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Motion Pictures Drive in theater

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by rmorris, Feb 14, 2018.

  1. Brizo
    Joined: Jan 15, 2011
    Posts: 222

    Brizo
    Member
    from Indy

    Indy had a lot of great Drive-in movies in the '50s and '60s. My favorite was the Meridian on SR 135. It had a creek between the front row and the screen with a foot bridge to a playground at the base of the screen and pick-nick tables with speakers by the concession stand. In about '64 a buddy and I rode my Cushman there after dark, turned off the lights and coasted into a orchard behind the drive-in. We pushed it to the back and parked it under a tree by the back fence and climbed over . Did that several times - didn't have enough $ for admission and snacks both ! Some drive-ins operated through December and rented electric heaters. Couple years later I'd take a date in my '46 Pontiac sedan and park in the center and plug 2 heaters in to both posts - real cozy in that gigantic back seat!
     
    Ron Funkhouser likes this.
  2. image.jpeg

    Stephens City Virginia
     
  3. Donuts & Peelouts
    Joined: Dec 12, 2016
    Posts: 1,193

    Donuts & Peelouts
    Member
    from , CA

    rmorris likes this.
  4. The couple wanting to open the drive-in between Fremont and Valley, NE are active street rodders - the husband's father was the late Ron Karls, and his wife is an architect (though I've never crossed paths with her professionally). Story in the local newspaper is that they got their inspiration from taking their '46 Ford to a drive-in on the east coast and have been wanting to do this for some time. In fact, they original wanted to build it about a mile from where I live in the river valley southwest of Gretna near a miniature donkey farm. Plans were to hold flea markets on weekends during the day and movies on weekend nights. Neighbors concerned about the added traffic and noise howled "NIMBY" (Not In My Back Yard) loud enough to shoot that location down, hence the new location. And I still hear the miniature donkeys breying at night when our windows are open...
     
  5. Not my best drive-in memory, but still memorable, for me was in 1981. I had a 3-on-the-tree '63 Galaxie boxtop hardtop with a 289 (the original 260 got 'lunched' the year before). One of my buddies had never driven a stick before - we were pretty liquored up at the Starlight drive-in on north 72nd St. in Omaha - forgot what the movies were. When it was time to leave the one buddy, being the least-drunk of us, took the wheel and started driving over the terraces (it was on the side of a hill) and headed for the exit, rapping out that SBF at well over what it was comfortable for me. "What the f**k are you doing? This isn't a g-damned automatic!" Fumbled him through using the clutch and shifting into 2nd and 3rd in order to get home. As for my best memory, I don't kiss and tell...
     
  6. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,603

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

  7. Donuts & Peelouts
    Joined: Dec 12, 2016
    Posts: 1,193

    Donuts & Peelouts
    Member
    from , CA

    Hey Johnny thanks I been meaning to go, it's where the swapmeets are held right? I'm actually in Paramount right now due to work, lol just left Downey too.

    Sent from my SM-J727T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  8. RacingRoger
    Joined: Sep 11, 2017
    Posts: 208

    RacingRoger
    Member

    Oh, that's rich...

    Sent from my Pixel XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  9. RacingRoger
    Joined: Sep 11, 2017
    Posts: 208

    RacingRoger
    Member

  10. badgascoupe
    Joined: Jul 22, 2011
    Posts: 186

    badgascoupe
    Member

    In North Smithfield,RI. on Route 146, theres a drive in still operating.
     
  11. One of my favorites also. It was my screen saver for years. I understand he did it in two shots, one to capture the jet on the screen and one for the locomotive but I'm not sure if that's true. It was taken in WV. I screwed up and left the O(Ogle) out of the first post, I'm guessing he didn't like his first name.
     
  12. [​IMG]

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    When I was a teenager there were 3 drive in theaters in my home town,The Fox,Hwy 29 (later renamed the Viking) and my personal favorite The Skyway,they had the best snack bar,now they are all gone and today a empty K-mart Super store is where the skyway drive-in use to be..


    I have a lot of funny storys but some I would not repeat on a public forum.

    I will tell the one where 5 friends & I decide if we pooled our money we could buy a case of beer and a couple of pizza's but wouldn't have enough to get us all in the drive in to see the new movie The Dirty Dozen.

    So Ronnie and I would drive in and pay the admission price and Dennis,Mike,Reid and Robbie would get in the truck of Ronnie's fathers '57 Chevy.

    We stopped on a back road and the 4 guys climbed in and there was a lot of laughing and hollering as Ronnie hit every pot hole he saw but as we pulled up the the ticket window everyone knew to be quiet,we paid for 2 tickets and entered the drive in and they never suspected anything was amiss.

    We parked close the the rear where there were a lot of trees to block the screen from a nearby neighborhood and Ronnie opened the truck and everyone crawled out,we all got in the car and ate pizza and drank beer,and as we consumed the liquid refreshment even teenage kindeys will hold just so much.

    As we entered the restroom I notice Mike looked like he had rolled in grease and oil and so did Dennis,the other two trunk riders looked the same but the mess was also on the seats of the car,turns out that Ronnie's dad had recently replaced the transmission in the Chevy and had hauled it in the trunk, the case was busted.

    We never tried that again but we all agreed if we were to do it again they wanted to use my Falcon,even if it did have a small trunk at least it was clean.

    BTW,this little adventure took place about 50 years ago and sadly,Dennis,Robbie and Reid are no longer with us,Ronnie moved away years ago but I do see Mike every now and then,none of these guys were obsessed with cars like me. HRP
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2018
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  13. {61CAD} I been going to that Family Drive In, since I was a kid.. It opened in 1956. When they had their 50th anniversary celebration, they let me and all other 1956 cars in for free. Also here's another { STORY }. In 1974 I took my date, {now my wife} to a different drive in. We were in my 38 Chevy coupe. We drove away with the speaker still in her window.:eek: Yes it cracked the glass, and yes, I still have the speaker. I'm sure it probably happen fairly often back then.;) Thanks RON .... 358.jpg 1245.jpg
     
  14. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    In the 60's, myself and most I knew referred to them as"Passion Pits"great date night venues and so expensive ($1 buck carload night) 2 memories popped in my mind this AM, #1 was bumpin nasties w/ girlfriend and a Buddy sneaked up and reached thru open widow and grabbed my butt, To say I jumped, (think I hit my head on roof, bout stopped my heart) is an understatement, for years he gave me the berries about this. #2 same scenario, different girl and local Sheriff shines flashlight in, tells us to stop, takes us in his cruiser, checks ID's both under 18, has me follow him to Sheriff office, calls our parents, my Mom did't say much about it, did not turn out well for the girl, her Dad did not have a sense of humor, needless to say, that romance ended.
     
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  15. Thankfully,we didn't have the local law enforcement walking around with a flashlight at the drive in getting his jolly's by shinning his light through the cars with steamed up windows. :D HRP
     
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  16. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    First Drive in date with my wife. 1970.
    Movie was the Night of the Living Dead.
    Cold night.
    We fogged up the windows so bad we didn’t even know the movie finished.
    The maintenance crew ended up banging on the windows to get us out of there.

     
  17. We still have a 4 screen outdoor here. 2hen I was a teenager in the 50’s it was a single with lots of neon. Never had the prescience of mind to take any pictures though. Probably first went there 60 years ago. In high school I worked part time for the owner who also owned an indoor “art” theater down town and a bowling alley. For a couple summers I worked the lot trying to keep my fellow horny teen age friends from publicly outrageous behavior, but I didn’t try too hard.
     
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  18. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,293

    jnaki


    Hey HRP,
    For some reason, the Long Beach Police and Lakewood/LA County Sheriff's officers did not come into the actual bumpy, drive-in grounds. If there was a call about a big fight or vandalism and the guys in the white coats could not handle it, then the police were called. The police policy was to cruise the outside flat road all around the drive-in theater grounds, making it known they were there. That show of force, usually made the mad scramble back inside of the cars near the speaker posts. But, on the average weekend night, it was the sneaky guys with flashlights, in the white coats in So Cal.

    While the teenagers (us) were having fun inside of the drive-in grounds with whatever was going on inside/outside of the cars, they left us alone. But, if the teenager group was big and boisterous, some of the "larger" white coat guys would come by to tell us to tone it down. If that did not break up the "rolling can races," then we found out later that the police were sitting just outside of the property. As soon as we left by the exit gate and were officially off of the drive-in property, the police pulled us over for the full on frisk and car search. That was not good.

    Jnaki
    If the cars did not have any violations, pipes, lowered, loud motor, etc, and the police did not find any drinks, then they gave us a stearn warning and let us drive away...Of course, we were scared they would impound our cars. But, it worked out well for all of the times we frequented those 4 big name drive-ins, located in the 4 regions of our Long Beach/Lakewood cruising grounds.
     
  19. Well lets see how much time you got?

    Freshman year in high school I had a hardship license, got caught driving a couple of times outside of the provision they said next time I would loose my license. Had a date for Friday night, we went on the FFA tractor and took my bed roll. It was legal for me to drive a tractor.

    Sophomore year, too much Orange Mesc, the windows were fogged and I guess the cop wanted to see why. I opened the door and puked on his shoes.

    Junior year we took a school bus to carload night. They were not going to let us in but the cop said that the sign didn't say no school busses. The sign said no busses the next time I went.

    Same year 9 of us in a '61 Catalina, some in the trunk, one under a rug on the back seat floor.

    The list goes on like I said how much time you got?

    Note: Mrs Beaner and I were married our spring of our Junior year, back seat frolicking was kind of silly.

    @roundvalley just noticed your avatar, I'm a Nomad, uh probably not the same club. LOL
     
  20. R A Wrench
    Joined: Feb 4, 2007
    Posts: 517

    R A Wrench
    Member
    from Denver, Co

    In the late 50's we lived in a trailer court, 4th trailer from the end. Across the street was the outdoor. Caught lots of free movies. In the early/mid 60's I worked at that same drive-in. Flashlight swinging usher, speaker repair, even got to climb to the top of the screen to change the light bulbs. (no OSHA back then) Several memorable dates in my 55 Chevy, lots of back row parties. Fond memories.
     
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  21. Hey Ron... We go at least once a year..

    They have an annual Car Show with American Graffiti as the feature film.

    Jay
     
  22. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,817

    BJR
    Member

    I had been working on the turn signal switch on my 63 Pontiac so I had to borrow a wheel puller to get at it. Turned out the switch was beyond repair, so I had to get another one. Since the wheel puller was borrowed and I had to return it. I just stuck the wheel on and didn't tighten the nut, while I waited until I got a new switch. Went to the drive in with my latest girlfriend and parked in front of the refreshment stand in the center. To make it more comfortable I unscrewed the nut and pulled the steering wheel off and set it on the floor in the back seat. Now we had the whole front seat with nothing in the way. You should have seen the looks of the people walking back to their cars from the refreshment stand, seeing a car parked there with no steering wheel and 2 people sitting in it. All that extra room was fun when the movie was on also.:D
     
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  23. hdman6465
    Joined: Jul 5, 2009
    Posts: 662

    hdman6465
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    This thread reminds me of the time last summer that we had a cruise in at the local drive in. Someone had a drone, and music has been dubbed in. It was a fun way to end summer, enjoy.
     
  24. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,603

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    Yes. It's funny, the drive-in is in my back yard (next city over) and I have not once taken my 56 to it. If I keep that up I'll have no reason to bitch the day it closes again if it does happen o_O :confused:
     
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  25. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,603

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

     
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  26. Mentor, Ohio Torn down to build Super Kmart and home of Mentor Kmart cruise. Neither one exists anymore.

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    Last edited: Feb 17, 2018
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  27. Brizo
    Joined: Jan 15, 2011
    Posts: 222

    Brizo
    Member
    from Indy

    Indy had a drive-in inside the city limits built in the '40s called the Twin-Air - that's because it had two screens - on the front and the back! With two full sized lots and concession stands. Once you paid, you could drive back and forth any time. I remember going to see a Three Stooges movie with my uncle and his soon to be wife in his '51 Buick Super hard top when I was about 5. I sat right between them all evening.
     
  28. rmorris
    Joined: Jun 3, 2017
    Posts: 102

    rmorris
    Member

    Good story. I did not remember the heaters until your story jarred the brain cells.
     
  29. rmorris
    Joined: Jun 3, 2017
    Posts: 102

    rmorris
    Member

    In Indiana we watched the corn grow
     
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  30. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,817

    BJR
    Member

    They still do that in Nebraska!
     
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