Author Archives: mrdrivein

June 7: Valle Drive in, Newton IA

Posted on by

It’s Day 158 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I drove from Spirit Lake near Iowa’s northern border to the center of the state. The trip to the Valle Drive in in Newton, just east of Des Moines, took about three and a half hours.

The Valle is the oldest drive-in in Iowa. It opened in 1948 (says its web site) or 1949 (says its Facebook page), and still uses its original concession stand, popcorn machine, and in-car speakers. (There’s also a radio broadcast.)

As shown by the above 2014 YouTube video from KCCI, Des Moines’ News Leader, Jim Mertz, who bought the place from the original owners in 1976, was happy about successfully changing over to digital projection.

The summer before, Valle manager Katie Pletcher had told USA Today that the movie studios were getting serious about cutting off film to theaters. “They keep pushing back the deadline, but we think they might actually mean it this time,” she said.

“The drive-in will always be there. It’s going to last longer than I do,” Mertz said.

Wonder Woman is a fine drive-in movie, so I didn’t mind seeing it two nights in a row. Heck, it’s great to be able to see anything on a Wednesday night. The concession stand at the Valle had something close to one of my favorite treats from the drive-ins of my youth – frozen chocolate malts. The weather was perfect, starting in the low 70s and descending during the show. What a great night to be outside!

Miles Today / Total:  217 / 20464 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Wonder Woman / 74

Nearby Restaurant: Another small town, another diner. I’m really glad that the Midtown Cafe in Newton was still open for lunch when I arrived. Since it was Wednesday, I had the Wednesday lunch special – meat loaf. Great comfort food, served up by a true downtown diner, topped off with a slice of great diner pie!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Once again, I was back at a Super 8 motel, and this one’s a Pride of Super 8 award winner. Once again, I got a remodeled room with a mini-fridge, a microwave, and solid wifi. Breakfast included waffles, yogurt, and all the carbs and coffee I wanted.

Only in Newton: Just a few miles southeast of Newton, there’s a 60-foot high statue created from over 200 steel wagon wheels. It was built over 20 years ago by Leonard J. Maasdam when he was 90 years old.

Next stop: Falconwood, Bellevue NE.

June 6: Superior 71 Drive-In Theater, Spirit Lake IA

Posted on by

It’s Day 157 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Thanks to I-90, it took me just a little over an hour to drive from Luverne MN to the Superior 71 Drive-In Theater just south of the border in Spirit Lake IA.

The Superior 71 is a single-screen (55 by 90 feet), 21st century drive-in with a capacity of about 360 cars. It might accommodate another couple hundred in nearby grassy areas when they’re dry.

As described by a fine video from KARE, Minneapolis’ News Leader, Gaylord Kemp built the place in 2008 after he pried 10 acres of farmland away from a corn grower, convinced local officials to change the zoning, and found an intact screen eight miles away at a drive-in shuttered for nearly 40 years.

“We began looking for land in 2005,” Kemp told the Sioux City Journal this week. He found this 10-acre cornfield in Superior Township just before land prices went up. He found his screen practically next door on Highway 9, where the old Chief Drive-In stood, abandonded, west of Estherville. Kemp built a two-story projection, concessions and restrooms building.

“It’s a perfect retirement business,” Kemp said. “The drive-in creates an atmosphere everyone enjoys. What kind of job can you work at where people come in and they’re all happy because they can relax and watch a movie?”

I was really happy to find a Tuesday night drive-in movie, and it’s great to be making progress towards my goal of 200 live nights this year. This was my fifth active night in a row, the first time that’s happened since February. More than all that, I was happy to finally get a chance to see the Wonder Woman movie that has been getting so much buzz. It’s a really good movie, especially for drive-ins.

Miles Today / Total:  76 / 20247 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Wonder Woman / 73

Nearby Restaurant: I love finding comfort food, and even the name Family Diner just, well it doesn’t scream, but it quietly assures you of comfort food. Where else can you get a good hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy except at a true diner? And don’t get me started on the huge slices of meringue pie!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Another small town, another Super 8 motel. I guess I’m racking up a lot of virtual Wyndham Rewards points so I can stay at even more Super 8s for free when I’m done with this odyssey. Anyway, the Spirit Lake Super 8 had freshly remodeled rooms with mini-fridges, microwaves, and solid wifi, plus there’s that carb-packing Super 8 continental breakfast (with biscuits and gravy!) to get me on the road in the morning.

Only in Spirit Lake: Just a little south of the drive-in is Arnolds Park Amusement Park, which has been in operation in one form or another since 1889, when Wesley Arnold built a 60-foot tall tobaggan-style waterslide. It includes the Legend roller coaster, built in 1930 and one of the oldest wooden coasters still in operation.

Next stop: Valle Drive in, Newton IA.

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

Posted on by

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!