Eugene Boragine and two partners were the Saco’s first owners. The drive-in closed for the duration of World War II, then reopened in July 1946. About 1950, Boragine bought out the partners and ran the place with his wife Helen Toth. In 1952, he changed its name to the Saco Motor-In Theatre, then again in 1954 to just the Saco Drive-In.

Smalley wrote that the Saco was resold “only a few times,” and Segrave’s book says it was put up for sale in 1987. An article in The Free Press of the University of Southern Maine said that Pat Roberge’s husband bought it in 1986, saying they had leased it to others during the next 25 years. As of 2014, it was still owned by Roberge Construction.

In 2011, Ry Russell and a couple of USM marketing classmates began leasing the Saco. They raised $20,000 to cover the start-up costs and were off to take a 21st-century approach to management. They built up a social media following which happened to pay off in 2013 when Project Honda offered a digital projectors to drive-ins that could garner the most votes. “You could say we were running for this contest before it even started,” Russell later told Portland Monthly (pdf).

For the YouTube video of the day, I picked the clip from WMTW, Portland’s News Leader, about the Saco’s victory in Project Honda.

This time of year, the Saco is still showing movies on Fridays and Saturdays. But not Wednesdays, giving me another night off.

Miles Today / Total: 14 / 30959 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 166

Nearby Restaurant: For the old-fashioned diner I wanted to substitute for missing out on the drive-in, I saw that the Auto Mile Diner even had a car in the name. The “diner” part was more authentic than retro-styled, and the superb biscuits and gravy made me glad I visited.

Where I Virtually Stayed: It had been so long since I stayed at a Hampton Inn that I jumped at the chance here in Saco. Modern, comfy room with a work desk, though no fridge. Hampton standard (good) breakfast with hot and cold options. Just a solid, reliable place.

Only in Saco: Just up US 1 from the drive-in is Scarborough’s Len Libby Candies, home of a life-sized chocolate moose. His name, of course, is Lenny, and he weighs 1700 pounds. They say he’s “the world’s largest chocolate animal sculpture,” which makes me wonder what larger animals there might be that would lend themselves to chocolate artistry.

Next stop: Weirs Drive-In Theatre, Laconia NH.

Sept. 19: Prides Corner Drive-In, Westbrook ME

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It’s Day 262 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. From a far suburb of Portland to a near suburb of Portland, it was just 45 minutes’ drive from the Bridgton Twin Drive-In, in Bridgton ME of course, to Prides Corner Drive-In in Westbrook.

John Tevanian, who bought the Bridgton in 1971, built the Pride’s Corner in 1952, opening it in May 1953. (The grand opening newspaper ad had an apostrophe, but the marquee doesn’t and most subsequent references don’t have it either.) Tevanian was a teacher for 35 years with the Portland school system and according to his obituary, operated the drive-in as a great summer job. He passed away just this past July at the age of 91.

There must have been ups and downs during John’s half-century-plus at the Prides Corner, but I can’t find anything about them. Instead, the story picks up after the 2015 season, when the drive-in still didn’t have a digital projector. In 2016, it just didn’t open.

In the “Summerguide” 2016 issue of Portland Monthly, the author begins his article, “When I meet up with the owner of Pride’s Corner Drive-in, 47-year-old Andrew Tevanian, he’s dressed as a World War II medic.” Andrew is one of John’s sons, and he told the Monthly about his failed GoFundMe campaign and plans to start an IndieGoGo to raise the money for the equipment. The author wrote, “I ask Andrew if he knows when, if at all, he will open the drive-in this year. He shrugs his shoulders.”

That was presumably followed by a June 12, 2016 article in the Portland Press Herald in which John’s wife Thelma Tevanian said the business was going through a “family restructuring” and would reopen eventually. She also said that she and her husband were telling Prides Corner fans to ignore any fundraisers.

The Press Herald wrote that John and Thelma were behind the May 28, 2016 post on the drive-in’s Facebook page. It said in part, “We are in the process of setting a path for the future. None of our decisions are dependent on fundraising or solicitations of any kind. This is in direct opposition to our fundamental beliefs and no one has the ability to act on our behalf.”

Then there was big news just a few months ago. The Forecaster of Falmouth ME wrote in July 2017, “Jeff Tevanian, the drive-in manager and son of owners John and Thelma Tevanian, said the theater should be open by Aug. 4, possibly as early as July 28. … (Jeff) grew up in the business, but said this will be the first time he operates a drive-in by himself. He helped manage it for a few years in the early 2000s, but his brother Andrew had been the manager until 2015.” The soft opening was Aug. 18, and the drive-in hopes for a full grand opening next spring.

For the YouTube video of the day, I couldn’t help choosing one from prolific poster Andrew Tevanian. This one appears to be a promo from 2015.

Perhaps making up for lost time, the Prides Corner is still showing movies on Fridays through Sundays. But not Tuesdays, leaving me with another weeknight away from the drive-in.

Miles Today / Total: 30 / 30945 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 166

Nearby Restaurant: For a bit of adventure, I had dinner at Phoever Maine, a Vietnamese restaurant. Spring roll appetizers set up the Pho Chin beef noodle bowl, and it all went well with beer from Portland’s Allagash Brewing Company.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Westbrook borders Portland, so the Super 8 in Westbrook is across Riverside Street from the Ramada Plaza in Portland, and the Ramada is closer to the drive-in, so that’s where I went. My room had neither a fridge nor a microwave, but at least there was wifi. There was an on-site restaurant for breakfast, which was really nice, just not included.

Only in Westbrook Portland: Roadside America reports that according to its founder and curator, the International Cryptozoology Museum is the only one of its kind in the world. Cryptozoology is the study of unknown or mysterious animals, including monsters. The capper is an eight-foot-tall Bigfoot, built by a Wisconsin taxidermist.

Next stop: The Saco Drive In, Saco ME.

Sept. 18: Bridgton Twin Drive-In, Bridgton ME

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It’s Day 261 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took almost two hours to drive from the Skowhegan Drive-In, in Skowhegan ME of course, to the Bridgton Twin Drive-In, in Bridgton ME of course.

The Bridgton opened as a single-screen drive-in in 1957. A reference book from 1963 lists the owner as “Daytz-Walter Esley”, which I’m guessing was a partnership since “Daytz Theatre Ent.” owned the Auburn in Danville ME. John Tevanian, who built the Pride’s Corner Drive-In in Westbrook in 1953, bought the Bridgton in 1971. He passed away just this past July at the age of 91.

Tevanian’s son, also named John Tevanian, took over in 1996 according to a story in The Bridgton News. He added a second screen in 2000. From the look of the surrounding land, he must have carved out a chunk of forest to make the second viewing area.

With digital conversion looming in 2013, Tevanian invested $350,000 to triple the size of his concession building and projection booth to be ready for the upgrade. He told the News, “I decided going into this that I was going to be either all in or all out. Well, I’m all in.”

In a 2016 article on KeepMeCurrent.com, Tevanian was still there, reminiscing on the occasion of the Bridgton’s 60th season. He worked for his father as a kid in the 1970s, when the drive-in was a teenage hangout that played horror movies. When Tevanian left for college in 1986, he said, “the business was collapsing.”

After returning from college, Tevanian saw the clientele shift to families as more kid-friendly movies came around. Now the nostalgia factor brings in the parents while the movies appeal to the kids.

The best video of the day I could find is from WMTW (Portland ME’s News Leader) on YouTube, showing a very snowy Bridgton Twin that had to delay the start of the 2017 season as a result.

At this time of year, the drive-in is only open Fridays and Saturdays, leaving me to relax for a quiet Monday evening.

Miles Today / Total: 100 / 30915 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 166

Nearby Restaurant: When the drive-in in town is closed, the next best thing is a retro diner such as Ricky’s Diner. First, breakfast is served all day, so I’m already happy. There’s a poster of a drive-in marquee on the wall, so that’s another plus. There’s a working jukebox, a checkerboard tile floor, and plenty (though not all) of furniture with red vinyl. I don’t know whether blueberry pancakes are a retro thing, but I sure enjoy them.

Where I Virtually Stayed: With the whole evening to myself, I had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the gentle breeze at Grady’s West Shore Motel. As promised, this is a motel on the west shore of Highland Lake, complete with a sandy beach and hammock. Maybe there wasn’t a fridge in my room, but there were smores by the evening campfire. For a quiet evening, that’s a good tradeoff.

Only in Bridgton: According to Wikipedia, when the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway bypassed Bridgton, the town built the 2-foot-gauge Bridgton and Saco River Railroad link to the national rail network in 1883. After decades of mainly freight service, it became a tourist attraction as the last 2-foot-gauge railroad offering passenger service in the late 1930s. The railroad ceased operations in October 1941, and its rails were converted to scrap metal to fight World War II.

Next stop: Prides Corner Drive-In, Westbrook ME.