Author Archives: mrdrivein

LA Times profiles Rubidoux’s digital conversion

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Rubidoux Drive-in screenThe Los Angeles Times ran a great story last weekend about the digital projection conversion and the problems it is giving drive-ins in general and the Rubidoux Drive-In (Riverside CA) in particular.

I don’t want to bury the lead, so the good news is that the Rubidoux plans to make the conversion. We also learn that the Cascade (West Chicago IL) will also convert despite the failure of its Kickstarter campaign. Writer Laura J. Nelson sets this positive news in a grim setting, that the switch will be difficult for more drive-ins and fatal to some.

Nelson gives the best description of the economics of digital projection, including Hollywood’s plan and the special problems posed by the drive-in projection booth. That’s just another part of a great, sweeping article that touches on the history of drive-ins, its recent casualties, and the appeal of seeing movies under the stars.

If you’re a drive-in fan at all, you’ve got to check out the full article with its 19 accompanying photos. It’s also got two great graphs using United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association data showing the rise and decline of drive-ins by year and the current drive-in population by state. Go read it!

What will happen to Cottage View’s sign?

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As mentioned earlier, there was a flurry of media activity when the Cottage View Drive-In (Cottage Grove MN) closed last fall, making way for a Walmart. A recent Minneapolis StarTribune story discusses the efforts underway to preserve its iconic sign, somewhere, somehow.

One thing seems to be sure – the sign won’t stay there. The site’s owner has offered the sign to the city, which is looking into options for preserving it. Cottage Grove mayor Myron Bailey said that he would like to see the sign included in the new development, but hasn’t had any formal talks yet.

“We would encourage the city to keep the sign as close to the original location as possible,” said Erin Hanafin Berg, field representative for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota. Part of its historical significance is the context of its surroundings.

Personally, I hope they keep it like the Boulder CO Holiday drive-in sign, which stayed in place even as a housing development sprouted on its land. Worse would be like the Cinderella in Englewood CO; the condo development that replaced it changed the sign to promote the development. But anyway, go read the StarTribune story, which has more details and quotes about the Cottage View sign and who’s interested in it.

Harvest Moon enters final fundraising push

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Harvest Moon Drive-In logoThere’s a short video update on the Harvest Moon Drive-In (Gibson City IL), previously chronicled here. WMBD, central Illinois’ new leader, said a couple of weeks ago that the Harvest Moon’s fundraiser has “been successful so far” but needs another $14,000 by the middle of February. When what happens, exactly? I don’t know, especially since the donation page talks about the end of January.

So go watch the video (sorry I can’t embed it) and check out the donation incentives that are available. Good luck, Harvest Moon!