Was there "Star-Spangled Moonlit
Romance" to be had at Chicago's
outlying and so-called World's Largest Drive-In? It was huge to be sure,
covering twenty acres with room for 1,160 cars. Being the town's first, and for
several years only, outdoor showplace, there was no need for owner Nate Barger
to call it anything otherthan "Drive-In" for his public to know the
score. Opening night was 6/12/41. "Girl ushers on bicycles" guided
customer cars to spaces provided. They'd also bring your refreshments on
request. Service station attendants were on hand to check tires, gas, and oil
during the show. Underground speakers piped sound through grilled manholes.
Quality was pretty awful and had a metallic tinge for coming from under
vehicles, with distortion that entailed. If it rained hard enough, the sound
would fritz out altogether. Barger was lucky to get his Drive-In up and running
when he did, because the war would put paid to further construction of such
venues for a duration. As of 10/24/41 and a Film Daily survey, there were
ninety "open-air stands" operating in the US. Fifty more drive-ins were
"under license for construction and will be put in operation during
1942," said the trade, but those plans went on ice thanks to Pearl Harbor. For the record, North
Carolina had three drive-ins at this time (Charlotte,
Durham, Greensboro).
Within ten more years, and attendant boom in outdoor theatre construction, my
small-town would itself have three operating ozoners.
Always wanted to go to a drive-in but English weather doesn't allow for them. A guy called Richard M Hollingshead Jr patented the first drive-in after experimenting with a screen in his backyard. From Wikipedia:
"Hollingshead's drive-in opened in New Jersey June 6, 1933, on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken. It offered 400 slots and a 40 by 50 ft (12 by 15 m) screen."
First movie shown was Wives Beware (aka Two White Arms), a 1932 movie with Adolphe Menjou. The place folded after 3 years but the seed he planted took root. Incredibly at the peak of their popularity drive-ins constituted 25% of the nation's screens. I found that figure astonishing. By 2013 that had shrunk to 1.5%. It does please me that there are still some left!
1 Comments:
Always wanted to go to a drive-in but English weather doesn't allow for them. A guy called Richard M Hollingshead Jr patented the first drive-in after experimenting with a screen in his backyard. From Wikipedia:
"Hollingshead's drive-in opened in New Jersey June 6, 1933, on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken. It offered 400 slots and a 40 by 50 ft (12 by 15 m) screen."
First movie shown was Wives Beware (aka Two White Arms), a 1932 movie with Adolphe Menjou. The place folded after 3 years but the seed he planted took root. Incredibly at the peak of their popularity drive-ins constituted 25% of the nation's screens. I found that figure astonishing. By 2013 that had shrunk to 1.5%. It does please me that there are still some left!
Post a Comment
<< Home