Where And When Was The First Drive In Theater Built

What was the first movie you ever saw in the movie theater?

Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars. It wasn’t called “Episode IV” or “A New Hope” then. There was only one movie and it was heavily implied Darth Vader flew off into space and died at the end—we didn’t get that shot of him righting his TIE fighter and streaking off toward the nearest Imperial fleet. Han shot first. There were good guys, there were bad guys. We lost one of the good guys, and then some more in the attack on the Death Star, but good triumphed in the end, and the sarcastic, blaster-firing princess who had to rescue her rescuers gave them medals and was very happy. (Okay, not Chewbacca. That’s still a plot hole. Nor the droids, for that matter, even though if they hadn’t shut down the garbage compactors, we’d have some very flat heroes. But you know, the two attractive human ones.)I have no idea what possessed my father to take a four-year-old to a movie with that much shooting, explosion of planets, limb amputation via lightsaber, etc., but I am damn glad he did. Thus began a lifelong affair with fantasy and science fiction… and the places where the genres mesh.

How long before movie theaters end up like drive-in theaters due to streaming and home theaters?

By the terms of the question, some shade of never.Disney will start it’s own streaming service and by all rights, considering all the licensed content it owns, it will be a smashing success. But the model of paying $X for month to get all that content means they will never release a movie first on their service that has any chance of making money. You think they would stream Endgame and not put it in theatres. It is going to make $B-ank.The model is not even remotely the same.People who ask this say things like nobody goes to the theatre anymore. That is probably true for them.. But I suggest you go, especially on a weekend, and then tell me that. I go to movies all the time (really at all times) and I’m never alone. I saw Bohemian Rhapsody at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday and the theatre was a third full.I believe last year was the best year in movies ever. I don’t have numbers to back it up, but I do know it was very good.

How old were you went you saw your first movie in a theater?

Tammy, I think that I was six years old. My aunt who was only 7 years older than me, used to baby sit us and take us to the movie with her and a group of her friends. The first movie that I remember is the Wild One with Marlon Brando. That would have been 1954. He was a motor cycle goon in it and left me with a very negative reaction. I didn't like him then and my attitude never changed. The Godfather would have been a much better movie with Anthony Quinn as Don Corleone.My movie interest started when I was just a youngster, and has never waned. I still scan the TCM daily programming guide for old movies. I saw one last night titled, Fast Company. It starred Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice as amateur sleuths, Joel and Garda Sloan. It wasn't a great movie, but was a nifty little whodunit with a super supporting cast of character actors. I loved it.As you can see, I really love these movie classics. I would rather watch them than anything made today. And, I also have read and studied about the making of classic movies for over 50 years. What started in 1954 is still going strong in 2019.

Why did so many drive-in movie theaters close in the past 60 years?

Well, Richard suggests it’s due to television, and he’s at least partially right. Thanks to streaming services like Netflix, there’s less reason to go to the movies. All theaters (not just the drive-ins) have been facing declining attendance. However, the situation is a little more complicated than that.A good sized drive-in sits on about 15 acres. A lot of the time, that property is only generating income for part of the year because running a show in the rain or the snow takes away from the experience. If you have fifteen acres close enough to an area with a big enough population to support a drive-in, then it’s big enough to support something more lucrative than a drive-in. So a lot of drive-ins got converted to malls, car lots, or housing.The 35mm film prints that once dominated the film industry have been replaced in most commercial theaters by digital projection. That puts drive-in theater owners in a tough spot, because converting a drive-in to digital is pricier: over $70,000 for drive-ins versus roughly half that for regular theaters. The cost is higher partly because it takes a much stronger bulb to project across a field to the screen.The drive-ins that closed were often the victims of poor management, inability to convert to digital projection, or the rise of the multiplex theater (like the Cinemark 14 where I live). With the coming of the multiplexes, these big "hard tops" got all the good movies and the drive-ins were left with second-run movies or worse. And if they didn’t switch to digital, they couldn’t get new movies at all.In 1980, there were over 2400 drive-in theaters. By 1985, that number had dropped to about 900. Today, there are just 348 drive-in theaters left in the entire United States. And it doesn’t look like they’re going to be making a comeback. It’s a shame, really. The drive-in experience has actually gotten better with new technology. Those poor quality speakers that hung in our car windows are gone. Just turn your key to the “accessory” position, turn on your radio, and tune it to the right frequency.

Why did drive-in movie theaters lose popularity?

A good sized drive in sits on 15 acres. A lot of the time that property is only generating income for part of the year because running a show in the rain or the snow takes away from the experience. Fifteen acres close enough to population big enough to support a drive in is big enough to support something more lucrative than a drive in. Thus, the drive ins are turned in malls, housing, and car lots. With the rise of high quality car stereos, audio quality rivaled home systems. Minivans can be parked backwards, a futon mattress laid in the back, and comfortable viewing ensues. If you're cool about it, you can even drink a beer or two during the movie. Put a couple of lawn chairs in the back of your pickup with a boombox and you're King of the World. The experience itself has actually gotten better with the new technology. Those shitty speakers that hung in our car windows are gone (and now decorate my office). The first radio sound used the speaker wires in the ground as antennas, so as soon as someone backed over a speaker-post (and it happened EVERY night), the whole row lost sound! Now, it's high quality FM. Also, $15 a car load is a very cheap way to take the whole family to the show. You can even pack your own food. A few of us who started in drive ins still have "No Open Fires" on our snack bar menu boards. We seemed to have spent a lot of time telling people they couldn't B-B-Q at the drive in. If you see that on a reader board in a theater, you know where they got their start.The drive ins that closed and were not converted to some form of the homogeneous American landscape were often the victims of poor management, inability to convert to digital, or the rise of the ubiquitous multiplex. With the coming of the multiplexes, these big "hard tops" (as indoor theaters are called) got all the good product (movies) and the drive ins were left to run second run or worse. Many went to porn before the internet, many went to ethnic movies in areas where populations of such were, but most just called it a day and went home. We're lucky to still have a drive in in my area, and it's still going strong. The Motor Vu in Dallas, OR.