Author Topic: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's  (Read 3957 times)

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Chiprocks1

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Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« on: March 09, 2012, 11:46:33 pm »
Tell us about your favorite Movie Theaters and Drive-In's that you went to as a kid or are currently attending now.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2012, 12:21:48 am by Chiprocks1 »
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Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2012, 12:00:38 am »
Fine Arts Theater

Circa 1976-79ish



I'm actually stunned that I even found this pic online. I'm always searching for snapshots of my past of when I was a kid. My story about Fine Arts is that it's use to be right down the street where I live. Fine Arts Theater has a pretty interesting history. It started off as a legit Movie House (from what I can remember) and then somewhere along the way, early 70's it became and Adult Theater. I was around 6-7 years old when it was still an active  P o r n  palace and on the wall outside they had full One Sheet Posters in Light Frame Boxes of what was playing at the time and what was coming soon. It was really strange, even as a kid to see stuff like this. To get from my Grandparents house to Newberry, we (as in me and my Grandpa) would have to walk pass it and the theater just looked so cool and larger than life.

But seeing half naked chicks on the Posters with my Grandpa along side of me made me feel uncomfortable. A few years later, they changed it back to an Art House (thus the name Fine Arts) and one of the last movies they showed there was The Gods Must Be Crazy, which my Mom went to see. They never really closed the theater itself, but demolished the entire building. I'm still  p i s s e d  off that it's gone....for a lot of reason. I think the above pic is around 76-79.

I will search for more pics of the other 2 theaters we had back in the day and post.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2012, 09:08:41 pm by Chiprocks1 »
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Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2012, 12:13:24 am »
The Roxy Theater

Circa 1979



I loved this theater as a kid. It was the only "legit" theater we had then and believe it or not, the last one we've had in our town since then. How long ago was this? The last movie I saw at The Roxy was Jaws. Yup, we haven't had a movie house since then. It closed a few years later. Currently, our Post Office sits in the same spot. But yeah, this one was a good one for sure.

Now I have to find a pic of our Drive-In Theater, which probably isn't anywhere to be found online since I have searched for years for one. Grrr! You can see by the marquee that it was 1979 with Caligula playing.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2012, 12:17:49 am »
The Roxy Theater News


Quote
The Roxy Theater, where the post office is today, opened on Dec. 16, 1943 as a proud member of the Fox-West Coast theater chain. Many of the Pacific Beach kids who remember Saturday matinees at the Roxy are grandparents today. Scott Shore purchased the building in 1977 and booked live shows and art movies. I took this photo in September of 1980, when “Caligula” was the featured film. It featured Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, Peter O’Toole and Helen Mirren. The post office announced, on March 2, 1981, that it had spent $1.1 million to purchase the property. The theater was demolished three months later.


I was pretty sure that it closed in 1980, my first year playing Little League Baseball because I wanted to go see a movie there. But we never did.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

boyinblack80

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2012, 02:43:28 pm »
hahahaha Caligula....that's awesome.

I saw Dire Straights on the Sultan's of Swing tour there with my dad.

I also saw the original Nosferatu at one of the two theatres.....the scary black and white one.

very cool Chip....super fun to see that.

and what's crazy is I actually remember when Caligula was playing there....so you joke about my drug addled memory....you'd never forget the name Caligula.

;)


Mac

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First Drive-In Theater
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2012, 04:08:04 am »
Jun 6, 1933:
First drive-in movie theater opens




Note Google Doodle today

On this day in 1933, eager motorists park their automobiles on the grounds of Park-In Theaters, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Crescent Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey.

Park-In Theaters--the term "drive-in" came to be widely used only later--was the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager at his father's company, Whiz Auto Products, in Camden. Reportedly inspired by his mother's struggle to sit comfortably in traditional movie theater seats, Hollingshead came up with the idea of an open-air theater where patrons watched movies in the comfort of their own automobiles. He then experimented in the driveway of his own house with different projection and sound techniques, mounting a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, pinning a screen to some trees, and placing a radio behind the screen for sound. He also tested ways to guard against rain and other inclement weather, and devised the ideal spacing arrangement for a number of cars so that all would have a view of the screen.

The young entrepreneur received a patent for the concept in May of 1933 and opened Park-In Theaters, Inc. less than a month later, with an initial investment of $30,000. Advertising it as entertainment for the whole family, Hollingshead charged 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person, with no group paying more than one dollar. The idea caught on, and after Hollingshead's patent was overturned in 1949, drive-in theaters began popping up all over the country. One of the largest was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York, which featured parking space for 2,500 cars, a kid's playground and a full service restaurant, all on a 28-acre lot.

Drive-in theaters showed mostly B-movies--that is, not Hollywood's finest fare--but some theaters featured the same movies that played in regular theaters. The initially poor sound quality--Hollingshead had mounted three speakers manufactured by RCA Victor near the screen--improved, and later technology made it possible for each car's to play the movie's soundtrack through its FM radio. The popularity of the drive-in spiked after World War II and reached its heyday in the late 1950s to mid-60s, with some 5,000 theaters across the country. Drive-ins became an icon of American culture, and a typical weekend destination not just for parents and children but also for teenage couples seeking some privacy. Since then, however, the rising price of real estate, especially in suburban areas, combined with the growing numbers of walk-in theaters and the rise of video rentals to curb the growth of the drive-in industry. Today, fewer than 500 drive-in theaters survive in the United States.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2012, 01:22:24 pm by Mac »
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Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2012, 12:57:43 pm »
Fine Arts Theater

Circa 1976-79ish


Doing a search on Fine Arts Theater, I found this article, dated February 21, 1986. I miss my old neighborhood and everything it had to offer. It was unique and had character. Now and for the past 25 years it's just your typical "been-there-seen-it" town. Bah!!
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2012, 01:08:51 pm »

Found another article on Fine Arts. Now I can give credit to the photographer that took the pic. I think. Anyway, it's John Fry. Gonna try and get in touch with him. Sent him an email. Want to see if he has any more pics of not just the movie house, but some of the other prominent places in town. Hopefully he has a pic of our Drive-In Theater which I still can't find anywhere online.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Mac

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2012, 01:31:04 pm »
The Olympic Drive-In aka: The Big O.

Well, I don’t know about my favorite drive-in. It did show p orn. Yes, that’s right, an outside screen theater showing p orn.

The Olympic Drive-In aka: The Big O.

I only went a time or two and they are forever burned in my brain. It was so odd. Went with a bunch of high school friends. The fence enclosing the theater grounds was draped in black material and most of it was torn. It was only an attempt to hide the screens from the public and surrounding neighborhood.



Quote
This drive-in opened as the Rock Road in Pagedale by Wehrenberg Theatres and had a 400 car capacity. After changing ownership in the early-1960’s it began running **** movies. They had to install a large screen around the drive-in and it was drapped in a black vinyl material so that the screen couldn’t be seen from the Rock Road. There were constant battles between the drive-in owners and the city of Pagedale over violations because of the films that were being run. They would make inspections of the facility and cite them for the least of irregularities.

It was closed in 1977 and is now a junk yard, but the large marquee with the giant Olympic torch is still facing the Rock Road.
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Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2012, 01:46:40 pm »
Just outside of our town in the adjacent town they had a strip that had at one time 6 Drive-Ins's next to each other. Meaning it was a Screen, then a parking lot, then another screen, parking lot......As it became obsolete, it was down to 3 and then eventually 0. Bah!!!! But it was really cool when my Mom would drive by at night time and I'd see these huge screens with movies showing. There was no hiding it, even though it was enclosed behind walls. Still trying to find pics of those theaters that don't suck.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2012, 06:08:03 pm »
I was walking by my old Jr. High School today, which isn't far from where I live. Anyway, walking by I notice a sign on the chain link fence and it said "FullmoonDriveIn". So, I investigated more when I got home and this is what I found out. This is a new thing where they open up the school grounds dirt field for cars and on selected days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) they will be showing a different movie each day. Those that bring their cars have to pay 20 bucks. But they said you can pack as many people into one car and the price is the same. Pedestrians pay 10 bucks. Upon entering they give you the FM station that will have the soundtrack to the movie, which is interesting in itself.

This coming Friday they will be showing Top Gun, on Saturday it's When Harry Met Sally and on Sunday it's E.T. I will definitely head down Friday to see how this is operated and how big the screen is, etc...If I like what I see, I will definitely shoot for Sunday and see E.T. Showtime starts at 8:30pm each night.

I've been longing for the days of my past Movie Houses and Drive-In's. So this just might be what the Doctor ordered. More information and showtimes can be found at FullMoonDriveIn
« Last Edit: July 16, 2012, 06:10:25 pm by Chiprocks1 »
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Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

boyinblack80

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2012, 06:21:28 pm »
very cool.

not sure we'd make it down this weekend...but I'd for sure keep my eyes peeled for future shows.

Danika broke her arm last night at her grandparents...so she's kind of on the mend right now


Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2012, 06:44:41 pm »
This might be a Summer-Only thing. That is unless it made a lot of money on a daily basis to justify going year round. Sucks about Danika. Ouch.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2012, 09:48:24 pm »
FullMoonDrive-In - Opening Night (Top Gun - July 20, 2012)



















Well, I just got back from checking out opening night for FullMoonDrive-In theater and I gotta say that I was impressed by how organized they were and the massive turnout as well. I was expecting maybe 30 cars total and maybe a few walk-ins. Not the case here at all. A lot of people showed up and the staff did a great job in getting the cars into their respective spots. Since I won't be driving because I'm only two blocks away, I will always be doing the walk-in personally. I liked how they have it set up for those that choose not to drive. They have  a few rows of reclining style seats up near the front.

Also, I was wondering what the PA System would be like. Reading FullMoon's FAQ, I was under the impression the audio would be through the radio only. Nope. They have a PA System set up in the front for those without cars and it was louder than I expected it to be. Personally I want it even louder than that!!!! So, what about the screen? It was big. Much bigger than I even thought it would be. I was expecting it to be half the size. Hell man, I could see the screen from my house. So, this is only a partial review because I have yet to experience a movie and give my thoughts on how that plays out. But I can say just by my initial curiosity look into this, that it's gonna be very successful for the long run. But that of course will be dictated by what they decide to play. I'd like to see both T2: Judgement Day and Aliens sometime this summer there for sure. I'd buy my tickets for those right now if they said they were on sale.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

boyinblack80

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Re: Movie Theaters and Drive-In's
« Reply #14 on: July 20, 2012, 10:00:58 pm »
wow amazing man....looks like they did a kick ass job....really glad you went to check it out.

I am sitting here sweating like a dog working...I am sure it was nice and cool outside!

 

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