This Map Shows All Drive-In Theaters Still Operating in America

[Katashi_itto]

If your desire to revel in childhood nostalgia is strong enough to overcome a few major inconveniences, this is the map for you!

Popping up across America as the country embraced the car in the wake of the post-war boom, drive-in movie theaters became a staple of ‘50s and '60s culture. They brought together communities, gave families access to cheap entertainment, helped bring Hollywood productions to the masses, and gave teenagers a place to neck with their special someone in their sin wagons. The movement peaked in the late '50s, when there were over 4,600 different drive-in locations, and suffered a precipitous decline starting in the 1980s.

Today, there are just 336 left in America, all of which are cataloged in the very busy map below, via braid.io, using data from drive-ins.com.

http://jordan-zakarin.tumblr.com/post/136892366081/this-map-shows-all-drive-in-theaters-still

[Blue_Tires]

1. k+r

[ChisolmTrailDem]

2. I can vouch for The Coyote Drive In in Ft Worth. Very nice setup near downtown with multiple...

...screens, a grill, and a bar with imported beers. An extremely pleasant experience in nice weather.

[Cartoonist]

3. Great family outings

I don't understand their decline.

[tabasco]

4. Glad to see the Dependable Drive In in Coraopolis, Pa. still open

Looks like they went from three to two screens.

Damn good time. Maybe they'll come back someday.

[Xyzse]

5. Thank you.

I now have found a place to go to one day around April...

[hifiguy]

6. Even in the 1970s, stuffing cases of beer and

a couple of broke buddies into the trunk and going to the drive-in was a popular pastime. At least it was for me.

[Mnemosyne]

11. "It's raining man." Ah, those were the days... nt

[TexasProgresive]

7. There's a walk in outdoor theater

In Wimberly,TX. It was saved from closing by the local people taking up collections so digital equipment could be installed. The 35 mm films are no longer available.

It's the Corral.

[Katashi_itto]

15. That sounds worth visiting!

[FuzzyRabbit]

8. You can trace the decline of Western civilization directly

to the decline in the numbers of drive in theaters and bowling alleys.

I am serious. Our quality of life is much poorer than when there was a bowling alley and a drive in theater in every town.

[seaglass]

9. There was a motel/drive-in that was for sale in VT in 2003 that I really wanted to buy. Sadly my

husband wasn't as thrilled about running a motel/drive-in.

They advertised the motel as being able to see the movie screen from all of the rooms, plus speakers built into the rooms.

Someone bought it and it looks like they are doing well with it.

http://www.fairleedrivein.com/aboutus.html

[GreatGazoo]

10. Part of the boom in Drive-In threatres was the court ordered sell off of movie theatres

by the major studios. As part of the war on Hollywood, the Federal government forced the studios to sell off their movie theaters (which were a key part of profitability for them). Imagine if they had made GM sell all their car dealerships or McDonald's sell their corporate owned stores; it was crippling.

The studios were on their heels in the early 1950s as television "gave families access to cheap entertainment, helped bring Hollywood productions to the masses." The older studio heads were slow to abandon their aging stars and formula comedy musicals but new talent like Roger Corman saw a market that was under served in teenagers and young families. Darryl Zanuck promoted wide screen movies as a weapon against TV.

The first drive in was created in 1915 but the big increase came in the 1950s. Ultimately drive-ins were great for dates but a terrible way to see a movie. Following a slow decline that began around 1961, the 1974 oil crisis, daylight savings time and the VCR crushed all but the most popular. Many are now the site for weekly evangelical churches, flea markets, vintage car shows and swaps.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. Thanks. You know, it's ten freaking degrees outside. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. More than I thought. Nearest one to me became swapmeet

[Eleanors38]

14. Passed Joylan Drive-in in Dade City, FL last Thanksgiving...

Now showing: Star Wars, and The Good Dinosaur.

[bullwinkle428]

20. I saw the "original" ("Episode 4" for geeks) "Star Wars" in 1977 at the

Transit Drive-In in Lockport, NY (still in operation)!

[sinkingfeeling]

16. We have one in Fayetteville AR. Every summer we go

[Tab]

17. They're inconvenient as hell

(except if your partner is in the back seat away from her parents)

but they're irreplaceable otherwise.

Best memories are of the speakers that didn't work that you had to hang inside your car. No, not the epitome of technology (quite the opposite) but the most nostalgic I had.

(sigh)

[Bluenorthwest]

18. It's a crash course for the ravers

It's a Drive-in Saturday.

[phylny]

19. We have a new one in our town.

I think it was built 8-9 years ago or so.