You're a child if you're between the ages of 3 and 12
An American Classic still travels on!
The Fairview Drive-In has been opened since 1953 and has been remoded twice, once after the original screen was blown over because of a wind storm. The Fairview is large enough to hold 250 cars! So, it's by no means tiny.
Did you know that the first drive in was an old sheet hanging in a back yard? Richard M. Hollinshead set an old projector up on the hood of his car and used a sheet as his screen, By doing so, he was able to combine his 2 greatest loves: cars and movies. It's amazing, but at a time when many had so little that they were able to create their own entertainment. The 30's were an exciting time.
By the 50's Drive-Ins had become a way of American life. Many a child was born due to a slow movie and a fast engine. Just look back at a popular t.v. show, Happy Days, and picture your parents or grand parents during that time. This was the best period for the Drive-in. Some drive-ins were so large that they span 28 acres! They had playgrounds, outdoor seating, restaurant and even a shuttle! One man even designed a drive-in for both cars and air planes. How cool is that?
As time went on, the drive-in began to die off, by the end of the 80's it looked like the drive-in was about to end. However in the past few years there has been a rejuvenation of the old style drive-in movie theater. With the hussle and the bussle of modern life, sometimes it just nice to pull in, sit back and enjoy the show. . .Heck, they've even began opening them in Europe and Russia!
Here's to the ol' American Classic, may she live on forever!
Google Earth and Google Drive-Ins
Everyone has heard of Google Earth....it's a program that allows you to go anywhere in the world with just a click of your computer. You can zoom into your own backyard...but why stop there? With a great program designed by Michael Minden you can, just by using Google Earth, locate every Drive-In Theater in the United States.
You have to download and install the basic program, just go to: http://earth.google.com/, you must have the free version at the very least. Then go to Drive-In Map and download the Drive-In Theater program. It shows open drive-ins (however if the theater was openned after 2005 or couldn't be found with the staellite program data...it won't show up.)
