We are very fortunate to have the “Drive ‘N Theater” just about 20 minutes to the west of us. There is something about going to the Drive-In that is just relaxing. While our drive-in theater opens for its summer season on May 3, it is one of the few drive-ins still in operation.

Drive-Ins have been around since as early as 1910. The first original documented drive-in was opened on June 6, 1933 by Richard Hollingshead in New Jersey. He wanted this to be a fix for people that had a hard time fitting into smaller movie theater seats. This was also very appealing to families as they would not have to worry about their children being noisy if you could be outside. The whole family would be welcome at the drive-in!

After this one drive-in was created more and more started appearing all over the country. Drive-ins began popping up internationally as well. There were over 4,000 drive-ins throughout the U.S., and most were in rural areas. Drive-ins were popular because it was an affordable date night option and a great family night out.

Unfortunately, because drive-in movie schedules depend upon the weather, they began losing some of their customers to movie theaters. Also, once the VCR became available for purchase, people would stay at home and watch a movie as an alternative to paying for a movie at the drive-in. Sadly, demand for drive-ins began to decrease.

To be effective drive-ins had to be built on at least 15 acres.  The Newton Drive In Theater in our small rural area is one of 300 drive-ins left in operation. The states of Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania have the most drive-ins still in operation in the United States.