Category Archives: Video

Video: What’s Left Of Springfield’s Holiday

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If you’ve been waiting for more drive-in videos taken by drone, here you go. Unlike most of those that I’ve posted on Carload, this one, posted to YouTube last year, is of a dead drive-in, the Holiday of Springfield MO. (And don’t adjust your speakers, this video is silent.)

As I wrote in my new book Drive-Ins of Route 66, the Holiday opened late, on August 13, 1970. Commonwealth Theatres planned for the Holiday to have two screens, one for 490 cars and the second for 509. That didn’t happen, possibly for reasons related to construction delays. The Holiday closed in 1981, then was revived briefly by another operator during 1994-96.

Now over 20 years later, you can see that the sign and fields are still pretty well preserved. That section closest to the road is just begging to be converted to a second viewing field, and the original ramps are still visible in the grass. Since the decades have suggested that there’s no better, more urgent use for the site, wouldn’t it be nice if someone used it to bring drive-in entertainment back to the good people of Springfield?

Video: Wichita’s Starlite Prospers Under New Ownership

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Last year about this time, the story of Wichita KS’s Starlite Drive-In Theatre was a sad one indeed. Its recently acquired owner had shut down the Starlite and was reportedly on the verge of selling the place for warehouse development.

Remarkably, the Starlite recovered. Local leaders saw the importance of the city’s last drive-in and came up with a plan that saved it. So this week’s report by KSNW, Wichita’s News Leader, is more of a quiet celebration of the end of a successful season where the only drama was on the big screen.

The news story has some nice video of the Starlite, which is always welcome here, and it includes a few interview clips with current owner Blake Smith. He said that attendance is up a bit, and that it took him a little while to learn how to execute some of the fundamentals of running the drive-in.

Souvenir cups were a big hit this season at the Starlite, and Smith said he’s considering selling season passes for 2020. I would suggest that those cups are a no-brainer; if they’re refillable, they sit around as a constant advertisement and reminder to come back for more movies. Season passes are trickier. I hope that Smith gets good advice on those.

I also hope that this note finishes the saga of near-closure and civic redemption for the Starlite, which should settle back down as just another successful drive-in. Meanwhile, enjoy the video of how it looks today.

Video: Moonlite Reopens in West Wyoming PA

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Great news! After sitting idle for 30 years, the Moonlite Drive-In in West Wyoming PA has reopened. Even better is that we have video of the event courtesy of WNEP, Scranton’s News Leader.

Owner Eric Symeon bought the place in early 2017 and spent two years working to clear out the effects of decades of neglect. He told the nearby Times Leader, “There was only two of us working on it, clearing the land, doing all new sewers, electric.” WNEP added the detail that over 200 trees were removed to make room for the restored parking ramps.

If you want to read more about the process, Carload ran stories on Symeon’s work as he applied to reopen the Moonlite and when he bought the drive-in’s digital projector from the freshly closed Cascade Drive-In of West Chicago IL earlier this year. Then sit back, watch the video, and rejoice that another drive-in has rejoined the land of the living.