At Carload, we love a good excuse for video, and here’s a nice report from WZZM, Grand Rapids MI’s news leader. In nearby Muskegon, the Getty 4 Drive-In has committed to a quarter-million dollar upgrade to digital projection. The only sad note: “The four old projectors that were used since the 1960s are heading for a metal salvage yard.” There’s just got to be a use for those old projectors, right?
Category Archives: Michigan
More drive-ins in MI, PA commit to digital
photo by MichiganDriveIns, used by permission
Here are a couple more notes that support what, thankfully, looks like a growing trend. The Lehigh Valley (PA) Morning Call ran a happy note about Shankweiler’s in Orefield and Becky’s in Berlinsville, which have both switched to digital projection.
Not only is Shankweiler’s indisputably the oldest active drive-in, it appears to have been only the second drive-in ever built when it opened in April 1934, according to the book Drive-in Theaters.
Over at Mlife.com is a similar story of the Getty Drive-In (Muskegon MI), except that it hasn’t quite made the transition yet. The story says that the Getty’s general manager, Kevin Sims, wasn’t sure exactly when it would happen, but it could be as early as June. “Luckily, we have a great company that backs the drive-in,” he said. For the full story, plus a photo of the film projector, go check it out!
US-23 open for 2013 season, will convert to digital
photo by MichiganDriveIns, used by permission
MLive.com reported recently that the US-23 Drive-In (Flint MI) reopened for another season last Friday. General manager Johny Thomas says that the US-23 will be fully converted to digital projection on its three screens by the first of July, and according to MLive, Thomas has a novel method of paying for all those new projectors. He’s raised ticket prices by $1 per person this year.
The story also includes an 11-photo gallery of 2012 opening day photos from The Flint Journal. (I love the photo of the really big popcorn popper.) So go check it out!