Category Archives: Video

Video: Santee Drive-In has closed

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As I work my way through drive-in events that happened while I was occupied, that includes sad milestones such as this one. The Santee Drive-In Theatre, which opened in 1958, ran its final movies on Dec. 31, 2023. The Times of San Diego reminded me this week that I need to note the Santee’s passing.

As I wrote during my 2017 Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, the Santee’s neon letters and star looked great after dark. What I uncharacteristically overlooked was the drive-in’s history. The Times wrote that John Forte and Walt Long opened the place in 1958. “With experience operating drive-ins in Stockton and La Verne, the duo built the original 50×100-foot screen by hand, hammering it together with wood and nails.” The Times claimed the Santee’s capacity was over 1000 cars, but the Motion Picture Almanac reported it at the time as 700.

Based on aerial photos, I can say that the Santee added a second, smaller screen between 1971 and 1978. The Times wrote that it was 1972. The drive-in also ran a popular swap meet, or flea market, or whatever you want to call it, that operated for decades and continued for a few months after the Santee stopped showing films.

Although the drive-in was profitable (probably), there’s usually a more lucrative use for a big chunk of land like that. It sure is a shame when we lose another historic drive-in to economic progress.

Video: Jesup Drive-In reopens after hurricane damage

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Last fall, Hurricane Helene mangled the tin fences and dented both screens at the Jesup Twin Drive-In Theatre in Jesup GA. After $350,000 in repairs, the Jesup is reopening for a couple of community days March 14-15, followed by a grand reopening the following weekend.

That’s all according to a report by WTOC, the Southeast News Leader. (Yes, I know that I claim that every TV station with a drive-in story is its local News Leader; WTOC really means it. But I digress.)

Jesup Drive-In owner Ralph Hickox, who also happened to be mayor of the city of Jesup, told WTOC that his main reason for rebuilding was because of what the drive-in means to the locals. “The love of the community and what it means to people… I just couldn’t be the one that let it shut down,” he said.

The Jesup is the oldest drive-in in the state, opened in 1948, although it was closed for about 10 years in the 1960s. Atlanta’s Starlight Drive-In Theatre, which opened the following year, is Georgia’s oldest continuously operating drive-in.

Hickox said that his drive-in is still profitable, which is great to hear considering how much it cost to rebuild it. Here’s hoping that it stays a beloved institution for generations to come.

Video: Rose City to reopen

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I’m happy to have some really good news to report. Local entrepreneur Paul Cole is pouring half a million dollars to renovate and reopen a prized drive-in of his youth – the Rose City in Newark NY. The story came to us first from the Finger Lake Times, and WROC, Rochester’s News Leader, followed up with the YouTube video you hopefully see above.

“I remember coming here as a kid,” Cole told the Times. “They used to have a playground in the back. We were here the night my mother broke water with my brother. That was 1975.” The Rose City stayed alive for another decade, closing after the 1985 season. (Not 1981, as the Times erroneously wrote.)

Cole purchased the property this year from the estate of the late Eugene Colacino. The original screen, 100×45 feet, is still standing after decades of overlooking Highway 31. Recent aerial photos suggest that the original ramps are still in place. But the screen needs some cleanup, and for the concession-projection building, Cole is pretty much starting from scratch.

WROC said that Cole plans to have a soft launch in the fall, with an official opening following next April. (That sounds like what the reborn Tee Pee Drive-In of Sapulpa OK did last fall and this spring.) It’s great to see another classic drive-in getting restored to a modern version of its former glory.