By Gary Bennett
There’s something so nostalgically American about drive-in theaters.
Where else can you enjoy the great outdoors from the comfort of your own car, balance the fun of socializing with the expectation of privacy, take the kids and go in your pajamas (if you want), and enjoy a good movie and the smell of popcorn and fries wafting through the air, too?
Then, too, there’s something magical about dusk in the summer. It is the perfect confluence of night and day and transition from hot to warm and work to play.
Who wants to come inside on a beautiful summer evening at dusk when the heat of the day is finally over? If you need a reason to stay outside at night, drive-in theaters are it!
At the drive-in at dusk, folks may be outside their cars, talking with friends or neighbors (or making new friends), getting food maybe playing with kids. Anticipation and wonderful aromas are in the air. Music is playing over loud speakers. A huge screen is standing sentinel over all the proceedings. A feeling of community and shared experience is evident.
Of course, we all know drive-in theaters have seen better days. According to the United Drive-In Theater Owners Association, only about 300 drive-in theaters still exist in the U.S. In their heyday in the late ‘50s, over 4,000 populated America, mostly in rural areas where land is cheaper.
The reasons for their decline are many, but chief among them is the sheer cost of land, which has skyrocketed in the U.S. It takes about 15 acres of land to park enough cars for economies of scale to kick in at a drive-in theater. Drive-in owners must own or lease all that land to comfortably park their patrons. Indoor multiplex owners don’t have to worry about their parking situation.
There is no doubt the land is typically more valuable than the theater business itself, making it ripe for selling off for housing, retail strips or office complexes. As car culture began to wane in the late ‘70s and ‘80s and as the middle-class decamped for a more suburban lifestyle of box stores and multiplexes, drive-in theaters became nearly extinct.
Drive-ins, too, tend to be owned by individuals as small businesses. When they want to retire, owners often find it difficult to find a buyer who wishes to continue in the theater business. It doesn’t help that indoor multiplexes are dominated by a few large, well-funded companies. Finally, movie watching tastes have changed, too, to more in-home viewing.
By the ‘90s when a nostalgia craze kicked in, new drive-in theaters began to be built. Today, the industry has stabilized and fewer are closing. Nevertheless, drive-ins must follow a difficult business model.
Drive-in theaters are like gas stations but without the support of a big parent company. Most of the price consumers pay for the main product (gas or a movie) goes back to the oil company — or movie studio. Owners are left to make most of their money through extras, like food. That is why outside food is either prohibited or severely limited at drive-in theaters today. “Car-load” prices are typically a thing of the past, too.
One would think that Southern states, with their warmer weather, would dominate the drive-in theater business since they can show movies year-round without the need for car owners to run their engines for heat. But that would be wrong. Large states with mostly pleasant year-round weather like California and Texas have only 13 drive-in theaters each. Florida only has four. It is New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio that have the most, with 28, 27 and 23 respectively.
Most experts credit this anomaly to cultural differences that encourage the handing down of businesses from generation to generation in “the rust belt.” The northern drive-in theater owners have also been creative in finding other uses for their theaters in the “off season,” such as holding car rallies, auctions or flea markets. Or, they run their movies year-round and promote the cozy feeling of drive-ins in the winter.
In Maryland, we only have one drive-in theater left to call our own: Bengie’s in Middle River, just east of Baltimore. It takes a little over an hour to get there. They bill themselves as having the largest outdoor screen in the U.S. They show first-run movies. Ticket prices are per-person and are similar to ticket prices at our local multiplexes. Outside food is limited.
Frederick’s last drive-in theater, The Family Drive-in (later named the Frederick Drive-in) on Jefferson Pike between Frederick and Jefferson, closed in 1982. Before that, we had the Braddock Drive-in, which was owned by the same person.
Frederick’s closest drive-in theater now is in Pennsylvania. Haar’s Drive-in Theater on Route 15 in Dillsburg (just north of Gettysburg) is a pleasant one-hour car ride from Frederick. They show first-run movies. Ticket prices are $10 per person with children under 5 admitted free. Outside food is prohibited.
In Virginia, the Family Drive-In Theater in Stephens City is about an hour and 15 minutes away. It is the closest of Virginia’s six drive-ins. Stephens City is just south of Winchester. They show first-run movies. Adult tickets are $12 and tickets for children ages 3 to 12 are $7.
COMING OF AGE AT THE DRIVE-IN
I didn’t know it at the time, but I had the good fortune to grow up right beside a drive-in theater in extremely rural Western Maryland. Later, it became my first employer. Unfortunately, the screen angled away from our house and toward the house on the other side of the drive-in.
Growing up, I knew the Hi-Rock Drive-in Theater near McCoole more as a daytime playground than a movie theater. Settling into bed at night, it was somehow soothing to hear the bustle of humanity as evidenced by the car horns honking for the next movie to start after intermission. Pleasant food aromas wafted into my bedroom window, too.
It was our closest “restaurant” — and one within easy walking distance. I vividly remember my dad sending me over to get tasty hot dogs just about every Saturday evening as we got ready to watch “Gunsmoke.” It was one of those strange family traditions that no one knew how began, but one we could never abandon. The kindly box office attendant always let me pass by with a promise that I would be right back with my family’s food order. Naturally, I got to sneak many peeks at the movies playing as I wandered over to the snack bar.
As I grew into my teen years, the drive-in became my place of employment. Good thing, too, because there wasn’t much else available in rural Allegany County, especially for teens. The county had three drive-ins up until about 1980: the Potomac in LaVale, the Super 51 just outside of Cumberland on Route 51, and “my drive-in,” as I like to call it, the Hi-Rock in McCoole, just over the state line from Keyser, West Virginia.
At the Hi-Rock, I sold tickets, worked in the concession stand and was even a “ramp boy,” the person who assisted any cars who had any problems, re-attached speakers that nearly left with patrons and chased down scofflaws who tried to enter the drive-in for free through the exit. I even picked up trash left on the ground after the movie.
I have many wonderful and funny drive-in stories that involve streaking; food fights; beer runs; naughty, cryptic messages broadcast over the PA system; cars with steamed-up windows that wouldn’t leave; and the requisite piling out of humanity from trunks.
It was clear, too, that my friends thought I had the very best high school job of anyone. I would have to agree. I even parlayed the part-time job into a full-time job managing an indoor movie theater during college.
ENJOY A (RELATIVELY) NEARBY DRIVE-IN THEATER
Bengie’s Drive-In Theater
3417 Eastern Blvd., Middle River
Located in a suburb of Baltimore, Bengie’s has the largest movie screen remaining in the U.S.
410-687-5627
bengies.com
Opened: 1956
Family Drive-In Theatre
5890 Valley Pike, Stephens City, Va.
This family-owned business is one of the state’s few remaining drive-in theaters.
540-665-6982
thefamilydi.com
Opened: 1956
Haar’s Drive-In Theater
185 Logan Road, Dillsburg, Pa.
Haar’s has been in continuous operation for more than 70 years. It hosts auctions and concerts, too.
717-432-8246
haars.com
Opened: 1952
Cumberland Drive-In Theatre
3290 Ritner Hwy., Newville, Pa.
Located about an hour and a half from Frederick, it has been operated by the same family for more than 60 years.
717-776-5212
Opened: 1952
Starlight Cinema
5875 Trinity Pkwy, Centreville, Va.
This modern facility is about an hour and a half from Frederick and features family-friendly films, food and activities for kids.
703-324-8700
Opened: 2012