Drive In Theaters

[W. Gray]

The first drive in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey, on June 6, 1933, at an investment cost of $30,000.

Where did Elk County "daters" go to the drive in?

At the height of popularity, there were 4,000 drive in movies operating in the 1950s.

According to AARP, in 2008 there were 388 drive in theaters left.

Kansas – 7
Colorado – 8
Missouri – 13
Oklahoma – 5

Pennsylvania has the most with 34.

Alaska, D.C., and Louisiana have the least with zero.

As a little boy in the late 1940s, my family did not have a car but we often took sightseeing rides with a couple of neighboring families who did have one. One Friday evening we drove past the Highway 40 Drive in Movie. Cars were lined up bumper to bumper at the ticket booth. When I asked what this place was, our neighbor indicated that it was a drive in movie where people watched movies while sitting in their cars. All I could see was a tall, wide, and narrow concrete building with a door in the side (the screen was on the other side and the doorway proved to lead to a stairway that provided access to the back of the screen).

I did not ask any more questions but for several years, I wondered how all those cars I saw lined up could get inside that little building.

[patyrn]

Eureka had the closest drive-in movie theater to Howard.  I don't think it is still operating. 

We have two drive-in theaters in the Oklahoma City area--one near Guthrie and one in south Oklahoma City, I think.  We were just talking about this with our son and daughter-in-law last week and plan to take in a drive-in movie this summer. 

[Wilma]

Unless I am totally blind and deaf, Eureka no longer has a drive in theater.

[W. Gray]

According to one web site, the Eureka drive in was called the Highway 54 Drive In. It had a capacity of 286 cars--but no information on when it was open.

[Wilma]

I am thinking it was open during the 1950's.  Daughter remembers what she thinks was Houdini being shown there and Road to Bali, maybe in the 60's.

[W. Gray]

Road to Bali came out in 1952 and Houdini in 1953.

I vaguely remember a Eureka drive in but cannot recall if it was on the east end or the west end or on the north or the south of highway 54.

Apparently El Dorado still has a drive in open.

Showing 1950s releases in the 1960s would probably have been a big money saver for the theater owner.

When Houdini came out, all the girls wanted to see their heart throb Tony Curtis. I knew who he was and was not impressed. I did not know who Janet Leigh was nor did I know the two were married in real life. Nor, did I know that Curtis was her third husband and that she was first married at age 14.

[greatguns]

The drive in at Eureka was on the east side of town and north of 54 highway.

[Dee Gee]

The Eureka Drive In was located on the East side of Town between the present US 54 and old 54 highway just on the south edge of the Cemetery.  You could park in the cemetery and then sneak in to see the movie.  It was still open in 1962 because that is where I met my wife for the first time. I believe it closed in the late 60's.  

[Ms Bear]

I grew up in Arizona and Drive-Ins were very popular.  Most of them charged by the carload and my Dad would load up all kids he could get in the car and then we would sit on the benches by the playground because it was cooler than staying inside the car.  We never went to the theatres that had the latest releases and they cost more, where we went was usually determined by which one had the best cartoons or was known to show the most Roadrunner cartoons.  That was his favorite.

[Dale Smith]

We still have a drive-in here in Atlanta, and it's still going strong.  I think it's the biggest drive-in I have ever seen, with 6 seperate screens.  I pass it every day on my commute to and from work.  If I can make the link work, I'll post a link to it... I think it's pretty cool.

http://www.starlightdrivein.com/