Vintage drive-ins

Drive-ins are a huge part of my growing up years, and sadly, it's been several years since I've been to one, as the one in South Everett, the Puget Park, was demolished to make way for an ER clinic and apartments.



The first movie I saw there, was the month it opened, April 1969, to watch The Love Bug, with Dean Jones and Michelle Lee. The last one was when I took my nieces and my brother & sister-in-law to see the War of the Worlds remake and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

The next one is the Everett Motor Movie, which had a cool billboard sign on the corner of 75th and Evergreen Way (US 99 when it was built), which is now a Safeway and strip malls.



Across the street was one of the XXX Root Beer restaurants, seen in the background of the first photo. I posted the photo of the advertisement for Star Wars Because that's where Mom took my sister and I to see it. I'll always remember that day, that experience, when I saw Star Wars for the first time. I also saw the original The Omen, with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, the night of my 13th birthday...yeah, there's a story there, too.

 

I wouldn't mind watching that Jo Raquel Tejada, alias "Raquel Welch", flick, while chugging down a tripple x root beer

 

I worked at the Southington Drive In when I was off from college for 2 Summers. One Summer we redid the entire Drive in, inside and out. We took out old equipment in the snackbar area and put new equipment in. We repainted the interior as well as the exterior of the snackbar. We reconditioned a bunch of speakers and had them available for people who didnt have radios in their cars or if they wanted a nostalgia feel to the experience. I also ran the flea market on Sundays. The guy who still lives 3 houses up from me was the boss and he let me do whatever I wanted to do when I was working there. I still remember getting to the drive in around 530a.m to start preparing for the flea market and using that place like my very own race track with my dads Monte Carlo, not the huge 70s ones, I think it was like a 89. Jumping from bump to bumps and going up and down the aisles like Mario Andretti. I still dont know how I never wrecked it, well I did blow the motor in it racing it from my daily commute to college lmao. Southington drive in is still open and runs older movies and does an awesome halloween night. There is also one still open in Harwinton called pleasant valley drive in which is tiny and real old school. When I get a wagon these places will be gone to with my family and wagon.

 

Where are Southington and Harwinton located?

There's one last 3-screen drive-in here in Western Washington, but it's a boat trip or a long drive from Everett to its location West of Bremerton. The last two seasons, I've been dying to go over, but I just do not have the money to make the trip and either pay tolls or the ferry tickets, then buy the tickets, then buy snacks, then make the trip all the way back home.

 

Here in CT. http://www.southingtondrive-in.org
http://www.pleasantvalleydriveinmovies.com

 

We had two drive in movies in our small town. Both beyond the north side. The closest one, the Pekin Drive in, is now part of 'Auto Row'. Our favorite, The Starlite Drive in, is now a large multi-screen indoor movie theater.
The next larger city had at least three drive in theaters and most mid sized towns had at least one.

After kids got their first car and first girlfriend, the drive in movie was the place to go for a weekend date night. Stop at a drive-inn diner for take-out food then out to the movies. All for well under five dollars. Occasionally we'd load a car up for dollar nite for a car load!

When living in Florida we went to an old drive in near Ocala opened only at special times. Most weekends it became a flea market.
To show our adopted son what a drive in movie was we took him during a vacation to one near the Illinois state line in lower east Wisconsin. That one and another near St Louis, in southern Illinois, are the only two possibly still operating anywhere near us.

Paint it maroon and ir was mine.

 

Vintage films for vintage drive-ins:

 

That's the interesting thing about 'drive-ins;' they only refer to businesses that allowed car drivers to pull in and patronize the business without leaving their car. Whether a local malt shop, a movie theater or a liquor store, you drive in, you are served, you drive out.

 

Or park away from the regular drive-in spaces and 'walk in' for service like this one.
I was retired for years before I found that at our A&W if you walk in and sit at the counter your drink refills are free! Being thrifty, we could then order a small mug of root beer and get several refills. Also inside, we'd get a frosty mug. It only took about 50+ years to figure that out.

 

I think it's still that way! And not the 'fountain' swill behind the counter, but in its own fountain, and the last time I had some, it was very tasty!

 

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