History of the Drive-in Movie Theater

The First Drive-In Theater was invented by Richard M. Hollingshead. Hollingshead worked out the details by hanging a sheet for a screen in his backyard. Richard began to experiment in the driveway of his home at 212 Thomas Avenue, New Jersey. Richard mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car; he used it to project onto a screen he had nailed to trees in his backyard. He placed a radio behind the screen for sound, and then started the test of his idea. Richard tested sound with the windows up, down and half way. He tested many weather conditions; using his lawn sprinkler he simulated a rainstorm. Richard liked what he saw and heard.

By January of 1942 Drive-In theaters had began to spread across the U.S. There we 95 Drive-Ins spread across 27 states. Ohio led the way with 11 Drive-Ins.

By the late 50s the drive-in boom was under way, going from less than 1,000 in 1948 to close to 5,000 by 1958. The drive-in etched its place in history, not just in the U.S.A. but in many countries across the world. During the same years of 1948 to 1958 over 5,000 indoor theaters closed reducing their number from 17,000 to 12,000.

One of the largest Drive-In Theaters was the All-Weather Drive-In, Copiague, New York. parking spaces for 2,500 cars. It also had an indoor 1,200 seat viewing area that was heated and air-conditioned, a playground, a cafeteria, a restaurant with full dinners. A shuttle train that took customers from their cars to the various areas, on the 28 acres.As the size and number of drive-ins increase, many go from just a playground to: Miniature Trains, Pony Rides, Boat Rides, Talent Shows, Miniature Golf and Animal Shows.

Many theaters would open the gates as much as 3 hours before the movie would start. This allowed customers to bring the kids early. Many theaters began to serve a wide variety of dinners such as Fried Chicken, Barbecued Sandwiches, Hamburgers, Pizza, etc. A few theater owners even gave the customers the ability to order from their car and have a car hop deliver. To increase sales the intermission trailers were invented. Theaters using these gained increased sales between films.