By Tom Purcell Cagle Cartoons Newspaper Syndicate
June 27, 2026 - 9:00 pm
Long unrecorded 1 of America’s finest creations: the drive-in theater.
One of my large drive-in memories dates to 1969, erstwhile my parents took my 5 sisters and maine to spot “Herbie the Love Bug” successful our Plymouth Fury III presumption wagon.
As the bluish entity fell acheronian and the movie projector began rattling down the concession stand, black-and-white numbers — “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …” — flashed onto the screen.
Scratchy, yellowed 1950s footage advertised concession-stand blistery dogs, popcorn and candy. And past the archetypal movie — a B movie — would play connected the monolithic screen.
Kerry Segrave, writer of “Drive-in Theaters: A History From Their Inception successful 1933,” explains wherefore my profoundly nostalgic drive-in representation could hap lone successful America.
First, successful postwar America, determination was an abundance of inexpensive onshore adjacent America’s rapidly increasing suburbs — onshore that was easy accessible acknowledgment to the caller postwar road system.
Second, the booming system gave moms and dads disposable amusement income — drive-ins were affordable and truthful were the home-packed coolers filled with Regent soda popular and French bulb dip.
Third, the babe roar created ample families seeking hassle-free activities. Parents could heap the kids into the car without having to “dress up” — the youngest ones often wore their pajamas due to the fact that they’d beryllium dependable dormant by the thrust location and could beryllium enactment close to bed.
Fourth, America’s postwar optimism created a emotion matter with the automobile — a awesome of our state to explore. Cars of that epoch — with their flashy chrome and monolithic size — became rolling works of American art.
“A state whose inhabitants regarded automobiles arsenic simply a mode of convenience to get from A to B would ne'er make a drive-in manufacture of immoderate extent,” writes Segrave — which is wherefore Canada and Australia were the lone different 2 countries to clasp drive-in theaters, but they ne'er came adjacent to America’s “intense emotion matter with drive-ins.”
The 1950s and 1960s became the aureate epoch of the drive-in theatre with astir 4,500 successful cognition crossed America — until a accelerated diminution that started successful the aboriginal 1970s.
Federal laws mandating extended daylight redeeming clip — which made the shows commencement an hr aboriginal — were the archetypal large blow.
As the suburbs continued expanding, existent property costs soared and drive-in owners often sold onshore for immense profits. Increasing lawsuits eliminated the drive-in playgrounds, and security costs soared, which further crushed profitability.
The household portion began to alteration successful the precocious 1970s into the 1980s — families had less children and tons much divorce. And much families preferred to enactment location to ticker VCR movies and dozens of caller cablegram channels. Increasing substance costs caused cars to get smaller — making them little comfortable.
The drive-ins went done a acheronian signifier successful the 1970s and 1980s, relying connected big films conscionable to past — but fewer survived.
Then came COVID-19. With indoor theaters closed and families hopeless for entertainment, drive-ins experienced a astonishment revival. And now, driven mostly by nostalgia, immoderate 300 drive-in theaters are flourishing again.
If you’re fortunate capable to person a drive-in theatre successful your town, instrumentality your household to 1 of America’s finest creations this summer. You’ll springiness your children a sensation of Americana they volition cherish forever.
Tom Purcell writes a file for Cagle Cartoons Newspaper Syndicate. Contact astatine Tom@TomPurcell.com.
English (US)·