Author Archives: mrdrivein

LA Weekly Shows How, Where To Enjoy SoCal Drive-Ins

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Happy National Drive-In Movie Day, as we celebrate the anniversary of Richard Hollingshead’s 1933 opening day! In an article in today’s edition of LA Weekly, April Wolfe provides one of the better primers for rookie drive-in patrons. In the process, she also adds a bit of history as she points out some of the drive-ins that aren’t that far away from the Los Angeles area.

Start by planning to arrive an hour before the first feature. “Pack as if you’re going to a picnic in the park.” That includes bringing “folding lawn chairs; a blanket; a battery-powered boombox with FM radio; and” (drive-in owners, skip to the next paragraph) “a picnic basket filled with La Croix, hummus, pitas, olives, multiple cheeses, fruit and baguette.” Wolfe also definitely advises buying food and drinks from the concession stand, but I know some readers are triggered by the mention of outside food.

Wolfe clearly knows from experience. “You’ll want to find a spot about four rows back from the screen and dead center,” she writes. Douse your interior lights before trying anything tricky, and check that they stayed dark before you annoy others during a movie. If the concession stand serves flea market food during the day, ask whether any of those entrees are available for purchase.

Then she ticks through the available drive-ins, starting with her primary example, the Mission Tiki Drive-in Theatre in Montclair. Other drive-ins with notes include:

Skyline Drive-in Theater, Barstow. “The Skyline gets a fair amount of wind, which interrupts screenings, so check the weather before heading out.”

Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Theater, Twentynine Palms. “This drive-in has a history dating back to the 1920s.” (You need to read the whole thing.)

Rubidoux Drive-In Theatre and Van Buren Drive-In Theatre, Riverside. “Rubidoux opened in 1948 to entertain postwar suburbanites, and Van Buren opened in 1964 on what was once a sprawling orange grove.”

Santa Barbara Drive-In, Goleta. “(S)o close to the coast that you can feel and smell that beach air blowing through your car windows.”

I don’t know why the author left out the Paramount Drive-In Theatres or the Vineland Drive-In, both in the LA region, but at a time of year when my eyes glaze at yet another local paper’s article noticing that the local drive-in is open again, this LA Weekly article is a breath of fresh beach air. You know you really need to go read it!

June 5: Verne Drive In Theatre, Luverne MN

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Verne Drive-In marquee

photo from the Verne Drive-In web site

It’s Day 156 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. My virtual odometer rolled over 20,000 just south of the Missouri River as I drove three hours from Neligh NE to the Verne Drive In Theatre in Luverne in the southwest corner of Minnesota.

The Verne was definitely built by Ken Sargent and opened before 1955. One source lists the opening date as 1954, but Walt Deutsch, who bought the place in 1966, told The Globe of Worthington MN that he “thought the first owners had the theater for 17 years before he took it over,” which would make the start date around 1949. The drive-in has always been a single screen with a capacity of almost 300 cars.

Deutsch, who had built a house next door, sold the Verne in the 1980s, and it closed some time after that. Glenn Burmeister bought the Verne and reopened it in 2000 after building new ticket and concession buildings and removing the old speaker poles. According to a great video by Pioneer Public Broadcasting, Deutsch and Burmeister are friends, and Deutsch still comes over to help sell tickets when the line gets too long.

I’m always happy to be at a drive-in that’s showing movies on a Monday night, even when that movie is latest Pirates of the Caribbean installment for my second night in a row. Snacking on honey drummies and pork shanks, I was able to make it through the movie’s two and a quarter hours one more time.

Miles Today / Total:  195 / 20171 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales / 72

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant to the Verne, and possibly the best, is The Bluestem. The atmosphere is casual, but the menu is a bit upscale, or at least ambitious. Nothing beats a good filet mignon, and it was great to find someone who offers it. I added some breaded cheese balls and a slice of peanut butter devil’s food cake. I’ll eat healthier tomorrow.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The GrandStay Hotel & Suites was a regional chain I hadn’t run into before. Looks like it’s mostly around Minnesota and Wisconsin. At any rate, it was pretty nice. My room had a microwave, mini-fridge, a coffee maker, and good wifi. The hot breakfast was the best hotel breakfast I’d had in at least a few days. I’ll be looking for more of these GrandStays as I roam this region over the next week or two.

Only in Luverne: The Wayside Chapel just north of Luverne has more stained glass windows than seats, 6-3. (A photo from a story in The Globe from Worthington MN shows there’s also room for a standing preacher or two.) Parishioners of the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne dedicated the tiny chapel in 1963. The Rev. Bert Den Herder told The Globe, “It’s open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.”

Next stop: Superior 71 Drive-In Theater, Spirit Lake IA.

June 4: TK-Starlite Drive-In, Neligh NE

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TK Starlite Drive-In marquee lit with cloudy background

photo from the TK-Starlite Facebook page

It’s Day 155 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took about three and a half hours to drive from the Midway Drive-in Theatre north of Miller SD down south across the border to the TK-Starlite Drive-In in Neligh NE.

The Starlite Drive-In opened in 1952 with a single screen and room for about 300 cars. It’s been operating ever since. Current owner Stacy Klabenes purchased it from Jack March and added the TK initials “using the letters from his children’s names,” according to a 2011 article in the Norfolk (NE) Daily News.

“I want to pull more people in,” Klabenes said then. “Basically, we want to put Neligh back on the map.”

Jennifer Blackburn-Nielsen, a spokesperson for local business group Grow Neligh, told the Daily News, “The drive-in theater is also a very important aspect as far as tourism in Neligh and helps attract people from all over the state who come to enjoy the nostalgia of a drive-in theater.”

It was great to find an open drive-in on a Sunday night. I saw the latest Pirates of the Caribbean installment again, keeping my eyes busy again while I munched on popcorn and a pizza burger.

Miles Today / Total:  211 / 19976 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales / 71

Nearby Restaurant: When I read “Imperial” on the sign, I think Chinese restaurant. When I see Imperial Steakhouse, I think, y’know, steak. But it turns out that this place serves a little bit of everything, especially Mexican food. I enjoyed the “enchiladas imperial” with rice and beans and a beer margarita. Yum!

Where I Virtually Stayed: The TK-Starlite is unusual in that it actually suggests nearby lodging. At the top of its list is the Deluxe Motel. The Deluxe is nothing too fancy, but it had a fridge in the room and coffee available, two of the things I hope to find wherever I spend the night.

Only in Neligh: Roadside America also has an entry for the Deluxe Motel. According to their story, Michael Landon, then starring in the TV staple Bonanza, was the headliner at the local county fair in 1962 and spent the night at the Deluxe Motel. Now there’s a large hole in the side of the wall in Room 10 with a plaque that says after he checked out, they noticed the damaged wall. “What may have started out as a slam on a fancy-pants Hollywood star has obviously morphed into civic pride for the late great star.”

Next stop: Verne Drive In Theatre, Luverne MN.