History of the DriveIn Movie Theater

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=LhwoYDY5ahs

Check out our sister channel for an extended look at the era of the Drive-In! • Memories of the Drive-In: / @memoriesofthedrive-in9296 • Transcript: • History of the Drive In 3MF Edition: • The Drive-In Movie Theater! For many of us today we may consider them as a relic. An entertainment that has been overtaken by the traditional movie theater, which in and of itself is being taken over by at home viewing and streaming. However, there are still others who remember The Drive-In and what it meant for them. In honor of the glory days, let’s dive into rise and the fall of the American Drive-In Cinema • The Drive-In Theater was the brainchild of one man and his desire to grant his mother the most optimal viewing experience, Mr. Richard Hollingshead. Hollingshead was a manager at his father’s Auto-Parts company, but beyond that he was an avid movie fan. In an effort to share this hobby with his mother, who struggled to find comfort in traditional movie theater seats, Hollingshead stumbled upon the idea to create a theater of sorts at his own home. • Through many weeks of experimentation with different layouts, he mounted a Kodak projector to the hood of his car, hung two sheets together between trees in the yard, and placed a radio behind it all for sound. The idea was received so well by his family and friends that he sought to expand upon it. Extensive trial and error would eventually result in the creation of the ideal spacing between cars, speakers, screen, and projector. Finally, Hollingshead had a completed vision in hand. • Holingshead filed for the patent in May of 1933, and opened America’s first drive-in Movie Theater in Camden, New Jersey the next month. With an initial investment of $30,000, the Automobile Movie Theater was born. • Customers would arrive in their automobiles slash theater seats and would pay 25 cents per vehicle, and 25 cents per person in the car, but the payment would cap out at $1. For reference, this would mean that if a family was paying a dollar to get in, that would amount to roughly $21 today, accounting for inflation. Considering movie tickets can be nearly that much per person today, it truly wasn’t a bad deal at all. • Which may be a leading factor in the fact that Hollingshead never actually made a profit with the theater. Now, whether or not the original made a profit, the idea turned out to be a hit and by 1940 over 20 drive-ins had opened across America. Eventually in 1950, Hollingshead patent was overturned and copycat drive-ins no longer had to pay royalties for using his idea. Which means exactly what you might expect…The amount of drive-ins exploded exponentially. • Despite the rapid growth in both volume and technological advancement, many factors would eventually bring the industry to a halt. Between daylight savings time pushing back movie start times, the growth of VHS, and the explosion of city development, it eventually would make much more sense to just sell the lot and move on from the industry entirely. • While they may not be as common today, over 300 drive-in theaters still exist in the US today, inviting patrons back in for a glimpse of a classic American cinema experience. • Hey! If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably someone who thinks Drive-In theaters are interesting, and maybe you want to check out similar content. If that’s the case, check out our sister channel, Memories of the Drive-In where you can find an expanded history of the drive-in movie theater, and even check out some recently rediscovered authentic footage and audio shows from the golden age of Drive-In Cinema. Thanks for watching, and we hope to see you around for future episodes! • ______________________________________________________________ • Subscribe to our channel: • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRJB... • ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Other videos you may like: • Dorothy's Stolen Ruby Red Slippers - Wizard of OZ • • Dorothy's Stolen Ruby Red Slippers. F... • Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity • • Mars Rovers - Spirit Opportunity. • Mining the Moon • • Should We Mine The Moon? • Products You Didn't Know Were Made From Petroleum • • Petroleum Products You Might Not Know... • Beautiful Fall Colors • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0G-O... • The Colorado River • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo0Vx... • The Mind - Your Best Friend or Worst Enemy • • Your Mind - Friend or Enemy? • Join us on social media! • Facebook • / 3-minute-fli. . • Instagram • Coming soon • ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Image credits: • https://www.infilmsdesign.com • https://www.videoblocks.com • YouTube Fair Use • Music credits: • https://www.epidemicsound.com

#############################

New on site