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In these days of social distancing id love to go to a movie,alas all the theaters are closed which makes me think drive ins would be a good solution, what happened to all the drive-ins?
At the time I was a theater brat, the group had five or six theaters and four or five drive-ins, and we saw movies at all of them (driving gaily past the ticket line, of course). When theaters in general hit the skids in the late 1970s and early 80s, most drive-ins closed or went to second/third-run, showing two or three older movies a night at bargain rates. Then, in many cases, the land was simply too valuable not to sell for commercial use. When theaters came back, drive-ins weren't part of the mix.
They may return but the land and operation cost is still going to be a problem. A solution might be dual-use: f'rex, an industrial park parking lot by day and a drive-in lot by night, with the screen more or less hidden as the extended wall of a building.
One of the last drive-ins was somewhere near San Francisco, and it ran nothing but porn for its last years. As the screen faced way from the interstate and was surrounded by an arc of low hills, no one except customers could see the screen.
Except for one guy, who became slightly famous because his house on the hill had, basically, a front-row seat for every heaving, sweaty showing...
At the time I was a theater brat, the group had five or six theaters and four or five drive-ins, and we saw movies at all of them (driving gaily past the ticket line, of course). When theaters in general hit the skids in the late 1970s and early 80s, most drive-ins closed or went to second/third-run, showing two or three older movies a night at bargain rates. Then, in many cases, the land was simply too valuable not to sell for commercial use. When theaters came back, drive-ins weren't part of the mix.
They may return but the land and operation cost is still going to be a problem. A solution might be dual-use: f'rex, an industrial park parking lot by day and a drive-in lot by night, with the screen more or less hidden as the extended wall of a building.
One of the last drive-ins was somewhere near San Francisco, and it ran nothing but porn for its last years. As the screen faced way from the interstate and was surrounded by an arc of low hills, no one except customers could see the screen.
Except for one guy, who became slightly famous because his house on the hill had, basically, a front-row seat for every heaving, sweaty showing...
In these days of social distancing id love to go to a movie,alas all the theaters are closed which makes me think drive ins would be a good solution, what happened to all the drive-ins?
There are still a handful in rural or exurban areas. Most of the rest were sitting on land that eventually became too valuable to sit undeveloped and unused half the year.
We lost a drive in close to us last summer. I had been going there since I was a kid. I guess they lost their lease on the land. It was so much fun, and I could bring the dogs. I would love to see another drive in pop up close by. The only one we can go to now is over an hour away. That's a long day in the car. You have to get there early if you want a good spot or to even get in because they are only allowing half capacity. That means sitting here from about 6:30 until 8:30 until the movie starts. They usually run until midnight and then it's over an hour to get home. I doubt we will be doing that any time soon.
We lost a drive in close to us last summer. I had been going there since I was a kid. I guess they lost their lease on the land. It was so much fun, and I could bring the dogs. I would love to see another drive in pop up close by. The only one we can go to now is over an hour away. That's a long day in the car. You have to get there early if you want a good spot or to even get in because they are only allowing half capacity. That means sitting here from about 6:30 until 8:30 until the movie starts. They usually run until midnight and then it's over an hour to get home. I doubt we will be doing that any time soon.
If you're talking about the Cascade in West Chicago, they are trying to re-open.
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