The Sage Crest Drive-In in Yerington NV has been closed since 1995, but it still attracts attention. The dry desert has preserved so much of the place, including most of the panels from its original screen.
KTVN, Reno’s News Leader, visited the old Sage Crest site a week ago for its Nevada Backroads segment. This YouTube video is a great way to see how well the drive-in is holding up despite 30 years of inactivity. Check it out!
Here’s a video to tack on to the sad story of the closing of Oklahoma’s Guthrie Drive-In for no good reason. That YouTube video, not the closing, is courtesy of KOKH, Oklahoma City’s News Leader.
Program note: Drive-in news was getting so slow in mid-January that I thought I could take a couple of weeks off. I was wrong. I’ll be catching up on the news for the rest of this week.
Two things that go together: Route 66 and drive-in theaters. The Santa Monica Pier seems to have accidentally noticed this. They’re holding a pop-up drive-in on Thursday, Jan. 15 in the upper-deck parking area of the pier, according to the Santa Monica Daily News and MSN. Although it’s the sort-of-official end point (with signs) of Route 66, and even though 2026 is its very official centennial year, the pier mentioned nothing about that for this event.
Folks who want to attend will need to sign up through Eventbrite, and the cost is free. Cars can start getting into place around 3:30 pm for the showing of “Grease.” The movie starts at 6:30, and cars won’t be allowed to leave until after 8. I hope someone points out the centennial to the organizers. Someone needs to set up a booth to sell copies of Drive-Ins of Route 66 there.