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Growing up in SA, I remember many of the Drive In's on that list being advertised either on TV or in the SA Light or SA Express/The News , but I only made it to a few of them as a kid. Mom and Dad took us to see Clint Eastwood's "The Eiger Sanction" movie at the Bandera Rd Drive In. Also remember seeing a Pink Panther movie at the Fred. Rd Drive In along with some other movies, whose names escape me now, at the San Pedro and Valley Hi Drive In's. After high school, most of them were closing down or gone so I wasn't able to really check out more of them.
I do enjoy reading everyone's stories and memories though!
I would have known of it for sure. You may be thinking of Towne Twin which had twin screens of course. That was off WW.White Rd. Don't think you could have seen the Park Air from I-37! Sure it wasn't a blast screen at the end of a Brooks field runway?? Nah that's crazy!! It's possible Brooks had a Drive-in but I don't think so. They did have an indoor theater though. If it was in Brooks it could have been a canceled Drive in construction. I remember something maybe back near Goliad and 410 on Brooks. Don't recall anything I would have thought was a DR screen!!
Maybe it was a blast screen from Brooks. It definitely was not the Towne Twin. Many people in the business knew about the screen, but there was never a theatre built around it, and always wondered about it, too. This screen looked just like a standard D&D drive in screen like we had at the new San Pedro, and was put up at the Bandera Road after the original screen burned to the ground. This south side screen was never painted, though. It was metal colored from top to bottom. No white paint ever for running a movie on, nor a colored apron at the bottom.
The ParkAir was one of the few drive ins I never worked, but I saw a few movies there when I was a kid. It had a screen tower that looked similar to the ones at the Trail and Fred. Road. Like the Trail and Fred. Road, the ParkAir never had a CinemaScope screen.
The Towne Twin screen's bracings looked a lot like the D&D screens, but the screens themselves were plaster instead of steel. The Towne Twin had some of the best pictures on their screens of any San Antonio drive in. It also had the nicest snack bar and rest room facilities.
Growing up in SA, I remember many of the Drive In's on that list being advertised either on TV or in the SA Light or SA Express/The News , but I only made it to a few of them as a kid. Mom and Dad took us to see Clint Eastwood's "The Eiger Sanction" movie at the Bandera Rd Drive In. Also remember seeing a Pink Panther movie at the Fred. Rd Drive In along with some other movies, whose names escape me now, at the San Pedro and Valley Hi Drive In's. After high school, most of them were closing down or gone so I wasn't able to really check out more of them.
I do enjoy reading everyone's stories and memories though!
When I worked at the Capitan Drive in, we would run the Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Westerns" from dusk to dawn for a week each winter. People would come, and brave the cold to watch "A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, and Hang 'Em High. We called it "Spend The Night With Clint Eastwood".
Maybe it was a blast screen from Brooks. It definitely was not the Towne Twin. Many people in the business knew about the screen, but there was never a theatre built around it, and always wondered about it, too. This screen looked just like a standard D&D drive in screen like we had at the new San Pedro, and was put up at the Bandera Road after the original screen burned to the ground. This south side screen was never painted, though. It was metal colored from top to bottom. No white paint ever for running a movie on, nor a colored apron at the bottom.
The ParkAir was one of the few drive ins I never worked, but I saw a few movies there when I was a kid. It had a screen tower that looked similar to the ones at the Trail and Fred. Road. Like the Trail and Fred. Road, the ParkAir never had a CinemaScope screen.
The Towne Twin screen's bracings looked a lot like the D&D screens, but the screens themselves were plaster instead of steel. The Towne Twin had some of the best pictures on their screens of any San Antonio drive in. It also had the nicest snack bar and rest room facilities.
I wish i could remember well enough to describe the structure I remember. Chances are it was still standing before this Brooks makeover. It would be back in behind the Wal Mart there. I recall the Towne Twin having the big nice snack bar area!!
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Originally Posted by outafocus
When I worked at the Capitan Drive in, we would run the Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Westerns" from dusk to dawn for a week each winter. People would come, and brave the cold to watch "A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, and Hang 'Em High. We called it "Spend The Night With Clint Eastwood".
The Towne Twin snack bar was once used as a place for truckers to stop and eat during the daylight hours. They had booths along the windows on both sides of the concession area. When Santikos bought the Towne Twin in 1970, he closed the "Truck Stop", and removed the booths.
Speaking of booths, the Towne Twin had two separate projection booths that sat atop the concession building. They were glass all around and resembled airplane control towers. The Towne Twin was San Antonio's first drive in to replace the old carbon arc lamps with modern xenon lamps. We also installed platter type film handling devices at the same time. After that only one projectionist was needed to run both screens instead of one for each screen. I was the one that had to go! From there I was transferred to the San Pedro.
The screens were 55x110 CinemaScope screens made of plaster. Screen 1 had an apron under the screen, but screen 2 did not.
are there any drive-ins still open? I know some parts of the country have seen a resurgence in drive-in theaters, has SA jumped on that bandwagon? I LOVE drive-in theaters!!
are there any drive-ins still open? I know some parts of the country have seen a resurgence in drive-in theaters, has SA jumped on that bandwagon? I LOVE drive-in theaters!!
San Antonio's last drive in, the Mission is now closed. Many things did in the drive ins. Daylight Savings Time hurt drive ins in their peak seasons. It is too light to start a show in the summer until 9:15 or later. That puts a person out after 1 AM if he watches a double feature. It's hard to get up and go to work after seeing a complete show at the drive in!
High land prices gobbled them up, too. A drive in takes a lot of space, and is only able to be open at night. Bad weather kills business. The 48 acres the old San Pedro 5 screen once stood at 281 & Bitters now houses A LOT of businesses, including a 14 screen indoor theatre that can run shows any time of the day, in any weather conditions.
Throw in that people aren't as "outdoorsy" as they once were. People like air conditioning when it's hot, and heat when it's cold. They now expect a lot in their moviegoing experience, too. Even the older indoors are suffering mightily because they must have stadium seating, digital sound, and many other expensive features, or people will not patronize them! Tinny sound coming from a drive in speaker, or car radio doesn't cut it for people that now go to movies for special effects and glitz instead of good story line where monophonic sound was more than adequate.
I miss the drive ins, too. I was in the industry for more than 20 years. I miss it very much.
San Antonio's last drive in, the Mission is now closed. Many things did in the drive ins. Daylight Savings Time hurt drive ins in their peak seasons. It is too light to start a show in the summer until 9:15 or later. That puts a person out after 1 AM if he watches a double feature. It's hard to get up and go to work after seeing a complete show at the drive in!
High land prices gobbled them up, too. A drive in takes a lot of space, and is only able to be open at night. Bad weather kills business. The 48 acres the old San Pedro 5 screen once stood at 281 & Bitters now houses A LOT of businesses, including a 14 screen indoor theatre that can run shows any time of the day, in any weather conditions.
Throw in that people aren't as "outdoorsy" as they once were. People like air conditioning when it's hot, and heat when it's cold. They now expect a lot in their moviegoing experience, too. Even the older indoors are suffering mightily because they must have stadium seating, digital sound, and many other expensive features, or people will not patronize them! Tinny sound coming from a drive in speaker, or car radio doesn't cut it for people that now go to movies for special effects and glitz instead of good story line where monophonic sound was more than adequate.
I miss the drive ins, too. I was in the industry for more than 20 years. I miss it very much.
I'm not sure I buy into this. As I mentioned, drive-in theaters are seeing a resurgence, albeit in a boutique-like manner. I was asking if SA had seen the same, and I'm guessing by your response that sadly the answer is no.
You get plenty of stereo sound with your car stereo. That's how the new drive-ins work. It comes through on an FM Band. It's actually pretty cool.
I'm not sure I buy into this. As I mentioned, drive-in theaters are seeing a resurgence, albeit in a boutique-like manner. I was asking if SA had seen the same, and I'm guessing by your response that sadly the answer is no.
You get plenty of stereo sound with your car stereo. That's how the new drive-ins work. It comes through on an FM Band. It's actually pretty cool.
There are around 400 drive ins in the USA. At their peak, there were more than 5000! Some old drive ins have been reopened, and some new ones have been built in smaller towns. Lubbock built a new one a few years ago, and it's doing well. The closest one to San Antonio is in Shiner, TX. It has a VERY small screen, and is in a pasture. It doesn't even have ramps built up for good sight lines. I wouldn't want to be in that lot when it rains!
San Antonio once had 22 different drive ins, and nearly all of them did great business competing with each other. There was only one for over 20 years since the San Pedro closed in 1984. The Mission did fair business, but was only open during the summer months. It was unprofitable to run during the winter. The ONLY reason it stayed open so long was there were HUGE restrictions on the land. The drive in was grandfathered, but because of it's proximity to Mission San Jose, the land could basically be used for a park, with no large buildings.
Dallas has NO drive ins. The final drive in, the Astro closed about 10 years ago. Houston has no drive ins. The biggest Texas city with a drive in is Lubbock.
With the change from film projection to digital projection, drive ins will become even more scarce. Digital projectors are VERY expensive, and to purchase one to project a picture on a drive in screen will be VERY cost prohibitive. My guess is ten years from now, drive ins will be just a memory. There are many STATES that have no drive ins!
I wish it was different. I LOVE drive ins, and would go to the drive in if there were any to go to. But for reasons expressed here and a previous post, is the reason that drive ins are so scarce.
There are around 400 drive ins in the USA. At their peak, there were more than 5000! Some old drive ins have been reopened, and some new ones have been built in smaller towns. Lubbock built a new one a few years ago, and it's doing well. The closest one to San Antonio is in Shiner, TX. It has a VERY small screen, and is in a pasture. It doesn't even have ramps built up for good sight lines. I wouldn't want to be in that lot when it rains!
San Antonio once had 22 different drive ins, and nearly all of them did great business competing with each other. There was only one for over 20 years since the San Pedro closed in 1984. The Mission did fair business, but was only open during the summer months. It was unprofitable to run during the winter. The ONLY reason it stayed open so long was there were HUGE restrictions on the land. The drive in was grandfathered, but because of it's proximity to Mission San Jose, the land could basically be used for a park, with no large buildings.
Dallas has NO drive ins. The final drive in, the Astro closed about 10 years ago. Houston has no drive ins. The biggest Texas city with a drive in is Lubbock.
That's actually incorrect. Houston has two NEW drive-ins, both in suburban, well-pouplated locations. I've been to both--they're fabulous! The Showboat in Tomball, and The Stars at Night in Katy. Go just 20 miles south of Dallas to Ennis, and the renovated Galaxy Drive In has opened.
A little research will yield a wealth of information as far as the renovations and reopenings of theaters across the country. San Antonians need not lament the dying of drive ins--why not welcome a new one or renovate an old one? Surely someone will capitalize on this idea, with the beautiful weather and lower humidity than Houston....?
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With the change from film projection to digital projection, drive ins will become even more scarce. Digital projectors are VERY expensive, and to purchase one to project a picture on a drive in screen will be VERY cost prohibitive. My guess is ten years from now, drive ins will be just a memory. There are many STATES that have no drive ins!
I wish it was different. I LOVE drive ins, and would go to the drive in if there were any to go to. But for reasons expressed here and a previous post, is the reason that drive ins are so scarce.
Phooey. Again, I don't buy it. If it's true, it's only because San Antonio hasn't caught up with the rest of Texas.
I don't believe we'll see 2K + theaters again, but I do believe we will see a steady increase over the next few years. Nostalgia is a universal language and the value in it is priceless. What a great way for newfound retirees to make a little extra cash during the spring, summer, and fall....just an idea!
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