Category Archives: 2017 Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey

This is the virtual tour that will imagine what it would be like to visit every North American drive-in theater in 2017 by visiting one or two every day. While the drive-ins, restaurants, and hotels are real, all the events in this section are fiction. But it’s fun to dream!

July 18: Auburn Garrett Drive In Theatre, Garrett IN

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It’s Day 199 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I was back across the border again, but with a short drive. Less than an hour after I left the Capri Drive-In Theater in Coldwater MI. I was rolling up to the Auburn Garrett Drive In Theatre, just north of Garrett IN.

This drive-in opened in May 1951 as the Tri-Hi Drive-In, with parking for only around 150 cars. In 1959, it was renamed the Garrett Drive-In, then the Auburn Garrett Drive-In Theatre soon after. Around that time, they widened the original screen to accommodate wider movies and expanded the lot to around 300.

The Auburn Garrett added more parking was added in the late 1960s, bringing the capacity up to around 430. Its current, much larger screen was erected in the early 1970’s. Audio was originally provided by in-car speakers, but is now provided on FM radio.

The Fort Wayne Reader ran a story in 2006 about how the Auburn Garrett’s was dealing with the freshly implemented Daylight Saving Time in Indiana. “Last year’s 8 or 8:30 pm starting time usually let the drive-in fit both features and an intermission in before 1 am,” it wrote. “Now, the movie starts around 9:30. It has thrown off the concession side of the business, too, which is where most theaters make their profits.”

Still, owner Bruce Babbitt said things were better in 2006 than they were when he first bought the place in the 1980s. “I can remember when business was really crummy — we do more business now in a night than I used to do in a week in the 80s,” he said. “I’m just grateful for the business we’re getting and the customers who are still supporting us. They’re still driving through the gate.”

This was my fourth viewing of Spider-Man: Homecoming, which isn’t anything near the most I’ve done on this odyssey. With movies coming out quickly over the summer, I hope to see a wider variety soon.

Miles Today / Total:  48 / 25437 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Spider-Man: Homecoming / 115

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant to the Auburn Garrett is as seasonal as the drive-in. The Blue Moon offers fast food entrees, but what really matters is the ice cream. I mean, the chili dog was pretty good, but I don’t know where else I’ll find cherry ice cream that good.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There’s no place to stay in Garrett, so it’s only fitting that the closest hotels to the drive-in are in Auburn. Although there’s a Hampton Inn, always a safe choice, in Auburn, I saved some cash by staying at a very nice Quality Inn there. Fresh baked cookies are always a great start, and screened porches with rockers made the place even more welcoming. My room had all the amenities, and breakfast worked out great. This is a Quality Inn to seek out if you’re staying around here.

Only in Garrett Auburn: If you love vintage cars before your drive-in experience, little Auburn is packed with automobile museums. There’s the Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum, the National Automotive and Truck Museum, and the topper next door, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum housed in the old Duesenberg administration building.

Next stop: Starlight Drive-In, Maria Stein OH.

July 17: Capri Drive-In Theater, Coldwater MI

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It’s Day 198 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I was glad to be done with crazy long drives for a while. After 12 hours’ worth over the previous two days, the hour and a half it took to go from Liberty Center OH to the Capri Drive-In Theater in Coldwater MI felt like nothing.

The Capri was built by John and Mary Magocs and opened in August 1964. Back then it was a single screen serving up to 1000 cars. As the Capri’s story page relates, the snack bar at the time was leased to Auto City Candy Company of Detroit. Operating a Drive-In for the Magocs was a family affair. John and Mary, John Jr. and Tom, spent many a night making sure the show went off each night.

In 1977, the operation of the Capri Drive-In was leased to William Clarke of Coldwater while the Magocs resided in Florida. In 1980, Tom and John Jr. resumed operation of the theatre. One of their first decisions was to install AM radio transmission of the movie sound. All but 5 rows of speakers were removed.

In 1986, the Capri became a twin. Screen Two was added on the back side of theatre. Screen One’s car capacity was decreased to 550 cars, with Screen Two parking 300 more.

In 2016, USA Today readers voted the Capri the second-best drive-in in the US, behind only the 99W of Newburg OR. TripAdvisor reviewers give it an average of 4.5 on a scale of 5, naming it the best Thing To Do in Coldwater. It really is a very nice place to watch a drive-in movie.

For today’s video, I’ve embedded Pure Michigan’s 50th anniversary show, which is both a tribute to the end of the film era at the Capri and what feels like a year-end blooper reel. For another neat Capri video, check out the historic footage of the construction of the place; that’s also available on YouTube. It includes some especially interesting aerial shots, which makes sense considering that whole airport connection.

Thank goodness the Capri has two screens, giving me a chance to dodge Despicable Me 3 once again. Spider-Man: Homecoming is a better movie, especially if you grew up reading comic books the way I did.

Miles Today / Total:  84 / 25389 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Spider-Man: Homecoming / 114

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant to this drive-in / airport combination is the Prop Blast Cafe, but I went into town for something more like the drive-in than the airport. Short’s Rootbeer Stand has the classic drive-in restaurant look with lots of neon, primary colors and classic music. And root beer and hot dogs. Timeless!

Where I Virtually Stayed: The Capri offers lodging packages, something every drive-in should consider. The package that caught my eye was for my favorite chain, the Hampton Inn. Everything was solid Hampton, including all the amenities in my room, the very nice breakfast buffet, and an On the Run breakfast bag at checkout. It makes good snacking on the road.

Only in Coldwater: The Tibbits Opera House is the second-oldest theater in Michigan. Barton S. Tibbits, mayor of Coldwater at the time, built it in 1882. It was altered to be more movie-friendly in 1934, but when the movie business faded, the Tibbits was boarded up and scheduled to be razed by the end of the 1950s. The Tibbits Opera Foundation and Arts Council was founded in 1963 and now operates the facility year-round as a community center for the arts.

Next stop: Auburn Garrett Drive In Theatre, Garrett IN.

July 16: Field of Dreams Drive-In, Liberty Center OH

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It’s Day 197 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I paid for my last-minute detour to Michigan’s upper peninsula, driving six and a half hours from Manistique to a drive-in that’s only open on weekends, the Field of Dreams Drive-In northeast of Liberty Center OH.

Just last month, The Toledo Blade ran a great, long article about the Field of Dreams and its owners, Rod and Donna Saunders. They had lamented the closing of the Star Auto Theater of Wauseon OH, where Rod grew up. The Star shut down in 1999, and the Saunders were reminded of its passing whenever they drove by and saw its abandoned screen.

“Finally, after a couple of years of hearing her say that, I said somebody ought to open one,” Rod said.

After researching some other sites, they settled on the most logical – the backyard of their home. It required plowing down acres of cornfields, so it was natural to name it the Field of Dreams after the 1989 Kevin Costner movie.

This place is really remote, so it doesn’t have to worry with a lot of light pollution. As the Blade put it, “The theater has been known to fool more than one GPS or cell phone, and — when corn’s about ready to be harvested — it’s easy to drive by the site without knowing it.”

The Saunders added a second Field of Dreams Drive-In in Tiffin OH, about 70 miles away, in 2011 after learning that its previous owner was about to shut it down. I’ve got more drive-ins in Michigan and Indiana left to visit, but I should get back to the Tiffin in early August.

Thank goodness the Field of Dreams has two screens, giving me a chance to dodge Despicable Me 3 this night. War for the Planet of the Apes was the early movie on Screen 2, and it makes a good drive-in movie, but I bet I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d seen the movies that led up to it.

Miles Today / Total:  420 / 25305 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: War for the Planet of the Apes / 113

Nearby Restaurant: This was my first exposure to Pisanello’s Pizza, a local chain centered around Toledo. After the decadent food I’d had the previous couple of days, I grounded myself with a large Italian salad. Then I smelled the pizza, and compromised on a small pizza sub sandwich. That way, I had my pepperoni and lettuce too.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There’s no place to stay in Liberty Center. The closest hotels to the drive-ins are in Napoleon, and the Comfort Inn there took care of me for the night. My room had the full range of amenities, breakfast was solid Comfort Inn quality with a waffle maker, and the location was quiet away from the highway. Just what I needed after a couple of days of hard driving.

Only in Liberty Center: Just next door in Napoleon OH, the Campbell’s Soup plant has a water tower decorated like a Campbell’s Soup can, and a grounded stationary 20-foot tower painted to look just like a huge can of Campbell’s tomato soup. That’s it!

Next stop: Capri Drive-In Theater, Coldwater MI.