Author Archives: mrdrivein

Transit sees uptick after digital conversion

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Transit Drive-In, click to visitThe Buffalo (NY) News ran an article this weekend about movie theaters’ transition to digital projection systems. At the top, with a great photo of the new projector, is Rick Cohen, owner of the Transit Drive-In (Lockport NY).

Cohen and the Transit converted to digital in March, and he’s happy about the improvements.  Instead of wrestling with huge reels of film for an hour each just to set up each movie, now he pops in a disc and is ready in less than five minutes. “And the quality is amazing,” Cohen said, “the dirt, dust, scratches and color-fade over time are all eliminated. The color remains vibrant.”

The other nice factor is that ticket sales are up 12 percent since the conversion, which Cohen attributed to “a better quality product that’s worth paying for.”

The Transit tied its conversion to a concession stand upgrade, and the whole project cost $1.5 million, half paid through fundraisers, half through a loan. According to the article, “Cohen encourages other operators to bite the bullet and pay the initial cost to convert because its an upgrade to their businesses with long-term benefits.” Go check it out!

Fort Worth’s Coyote won’t open till 2013

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According to a story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Tarrant Regional Water District owns the land and in February granted a 10-year lease for the drive-in. Wood had hoped to open this summer, but decided to hold off till spring when the Coyote will have completed “a pavilion, beer garden(!) and a large playground”.

KXAS, Dallas-Fort Worth’s news leader, added a two-minute video report on the Coyote’s status. It quotes J.D. Granger, the executive director of the Trinity River Vision Project, which KXAS says own the land. (Hmm, they can’t both own that land, can they?) Anyway, Granger said of the Coyote’s owners, “They decided, based on the site, this will be the best drive-in in the entire country. Because of that, they’re truly making this their flagship operation.” Definitely something to look forward to!

Memphis remembers the Bellevue

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Vance Lauderdale, a columnist for Memphis magazine, gave us a tease to whet our appetite for an article about the old Summer Drive-In (Memphis TN) in its November issue. (Not Memphis’s current Summer, which is still open, as shown by the Flickr pool photo at the right. Confusing!)

Anyway, this online memory isn’t about any Summer; it’s about the Bellevue, another closed drive-in that was in Memphis. Its centerpiece is the author’s 40-year-old photo of the back of the screen tower, which shows the theater manager’s living quarters at its base. “The Bellevue’s sign was especially nice because that cursive script and the floral decorations were all in neon, and the wide vertical bands are a nice touch.” You really ought to check out the article just for that. And I’ll keep watching for the full article about the Summer. Sounds great!