Carload’s grand re-opening

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Driving America drive-in type sign at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI

This Douglas Auto Theatre sign spent over 30 years at a Kalamazoo MI drive-in. Now it hangs at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Photo by PunkToad

In case you haven’t noticed, Carload.com is active again. The graphics are prettier, the news is as timely as ever, but there are a few changes.

Carload began as a way to keep track of what was showing at Colorado drive-in theaters. Way back then, there were 12 active drive-ins in the state, most of them didn’t have web pages, Facebook didn’t exist, and long-distance calls cost money. Listing the theaters and what they had planned for the weekend was helpful.

Now that’s all different. At this writing, only one drive-in in the US or Canada doesn’t have its own site or at least a Facebook page. Everybody’s got a cell phone, and long distance is free or dirt cheap. Having one more site with movie listings isn’t helpful any longer.

Instead, Carload has been redesigned as a mobile-first site. The front-page emphasis on drive-in news is still strong, but now we also keep track of every active drive-in in the US and Canada. If you’re still curious about what’s showing, just call the phone number or click through to the theater’s official web page.

Thanks for your support during this transition. If you have a great drive-in photo, please add it to the Carload Flickr Pool.

NIMBYs block Kentucky drive-in

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A man who wanted to build a two-screen drive-in near Crestwood KY has withdrawn his rezoning application after strong opposition led by its prospective next-door neighbor. The story was extensively reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal, and the video above is from WHAS, Louisville’s news leader.

Stephen Sauerbeck of La Grange KY wanted to buy an 80-acre site on Old La Grange Road from the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, then rezone 40 acres for the drive-in. Tom Nelson, who lives in a nearby “historic home” on 270 acres called the plan “preposterous” and successfully organized neighbors to block the application. The Courier-Journal wrote that Nelson said he “doesn’t object to the concept of a drive-in” but noted that the proposed site had too many problems.

Of course, this is classic Not-In-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY) talk. Everyone knows that something is of value to the community, but no one wants to rub elbows with it. On the other hand, when this story first surfaced a few weeks ago, I looked at the proposed site (via Google Street View), and the roads there really are pretty thin and rural.

Sauerbeck says he’s continuing to scout locations, and I hope he finds something that works. (Psst, try sites next to highways.) Meanwhile, let this be a reminder that anyone trying to start a drive-in had better make sure he’s got the neighbors on board.

Virginia’s Moonlite will be back in business

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Moonlite Drive-In Theatre facade
photo by WCYB

Who would have thought that fall would be the season to announce so many drive-in theatre reopenings? The latest great news comes from Abington VA, where the Moonlite Drive-In Theatre is rapidly renovating towards a targeted reopening later this month.

The Bristol (VA) Herald Courier published a front-page story with the details. Kyle Blevins, a UPS driver from just across the border in Bristol TN, had watched movies at the Moonlite for more than 40 years before it closed three years ago for lack of a digital projector. Now Blevins has fulfilled his dream of owning a drive-in, sort of. The Herald Courier says he’s “co-owner” along with the previous owner.

The Moonlite opened in 1949 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Blevins said he hopes to show at least one movie by the end of October, with a formal re-opening in Spring 2017.

Blevins invited the community to spend Oct. 8 helping get the Moonlite ready, and he has a GoFundMe page set up for donations.

The crew from WCYB, Bristol’s news leader, also dropped by to talk about Moonlite memories with folks who had visited the drive-in during past decades. It’s an extensive story that I couldn’t embed here, so you really should go watch it!