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TEXAS, USA
Revival of the Drive-In
By Carol Wissmann
In the 1950s, more than 4,000 drive-ins dotted the American landscape. And
Texas, of course, had the most, nearly 400. But times changed. Owners retired.
Suburbs encroached, and land once relegated to the outer edges of towns increased
in value and was sold to developers.
Happily, there is a minor resurgence of drive-in operators. Some too young
to remember drive-ins during their heyday are reconditioning their hometown
monoliths. Others are starting from scratch.
These revitalized or newly constructed drive-ins are finding an appreciative
audience. People are once again enjoying the freedoms they cannot exercise in
the mall cineplex. No need for hushed whispers. Cell phone users can converse
without fear of reprisal. Smokers can smoke, and at many venues, animal lovers
can bring their pets. RVs, SUVs, 18-wheelers, motorcycles, boats—even
buses filled with tourists—all are welcome. Classic cars often congregate
around nostalgic movies such as “Grease” or “American Graffiti.”
Unlike in the past, today’s selection of movies is often first-run. Digital
stereo sound broadcasts from little local drive-in stations and is played over
car radios. And many Texas drive-ins operate year-round—at least on the
weekends.
With its two-for-the-price-of-one, double-feature entertainment and reasonably
priced food, a night at the drive-in is much less expensive than at the mall
cinema. Small, pajama-clad children are often admitted for free and can be tucked
in back seats and covered with a blanket when sleepy—eliminating the expense
of a baby-sitter. Teenagers can pile into the back of a pickup. Couples can
snuggle.
John Earl Morrow is one of the new drive-in entrepreneurs. The owner and operator
of Morrow Drilling in the Texas Panhandle used to indulge his childhood memories
of movies shared with his family at Clarendon’s long-deserted Sandell
Drive-In.
On Labor Day in 2002 he reopened the Sandell—unaware at the time that
the original owner had opened on the same holiday in 1955. Today the venue retains
the popular pink-and-black color combination from the 1950s. Morrow hopes to
someday register the Sandell, which is restored almost to its original condition,
on the roster of historic places.
Martin Murray of Albemarle, North Carolina, had a similar dream. In 1986, he
began collecting theater equipment. “He was bringing projectors home and
setting them on my kitchen table,” his wife, Marsha, laments. “I’d
ask, ‘Why?’ and complain that he needed to do something with the
mess.”
He did. The Murrays saved their paychecks, and in 2001, the family of seven
moved from North Carolina to Ennis. There, from the ground up, they built their
four-screen Galaxy Drive-In Theatre.
They opened the Galaxy in 2004 in the middle of the winter, thinking the colder
weather would limit attendance and allow them time to perfect the running of
the new business. They were wrong. From the beginning, the venture was an enormous
success, the couple says.
Now on weekends, cars frequently choke the Garrett exit on Interstate 45 before
entering the four lanes of ticket booths. Although already capable of accommodating
about 1,500 cars with four screens, numbers five, six, and seven are in the
works. And since prohibitively high insurance rates make the traditional drive-in
playground unfeasible, the Murrays say they are purchasing carnival rides for
their own corner amusement park.
They also have plans for an 18-hole golf course.
While owning such an entertainment complex might sound like a life of fun and
games, the realities can be sobering. “I get e-mails from people interested
in getting into the business,” Marsha says. “I tell them we work
365 nights a year—no vacations—no holidays. Hours are unreal. Last
night, after making salads and cotton candy, I finally got home at 7 a.m. You
give up a lot of personal and family time to make other people happy. Usually,
I never hear another word from them again.”
Still, many drive-in dreamers remain undaunted. Adam Hulin is a friend of the
Murrays. He, too, left North Carolina—Asheboro—to reopen the Tower
Drive-In Theatre in Rule, population, 708. Since the 1970s, when the indoor
theater closed, the Tower is Haskell County’s “last (and only) picture
show.”
More than just a place to watch a movie, Rule’s drive-in is a social
gathering spot—especially for teenagers. With the closest multiplex some
60 miles away in Abilene, the Tower pulls from several nearby counties. As testament
to the drive-in’s importance in the community, area residents raised the
money to build the current metal screen replacement when the original wooden
one blew down in 1998. Austin’s venerable Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, named
“the No. 1 theater doing it right” by Entertainment Weekly, once
bused cinemaphiles 500 miles round trip for a night of nonstop movies at the
Tower.
Some area residents come for food and conversation alone, leaving before the
movie ever starts. To Hulin’s surprise, a snowcone drenched in pickle
juice is a favorite treat.
At the Sky-Vue Drive-In Theatre in Lamesa, where Buddy Holly once performed
atop the projector room roof, owners Sam and Carolyn Kirkland feature a Pucker
Powder machine and the Chihuahua Sandwich—a patented item invented in
1951. The recipe includes chili, grated raw cabbage and homemade pimento cheese,
all atop two fried corn tortillas (onions and jalapeño optional).
It’s a far cry from the glory days of the 1950s, but there are more than
a handful of active theaters. Not only are the venues back in the black, but
they’re thriving in full Technicolor. Both owners and patrons alike can
once again gather under star-studded skies to enjoy family, food, film and fun
at the base of the big screens.
GETTING THERE
A partial listing of Texas drive-ins is below. Call for show information and
seasonal show times. Some close in the winter.
Brazos Drive In
Granbury, (817) 573-1311 or 573-8086
The Central Texas Drive-In Theatre
Killeen, (254) 616-6400
Crossroads Drive-In Theatre
Shiner, (361) 594-3404
Galaxy Drive-In Theatre
Ennis, (972) 875-5505
Graham Drive-In Theatre
Graham, (817) 549-8478
The Last Drive-In Picture Show
Gatesville, (254) 865-8445
Midway Drive-In Theater
Between Quitaque and Turkey,
(806) 423-1166
Sandell Drive-In
Clarendon, (806) 874-0685
Showboat Drive-In Theater
Hockley, (281) 351-5224
Sky-Vue Drive-In Theatre
Lamesa, (806) 872-7004
Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre
Lubbock, (806) 749-7469
Tascosa Drive-In
Amarillo, (806) 383-3882
Tower Drive-In Theater
Rule, (940) 997-0137
Town and Country Drive-In
Abilene, (325) 677-9899
Wes-Mer Drive-In Theater
Mercedes, (956) 565-9050
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Carol Wissmann is a freelance writer based in Gig Harbor, Washington.
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