The Disappearing Drive-In

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It is estimated that by next June, fewer than 300 drive-in theaters will be operating


othing screams “Americana” louder than drive-in movie theaters. They are in 
the DNA of our popular culture, a car-movie double helix along with “Surfin' 
Safari” and the atomic bomb. Ask any Baby Boomer about a drive in, and you'll 
most likely be assaulted with the kind of nostalgia that seems to imply 
something greater than the actual movie itself or a snapshot into another era 
invariably lost on those of us who grew up in the shadow of Blockbuster and the 
DVD player.  



Your father won’t remember what was playing during that Fourth of July weekend in 
'54, when his parents took the family to the Tibbs Drive-in in Michigan City, 
Indiana, but he'll most likely tell you with a twinkle in his eye that it was from a '52 
Nash Rambler, four-door Cross Country Wagon or a '53 Plymouth where he watched the film.  



By their peak in the late '60s, drive-ins numbered around 4,000, operating from 
Bangor all the way to Bakersfield. Yet, on the eve of this perennial institution's 80th birthday, it is estimated that by next June, fewer than 300 theaters will be operating, and like the Nash Rambler, they'll eventually fade 
into modern memory.  



It’s no surprise that technology has been the prime culprit  in the decline of 
drive-in theaters. The advent of home video, VHS, and ultimately DVD rentals have 
dramatically affected the patronage since the late '70s. 

Real estate too has been a factor; as the acreages of properties theaters stood on 
became valuable, theater owners were undoubtedly lured by the 
promise of millions for land they had only paid thousands to buy. And, for 
those mom-and-pop-owned Midwestern drive-ins  projecting films only in the 
summer months, land developers' big payouts have been impossible to refuse.

7.1-channel Dolby Surround? Not at the drive-in.

Ironically enough, Hollywood is currently behind the most costly dilemma 
facing the few drive-ins left standing. Studios have decided that 2013 will be 
the year they will stop distributing 35 MM prints and force theaters to upgrade to digital. Converting to 
digital can cost 80 to 100 thousand dollars per screen, an insurmountable 
fortune to some theatre owners.



And yet, drive-ins won't seem to go away. Some theater owners have in fact 
raised the necessary funds to convert to digital and a growing movement, 
including several websites devoted exclusively to preserving the rich history of 
drive-ins has arisen. Most notably, www.driveinmovie.com is the most 
comprehensive listing of existing drive-ins on the web dedicated to the 
historical preservation and promotion of these venues. The site contains a list 
of 300 plus operating theaters in the US as well as  thousands of "dark" 
theaters no longer in existence.  

Among this summer’s  top five drive-ins, open rain or shine are: West Chicago’s Cascade Drive-In, Delsea Drive-In located in Vineland, NJ, City of Commerce, CA’s 88 Drive-In Theatre, the Grandview Drive-In Movie Theater in Grandview, IA, and Dearborn, MI’s own Ford Drive In. 

And, while traditional drive-in theaters fight for their lives, the desire to 
watch movies under the stars will never go away.

The last ten years have given 
rise to a do-it-yourself guerrilla movement of mobile digital projectionists 
screening films outdoors on warehouse walls, in parks, and 
in parking lots. 

For those still inclined to enjoying movies al fresco and not necessarily in 
cars, scores of outdoor film series and festivals screening classic Hollywood 
films of yesteryear. Some 
notable series include: 2012 Bryant Park Movie 
Series-movies under the stars in NYC, Washington, DC's NoMa Summer Screen, 
The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park, and Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.