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Drive in movies


Tick
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Ahh the memories of youth. Few things were more fun on a hot summer night that going to the drive in with my family. The crappy speakers were pure magic. The tons of food my mom brought in a big cooler. It was just great, but like a like a lot of cool things it disappeared in favor of gigantic multi screen move theaters.

Who else has fond memories ? Do you wish they were still popular ? It was a great family event, but as we all see, families just seem to be preoccupied these days and life is too hectic, to have the closeness they once had. The simple times in life were the best.

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QUOTE
It was a great family event, but as we all see, families just seem to be preoccupied these days and life is too hectic, to have the closeness they once had.

 

I can't entirely blame the families, when the simple truth is that there are fewer and fewer drive-in theaters operating. There's one about 15 miles from my house, and I'm one of the lucky ones; for other people, they'd have to cross state lines to find one!

 

Time was when my area had about a dozen drive-ins, and now we have TWO, one of which is even further away than the one I mentioned above. These places still pack in the cars on weekend nights, so they must be doing well, but they're also very small and fill up fast. I might also mention parenthetically that the two which survived were the LAMEST two we had! laugh.gif

 

In the early 60s there were about 4,000 drive-in theaters in the country. Now there's about 400. There's a small revival going on, but it's not very big; about two dozen drive-ins have opened or re-opened in the past 10 years. That must not cover the number which are going under, because the trend is still down: there were about 40 less theaters in 2007 than there was in 1999.

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Yeah tick, drive ins are the shit. There is one still open a few towns over from me. Its been a while, but the viewing experience you just cant beat . The atmosphere on a nice summer night is just great. Im not sure why they would die out. Youd think kids from every generation would think theyre cool and theyd be packed. I hope the few remaining stick around.
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We actually have a few left here in Western Washington and 6 months of the year they do Double Features Thursday thru Sunday nights. Still very cool! The speakers are not the old take-off-stand-and-hang-in-your-window type gig. The more up to date version is tuning your vehicle stereo system onto a certain FM channel.

 

My memories of Drive In's are The Killer Bee's, TRON and Grease. All great experiences and fun as hell when your a kid to run around the place like a maniac! 653.gif popcorn.gif

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QUOTE (Lady April @ Oct 14 2009, 11:47 AM)
My memories of Drive In's are The Killer Bee's, TRON and Grease. All great experiences and fun as hell when your a kid to run around the place like a maniac! 653.gif popcorn.gif

My earliest drive-in memories are of adults taking us with them to see adult movies, and hoping we'd fall asleep in the backseat. I saw John Wayne's "Rooster Cogburn" this way, and one of those 1970s airplane disaster movies which were later parodied by "Airplane!" Maybe it was "Airport '76" or something like that.

 

When my wife and I drag our kids to the drive-ins, it's to see THEIR movies, not ours. But this wasn't the case when I was a kid; I was taken to adult movies and encouraged to sleep.

 

 

 

I saw "Star Wars" at a drive-in once, before "Empire Strikes Back" was released. And "Temple of Doom." And "Mr. Mom."

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My first drive in movie was Planet Of The Apes when I was 5 years old. It was legendary ! 1022.gif
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QUOTE (Rush Cocky @ Oct 14 2009, 01:27 PM)
We still have one in a town west of here.

First movie I remember seeing at a drive-in was Futureworld. Anyone remember it?

Was that a sequel to West World ?

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I never went to a drive-in although we did have one in my hometown. During the 70's, they started showing porn flicks there and eventually would be demolished. A subdivision sits there now.
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QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Oct 14 2009, 01:14 PM)
I never went to a drive-in

ohmy.gif

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QUOTE (tick @ Oct 14 2009, 01:52 PM)
QUOTE (Rush Cocky @ Oct 14 2009, 01:27 PM)
We still have one in a town west of here.

First movie I remember seeing at a drive-in was Futureworld.  Anyone remember it?

Was that a sequel to West World ?

Yep, sure was.

 

I forget the name of the actor who played the evil robot, but he was enough to give me nightmares. ohmy.gif

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QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Oct 14 2009, 02:14 PM)
I never went to a drive-in although we did have one in my hometown. During the 70's, they started showing porn flicks there and eventually would be demolished. A subdivision sits there now.

Another subdivision....yep, that sounds like the Triangle alright.

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QUOTE (Rush Cocky @ Oct 14 2009, 03:44 PM)
QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Oct 14 2009, 02:14 PM)
I never went to a drive-in although we did have one in my hometown. During the 70's, they started showing porn flicks there and eventually would be demolished. A subdivision sits there now.

Another subdivision....yep, that sounds like the Triangle alright.

Actually, I grew up in Rocky Mount. I think the theater was called the Cameo. It was located on the Edgecombe County side not too far from the Rocky Mount fairgrounds.

 

I saw movies either at the Englewood Twin Cinema or the Cardinal threater.

 

I remember having the option of seeing "Saturday Night Fever" at the Cardinal or "Return to Witch Mountain" at the Englewood Twin. I saw the latter, but nowadays would have preferred the former.

 

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The bizzare movie "Cat People" starring Nastasja Kinski, that was (I think) the last drive-in movie I saw.

 

 

I always liked the animated vignettes they showed before the main feature. The ones the showed where the confectionary was and the stuff they served.

 

 

Anybody ever drive off with the speaker still attached to the window? That happened alot around our area. Eventually speakers were phased out and you'd tune in your car radio to listen.

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QUOTE (iluvgeddy05 @ Oct 14 2009, 02:48 PM)
QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ Oct 14 2009, 08:37 AM)
I might also mention parenthetically that the two which survived were the LAMEST two we had!  laugh.gif

Don't be hatin' on the Jericho! bekloppt.gif

I was thinking of that dinky "Hollywood" place out in the middle of Rensselaer County. Yeah, the Jericho is still open, too... but I've never been there; any good? There's also the Malta Drive-In in Ballston Spa, but it's thirty miles away. And about the same distance: one in Coxsackie (south of us) and one way out in North Hoosick.

 

You're too young and new to the area to remember the old Mohawk drive-in in Colonie; it was right on Central Ave where the plaza with the Kohl's is, and it was big.

 

 

QUOTE
3.5 mi. Tri City Twin Drive-In Menands, New York
  closed 

4.6 mi. Mohawk Drive-In Colonie, New York
  closed 

4.6 mi. Cobleskill Drive-In Cobleskill, New York
  closed 

6.7 mi. Lathams Drive-In Latham, New York
  closed 

6.7 mi. Saratoga Drive-In Latham, New York
  closed 

6.7 mi. Jericho Drive-In Glenmont, New York
  open 

8.4 mi. Turnpike Drive-In Guilderland, New York
  closed 

9.9 mi. Auto Vision East Greenbush, New York
  closed 

10.7 mi. Rustic Drive-In West Sand Lake, New York
  closed 

11.4 mi. Indian Ladder Drive-In Voorheesville, New York
  closed 

15.6 mi. Hollywood Drive-In Averill Park, New York
  open 

20.8 mi. Super 50 Drive-In Ballston Lake, New York
  closed 

23.3 mi. Riverview Drive-In Rotterdam Junct., New York
  closed 

23.8 mi. Hudson River Drive-In Schaghticoke, New York
  closed 

25.4 mi. Greenville Drive-In Greenville, New York
  open 

27.7 mi. Malta Drive-In Theatre Ballston Spa, New York
  open 

28.2 mi. Hi-Way Drive-In Coxsackie, New York
  open 

30.8 mi. Hoosick Falls Drive-In Hoosick Falls, New York
  closed 

32.7 mi. Hathaway\'s Drive-In N. Hoosick, New York
  open 

32.7 mi. Carman Drive-In Guilderland, New York
  closed 

40.0 mi. Ozoner 29 Twin Broadalbin, New York
  open 

40.0 mi. Vail Mills Drive-In Broadalbin, New York
  closed

 

http://www.jerichodrive-in.com/Images/Photos/may0807_2.jpg

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The first drive-in movie I saw was Back to the Future when I was a kid.

 

The last one I saw was a double feature of The Simpsons Movie and Live Free or Die Hard. A bunch of us piled into my friend's van and we brought our own chairs and got drunk in the parking lot. laugh.gif We have quite a few drive-ins here. One downtown at the docks near the mini-golf and Go-Karts! biggrin.gif

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A nice pic I found on the internet.

 

http://weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/drive-in-theater.jpg

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QUOTE (-D-RocK- @ Oct 14 2009, 03:12 PM)
Anybody ever drive off with the speaker still attached to the window? That happened alot around our area. Eventually speakers were phased out and you'd tune in your car radio to listen.

My 11th grade history teacher told us stories about his college days, all of which featured a partier named "Swahili" or "Swah." The guys would all pile into the trunk of a car and go to the drive-ins, where Swah had a ritual of stealing the speaker and bringing it back to the dorm, to add to his growing collection. laugh.gif

 

 

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QUOTE (Rush Cocky @ Oct 14 2009, 02:44 PM)
QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Oct 14 2009, 02:14 PM)
I never went to a drive-in although we did have one in my hometown. During the 70's, they started showing porn flicks there and eventually would be demolished. A subdivision sits there now.

Another subdivision....yep, that sounds like the Triangle alright.

The price of real estate will eventually make in cost prohibitive for drive in theatres to operate in most growing communities. And there isn't enough money in concessions to make it as profitable as it once was.

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Tick, you must have missed this thread from last year as I don't see any of your posts in it... http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?show...=45414&st=0&hl= but anyway, glad to see another thread on it because...

 

Since that thread was posted, they have actually built a new Drive-In about 30 minutes from us! Complete with kiddie playground and concession stand. Right off of I-64... http://www.goochlanddriveintheater.com/index.html

 

An aerial pic of the place...

 

http://www.goochlanddriveintheater.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Aerialphoto.JPG

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QUOTE (Rush Cocky @ Oct 14 2009, 01:27 PM)
We still have one in a town west of here.

The Big Mo in Monetta? I've never been to it but I've seen it while passing by in the car. I'd like to go see a movie there one day.

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