![]() He's also bringing in another heirloom: Though he won't have fried chicken gizzards like the Sky-Vue, he will feature the famous Chihuahua sandwich. Smith is using a pair of vintage water-cooled Century projectors from one of his grandfather's old theaters. Smith's mother, Linda, owns a two-screen indoor theater in Snyder.Īnd the Sky-Vue is thriving: A recent Sunday-night double feature brought in 443 patrons at $4 a head. They'll just go, 'heh heh heh heh.' " Smith's grandfather, Skeet Noret, opened the Sky-Vue Drive-In in Lamesa - pronounced Lameesa by folks in West Texas - in 1948.Īlthough Noret eventually sold the Sky-Vue, the 81-year-old still runs his Lubbock walk-in cinema. "You can call up anybody in Tyler and ask them if they know this place. "The Apache Drive-In shows X-rated until this day," Briggs said. Not every proprietor features family-friendly fare. ![]() "He stood on top of the concession stand and fired off his pistols." "John Wayne came for the outdoor premiere of True Grit," Briggs said, referring to a long-ago appearance at a Dallas drive-in. It's unlikely that the numbers will ever match the 1958 national peak of about 4,000 drive-ins, or that drive-ins will again attract personal appearances by stars such as Raquel Welch. "Here, you can get in and get your popcorn and a Coke for $30." ![]() "For a family of four to go out to a regular movie, it's $70," with soft drinks and snacks, said Rhett Butler Burns, owner of the Tascosa Drive-in in Amarillo. "Is there a resurgence? Yes."īriggs attributes some of the drive-in's demise to the popularity of compact cars in the 1970s.Ī second baby boom has also helped hatch a new audience looking for an affordable family-friendly entertainment venue. "Is booming? No," said Tim Patton, president of Cinema Service in Dallas, which books films for regional and independent theaters in about a dozen states. Sound systems now allow customers to listen to the movie soundtrack on their FM radios. New technology has replaced the heavy, metal speakers that patrons once hung from their windows - and sometimes drove off with. New drive-ins have also been built in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Thirty-seven have been built since 1990 14 of those have gone up since 2000. Sherer knows of at least 426 operational American drive-ins. ![]() Smith isn't the only entrepreneur trying to draw moviegoers out of the air conditioning. "If this guy is building one from scratch," said drive-in movie columnist Joe Bob Briggs, "that's an amazing story." He'll also screen PG-13 fare such as S.W.A.T. Smith will shoot for the family crowd with double features such as PG-rated Freaky Friday and G-rated Finding Nemo. "It was just a proud part of our family's history." "I grew up always hearing about the drive-in," Smith said. He is staking $750,000 to $1.5 million - he won't say exactly how much - in loans and family savings to convert a patch of dusty West Texas cropland into what he hopes will be a field of greenbacks. The owner is Ryan Smith, a laconic 25-year-old Southern Methodist University law school dropout. There's room for 1,000 vehicles and space for a third screen if business warrants. The Stars & Stripes Drive-In is slated to open Tuesday on 24 acres along U.S. Suburban sprawl doomed many of the theaters in the '80s, and several closed when business was still good, according to Jennifer Sherer, co-creator of the Web site .īut the count will rise by two screens when a new twin drive-in lights the night outside Lubbock. The first drive-in opened 70 years ago in New Jersey by the 1950s, the theaters had won the hearts of American families seeking affordable entertainment and the affection of postwar teen-agers craving privacy. "Now, that's all there is in the United States." "There used to be 450 drive-ins in Texas," said Jennifer Miller, co-owner of Granbury's Brazos Drive-In. LUBBOCK, Texas-What time and twisters didn't do to tumble Texas' drive-in theaters, developers and big-box retailers did. "Two-Screen Drive-In Theater to Open in Lubbock, Texas." The following is an article written when the theater was just opening, in 2003. Unlike most drive-ins, Stars and Stripes opened within the last 10 years, when there was a resurgence of popularity for outdoor movies and old-time drive-ins. Stars and Stripes features both new and old films. Stars and Stripes Drive-In is a state-of-the-art drive-in theater with three screens and capacity for 1000 cars to enjoy their outdoor movies.
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