photo by Granola via Cinema Treasures

Warner’s Drive-In, which was rescued from oblivion by a local non-profit group in 2016, announced on its Facebook page last week that it was installing a new roof. It was another small step but a strong indication that the Historic Warner’s Drive-In & Cultural Resources Center is making sure that this Franklin WV institution will continue showing movies for years to come.

That story was nicely summarized in an article in The Inter-Mountain earlier this month. The cinderblock drive-in, built in 1952, was threatened by the need to convert to a digital projector. It stayed dark in 2015, but was saved by the creation of a community group to buy the property and renovate its old buildings.

“Getting good roofs, especially over the projection room, is a priority to protect our big investment,” said group coordinator Bob Davis. “Our screen is a building, very distinctive — but, has a roof that also needs replacement. So both buildings have leaks that we have to take care of right now. Our five-year plan has had to be put on hold while we handle the necessities.”

Since it’s that time of year, we’ll soon return to news of drive-ins that failed to answer the bell to open for Spring 2019. I thought we all needed a break, and this is a great way to celebrate a historic drive-in that was saved. There’s a lot more in that Inter-Mountain article, so you should go read it!