Happy National Drive-In Move Day! On June 6 each year, today commemorates the day the first drive-in theater opened.
American inventor Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. of Camden, New Jersey created the drive-in theater. He opened the first one on June 6, 1933.
American inventor Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. of Camden, New Jersey created the drive-in theater. He opened the first one on June 6, 1933.
At this first drive-in theater, the screen was forty feet by fifty feet and there were four hundred car slots. The advertising slogan used was, “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”
The first film shown was American pioneer film actor, director and producer Fred Niblo's 1932 British black and white comedy film 'Two White Arms' (also known as 'Wives Beware').
The idea caught for drive-in movies caught on quickly. Soon after, they began to pop up in other areas as well. By the late 1950s, approximately four thousand drive-ins dotted the United States.
According to thenewswheel.com, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio have the best opportunity for movie viewing under the stars.
Copiague, Long Island, New York once was home to one of the largest drive-in theaters. The drive-in covered over twenty-nine acres and could park 2,500 vehicles!
It also hosted a full-service restaurant with rooftop seating, a trolley system to take children and adults to the playground, and a large indoor theater in case of bad weather.
However, the invention of color television, VCRs, and video rentals along with the increase in land values and the widespread adoption of daylight saving time, led to a sharp decline in the drive-in popularity.
For a comprehensive list of drive-in theaters still in operation today, visit the website below for locations by state:
HOW TO OBSERVE
Get a carload of friends and head to the drive-in. It’s movie time! You can also explore drive-in movie history. Feel free to share your drive-in movie memories with National Day Calendar®.
What was your first drive-in movie? Do you remember? What was the last drive-in movie you saw? Give a shout out to the drive-in movie theaters near you, and use #DriveInMovieDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
National Drive-In Movie Day, honors the opening day of the first drive-in. The creator of this day is unknown. However, check out these other great movie-themed celebrations on the calendar:
#DriveInMovieDay
@driveinmoviepage
@newswheel
@nichecinema
