Author Archives: mrdrivein

Motel going up next to Vermont’s Sunset?

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Sunset Drive-In marqueeSeven Days, Vermont’s independent voice, ran a good long article about the Handy family of that state. About halfway through, the article focuses on Peter Handy, owner of the Sunset Drive-In of Colchester, and we get to learn a lot about him.

Handy lives in a house adjacent to the drive-in he’s owned for over 30 years. His parents bought the Sunset in 1948 and ran it for over 30 years before handing it over. Handy started working there when he was 8 years old, tending the carbon arc lamps that lit the projector.

The most surprising paragraph of the article comes near the end of Peter Handy’s section. “Peter Handy’s nostalgia for the good old days of drive-in theaters is evident in his latest business enterprise: a 12-room motel under construction next to the drive-in. Intended to serve drive-in aficionados, he says the Starlight Inn is so named as ‘a tribute to all the drive-in theaters we lost since their heyday.’” That would put it in the company of the Monte Vista CO’s Movie Manor, which faces the Star Drive-In there.

There are more fun stories about Peter Handy, including the time he sort of foiled a hold-up attempt, and there’s a Sunset box office photo, so go read it!

Holiday Twin doing great with its new projectors

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The Loveland (CO) Reporter-Herald published a nice portrait of the Holiday Twin Drive-In (Fort Collins) and its owners, Stephanie and Wesley Webb. The Webbs sank about a quarter-million dollars into renovations to support digital projection for their two screens. And you would expect, “We’re in it for the long haul as long as we can stay there,” according to Mrs. Webb.

In the article you’ll find a good history of the Webbs and the Holiday Twin, about the work that working with film used to require, and of course that nice video embedded above. But don’t settle for just the video, go read it!

This is probably the Keno’s final season

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Keno Drive-InThis week, the Kenosha (WI) News did a magnificent job of reporting the status of the Keno Drive-In of Pleasant Prairie. According to the article, a Save the Keno page popped up on Facebook last week, drawing a lot of support. The city fathers in Pleasant Prairie say they don’t know of any specific plans to replace the Keno with a Walmart or anything else, but apparently there are a lot of rumors about it.

Mind you, it doesn’t look good. According to the article, “Jeff Rey, president of Cinema Management Corp., which has leased Keno for the past seven years, said he was told by the property owner last fall that this year would likely be the last for the drive-in.” Rey said he’s seen workers performing soil tests on the site. The landowner couldn’t be reached for comment.

Rey also said that he invested in digital projection equipment for another drive-in he owns, the Cascade in West Chicago IL, but he’s sticking with film for now at the Keno, where business is still good. “I think people are wanting to get out there because this might be their last chance,” he said. “Unless something unexpected happens, it looks like it will be the end.”