Terre Haute Drive-In On Path To Rebuild

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Old North Drive-In screen, surrounded by trees

Screen capture of a WTHI news video

A proposed renovation and reopening of the North Drive-In in Terre Haute IN passed another permitting hurdle this week. As reported in the local Tribune-Star, Brent Barnhart, president of the company that owns the Starlite Drive-In Theatre in Bloomington and a few indoor theaters, was granted a variance to use grass and gravel in the viewing area instead of a hard surface.

The article said that it has been 32 years since Terre Haute’s north side has had an operational drive-in theater, although the North was still listed in the 1988 Motion Picture Almanac. The original screen — “about 80 feet wide and 35 feet tall, sitting about another 15 feet off the ground” — still looks pretty good according to a 20-second video posted at WTHI, Terre Haute’s News Leader.

”This is definitely a good step. We are still waiting on financing, but will find out in about a week or two. Once that is finalized, we will start moving forward,” Barnhart said. He also added that he would restore the original marquee, currently the sign for Kessco Water. It’s just one more thing to look to this year.

Video: Let’s Return To The Silver Moon

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It’s been over a year since I made my virtual visit to the Silver Moon Drive-In Theatre in Lakeland FL. Such innocent times! It was the first week of my Drive-in-a-Day odyssey, back when I was still skimping on historical details, and I hadn’t yet noticed how cool it is to embed a video with my visit report.

Today I’ll correct that last omission. Here’s a YouTube video describing a typical night at the Silver Moon, supplemented by old photos and video clips. Enjoy!

Video: How The Pine Hill Looks Now

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In mid-2016, when I first compiled my full database of active drive-ins in the United States, I was initially undecided on the status of the Pine Hill Drive-In in Piedmont MO. I collected the Google Maps Street View (which showed it still active as of December 2015) and Google Maps’ satellite view (which still shows all the pieces looking good). Ultimately I went with Cinema Treasures‘ explanation that the Pine Hill had closed after the 2015 season, citing vandalism, though I would expect some digital projection issues in the mix.

Here’s a YouTube video posted in August 2017 and probably shot around then which shows that the drive-in still looks like it’s in pretty good shape. I especially like the way the ground naturally slopes toward the screen, and the drive-in speaker hanging in the open-air ticket booth. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone wanting a drive-in to reopen would stumble across this post and start in on an Ozark Mountain restoration? A Facebook post this week says it still hasn’t sold, so go check it out!