Category Archives: Video

Video: Ceres CA Reopens

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Here’s some good news, sort of. The Ceres (CA) Drive-In, which had closed in 2008, will reopen soon thanks to the drive-in demand surge from the pandemic.

The Modesto Bee reported that Ripon resident Mark Stotzer has leased the old Ceres site, which still has one of its two old screens standing. “I had been looking at alternate sites to put something together,” the promoter told the Bee, “and then remembered there used to be a drive-in in Ceres.”

The old drive-in site has a lot of advantages over most of the pop-ups that have sprouted this year. It still has ramps, probably there when it opened in 1948. Its 100-foot screen in 40 feet off the ground, allowing more cars to see it clearly. And then there’s the name, which still resonates with some of the locals.

Although this is good news, I still feel awkward talking about it. Will this reborn Ceres remain in operation in a post-Covid world? (Will there be a post-Covid world?) For now, I’ll hold off on adding it to the Carload active drive-in list, but I always appreciate the opportunity to share a bit of video and hope with you. Enjoy!

Video: Tiffin gets a new owner

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Michael Cole of Findlay OH has purchased the venerable Tiffin Drive-In (the Tiffin OH drive-in known for a few years as the Field of Dreams) and plans lots of renovations. The news comes to us via WTOL, Toledo’s News Leader.

Cole said his first order of business will be to demolish the screen tower that has stood since the drive-in opened in 1949. “Repairing it was really out of the question,” he said, and although I hate to see something that old taken down, I suppose it’s smart to be proactive instead of waiting for it to fail. Cole plans to replace it with a new screen and tower, then do the same to the second screen added by Rod and Donna Saunders just a few years ago. For a longer history of the Tiffin / Field of Dreams, check out my virtual visit there three years ago.

With all the is-it-open and temporary-popup news these days, it’s nice to be able to share something real with you this time. And I’m always on the lookout for video that captures the drive-in experience. I hope you enjoy it!

Video: Haar’s Land Is For Sale

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More possibly sad news, this time from the venerable Haar’s Drive-In Theatre in Dillsburg PA. A For Sale sign popped up on the site last week, and now I know that it’s news to the drive-in’s owner. I found out thanks to a news video posted by ABC27, Harrisburg’s News Leader.

Vickie Hardy is the third-generation owner of Haar’s, which was built starting in 1952 and opened in June 1953. She told the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, “Sunday a week ago, we were driving by and seeing someone putting a sign up … it was a sign putting the property we are on for sale”.

The York Daily Record had more information about the landowner, Giant Food Stores. “We regularly review our real estate portfolio to ensure it meets strategic priorities, and as a result we made the business decision to sell the property,” said Christopher Brand, director of external communications at Giant. “It is our hope that if a buyer emerges, they will continue to lease the land to Haar’s.”

All three sources said that the lease contained a provision requiring six months’ notice before changes, and the Daily Record said Brand apologized that Haar’s didn’t get that notice. Hardy told the Patriot-News, “They informed me that yes, they were supposed to tell us six months in advance, and they’re sorry they didn’t do that.”

I find this especially troubling considering the expensive recent improvements at Haar’s. The drive-in bought a digital projector in 2013, a new screen in 2016, and Hardy told ABC27 that they had spent thousands more this year.

I’ve got a warm spot in my heart for the Dillsburg drive-in where I concluded my virtual Drive-In-A-Day Odyssey a couple of years ago. It’s a great example of a family-owned drive-in, the kind that won’t close just because their land has become valuable. But if they don’t own that land, well, let’s just hope that Haar’s can find a way to stay in business for many years to come.