Category Archives: Colorado

Watch the last year of film at a Colorado drive-in

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Chuck and Marianne James of the Mesa Drive-InI get to watch a lot more drive-in footage than most folks, and Mahala Gaylord of The Denver Post has put together the finest short drive-in video I’ve seen so far. It’s all about the Mesa Drive-In (Pueblo CO) and its owners, Chuck and Marianne James, as they contemplate the end of 35mm film after this season. Gaylord captures the images and sounds of the twilight drive-in experience, and even includes the best recording I’ve seen of assembling reels of film into the platter-borne movies that run in one long series.

Oh yes, there’s also an article involved. Steve Raabe of the Post gets the number of remaining Colorado drive-ins right (seven), but doesn’t link to any of them. He’s got some great quotes from George Kelloff, owner of the Star Drive-In (Monte Vista) and the adjacent Movie Manor Motel. Kelloff was one of the first to convert to digital projection during the last off-season. I knew that he had to convert sometime or he’d be left with a standalone motel on the far outskirts of a small town. “If we didn’t have the motel, we probably would have shut down the drive-in,” he said.

Raabe also talked with Pamela Friend of the other Colorado Star Drive-In (Montrose) about her campaign to raise enough money to finance digital conversion. The fundraiser made $16,000 so far, and the results were so gratifying that Friend took out a personal loan to make up the difference. It was a pretty good Colorado roundup to go with a magnificent video. Check it out!

Apache will reopen for one more season

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Carload Exclusive NewsCarload.com has learned that the Apache Drive-In of Globe AZ will reopen next Friday, May 24, for its final season. Despite its forlorn appearance just a few weeks earlier, the Apache will continue to show movies for one more year; it won’t upgrade to digital projection.

Taking a step back, when Carload expanded last year, I identified 17 active drive-ins in the Four Corners states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. If the Comanche Drive-In (Buena Vista CO) follows through on its plan to also reopen May 24, than all 17 will have survived the wave of digital conversion, at least for now.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that we’re going to lose this historic bit of Americana, which has stood for over 60 years. (According to my 1952 Theatre Catalog, the Apache was then being run by “O.K. Leonard”.) And the bittersweet news is that at least we all have this warning. If you want to experience a fine evening in Arizona’s high country, watching a movie at an old-time, intimate (300 cars) single-screen drive-in complete with old-fashioned speakers and an eternal mountain backdrop, you’ve still got a few months to visit the Apache.

Apache Drive-in globe light and screen behind brick wall topped with barbed wire

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!