Drive-in theaters
Drive-in theaters are outdoor movie venues where audiences watch films from the comfort of their cars, a concept that gained immense popularity in the United States during the 1950s. Typically featuring a large screen at the front of a parking lot, these theaters allowed attendees to position their vehicles in a way that ensured unobstructed views. Each parking spot was equipped with a speaker that could be mounted on the car window, enhancing the viewing experience by providing sound without disturbing others. The nostalgic appeal of drive-ins was especially attractive to teenagers and families, as they offered a private space to enjoy movies while having the freedom to move around and consume snacks.
The first drive-in theater was established in the early 1930s by Richard Hollingshead, who innovatively arranged cars to find the optimal viewing angle. The drive-in theater phenomenon expanded rapidly, reaching nearly five thousand locations in the U.S. by 1958. However, their popularity waned with the rise of television and home entertainment options. Despite a significant decline, drive-ins saw a resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they provided a safer entertainment alternative when traditional theaters were closed. Today, a few remain active, serving as a nostalgic reminder of a bygone era while continuing to attract audiences with a unique movie-going experience.
Drive-in theaters
Outdoor movie theaters at which audiences watch films from inside their own vehicles
Drive-in theaters began by entertaining an affluent and car-loving postwar population and merged Americans’ love of automobiles with community entertainment.
During the 1950s, when they were particularly popular, the typical drive-in theater consisted of a large, painted outdoor screen at the front of a large parking lot. Visitors pulled their cars into parking rows sculpted into the pavement, their front tires elevated by mounded rises in the ground so that their cars’ front ends were raised for viewing without interfering with the views of cars behind them. For good sound reception, poles with individual speakers for each car lined the parking spots, and visitors mounted the speakers on their side windows. Viewing the film from one’s automobile provided privacy combined with the ability to stretch one’s legs or consume snacks without affecting other theatergoers.
History
The first drive-in theater was created during the early 1930s by Richard Hollingshead. He nailed a screen to his backyard trees and placed a radio behind the screen for sound. Hollingshead determined the best car parking distance and angle by arranging parked cars at different distances from one another and then placing them on angled blocks for good viewing. In 1933, he received the first patent for a drive-in theater. The popularity of the drive-in grew quickly: In 1948, there were fewer than one thousand drive-in theaters in the United States, and by 1958, there were almost five thousand in the United States and about three hundred in Canada. By the end of the 1950s, as television became more popular, drive-in theaters had reached their peak and began losing ground as people accessed entertainment in their homes.
Teenagers enjoyed the privacy afforded by drive-in theaters, which also served young families by providing an opportunity to go to the movies affordably and not require children to be quiet and still, as in conventional theaters. Drive-in theater complexes began to offer amenities to attract children and families—outdoor playgrounds, snack bars, and even carhop food delivery. Theater owners discovered that large profits were enjoyed from the sale of food and candy, and many created movie shorts, concession advertising, and long intermissions in order to encourage the sale of these food items.
To keep children and families coming back, drive-in theaters began to include other children’s activities such as miniature golf, trains, or pony rides. Many drive-in theaters opened as much as three hours before the shows began so that people could enjoy the festive and entertaining activities.
Though a much smaller number, several active drive-in theaters still remained scattered throughout the United States into the first decades of the twenty-first century. Going to a drive-in theater was considered more of a nostalgic event by that point, and along with the increased access to films at home and the luxury afforded at regular theaters, many drive-in theaters were forced to close due to the small nature of the business and the heavy expenses despite the advent of digital film technology. However, drive-in theaters experienced a boost in early 2020 during the global coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that had led to the closings of businesses and lockdown orders. As theaters were closed to minimize close contact and the spread of the virus, many people began going to drive-in theaters as a safer way to escape their homes.
Impact
Drive-ins reflected Americans’ growing affluence. Families could afford automobiles and public entertainment. In addition, families of the 1950s had a great fondness for their automobiles. Merging the public’s interests in leisure activities and automobiles, drive-in theaters provided a place for youth and growing families to enjoy public entertainment with others in their community, in a safe, family-oriented environment.
Bibliography
Dunham, Nancy. "Drive-In Theaters Can Get You Out of the House and Keep You Safe." AARP, 7 May 2020, www.aarp.org/auto/trends-lifestyle/info-2020/drive-in-theaters-during-pandemic.html. Accessed 8 June 2020.
Miller, Douglas T., and Marion Nowak. The Fifties: The Way We Really Were. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977. Overview of important cultural influences of the 1950s, including popular media.
Sanders, Don, and Susan Sanders. American Drive-In Movie Theatre. Osceola, Wis.: Motorbooks International, 1997. Offers informative details and photographs of drive-ins in their heyday.
Seagrave, Kerri. Drive-in Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933. New York: McFarland, 1992. Traces the rise of the drive-in theater, examining patent battles, concerns with morality, technological advances, and other factors that affected these theaters.