A traditional movie theater has a set of rules, though only one of them is truly the important one: Sit down, turn your phone off, keep your trap shut, and don’t socialize. Looking at you, every single teenager in the world.
But at the drive-in? Things are loose. Things are fun. It’s a party. Come and relive the good times with these 20 vintage photos of drive-in theaters.
The first ever drive-in movie theater
The Camden Drive-In opened its non-existent theater doors in June of 1933 in Camden, New Jersey. Movie buff Richard Hollingshead helmed the business, charging 25 cents per person. It’d be nice to have those movie ticket prices again.
A drive-in theater full of cars, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1958
What a backdrop, Utah! It’s a lot prettier than watching Charleton Heston play an Egyptian person, at least. Crazy to see how similar every single car looked.
Norfolk and Western Railway steam train passing a drive-in movie theater at night, West Virginia, 1956
You put a drive-in theater next to some train tracks? I’m no city planner, but this is a bad call. Bad sound feels like the minimum amount of risk here.
Busted for sneaking into the drive-in movie, late 50s/early 60s
At least get inside a suitcase or something.
A car pulling into the “Fly In” Drive-in Theatre
This is probably the Fly In Drive-In in Washington Township, New Jersey. If so, this bad boy had room for 500 cars, and you guessed it, 25 airplanes.
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A couple at a drive-in theater, 1960s
Date night is going well! Congrats, you two. Now lock it down, you’re in public, and some weirdo is taking a picture of you.
The Round Up Drive-In Theatre Phoenix, Arizona, 1964
Now this place seems like a good time. I’d like to watch from up there on the top of that guy’s hat.
1970s drive-in
You know when you see a photo of a cat watching a cat on tv? This is like that.
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Milwaukee had many drive-in theaters in the 1950s through the 1990s
Double-sided! Nice.
An empty drive-in theatre lot
Not a huge turnout for this one.
Drive-in Theater, Highway 81, Waco, Texas 1973
The Circle Drive-In was bumping from the ‘40s through the ‘70s, and was one of Waco’s biggest hotspots. By 1980, it finally shuttered.
Bengie’s Drive-in Theatre in Maryland
“The African Queen” was released in 1951, so this is probably around then. Fun fact: This movie majorly inspired Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise ride.
Aerial view of a drive-in theater in South Bend, Indiana (1954)
Look at the size of this sucker! This feels easy to get lost in. I know I’d find a way.
Starlite Drive-in Niagara Falls, New York
The Starlite was demolished in the ’80s, but if you’re in Niagara Falls, there’s probably a better view than a movie screen.
Drive-In Theater in West Virginia, 1950s
This West Virginia drive-in doesn’t really have the size, glitz, and glam of some of the big city drive-ins. But that’s fine, because that’s where the charm comes from.
The Orange Drive-In, 1946
Orange County was a calmer place in the ’40s, and it was a lot of fun to see movies just a few miles from where they were made.
Drive-In Horror Double Feature
The 1973 Italian horror movie “Torso” is often thought of as one of the first slasher movies. “Autopsy” is another Italian horror movie from the ‘70s. We’ve got an angsty, Italian crowd on our hands, it seems.
Drive-In movies in Corpus Christi
According to somebody on Reddit, this theater was blown down in Hurricane Celia in 1970, and the owners put “GONE WITH THE WIND” up on the marquee.
Old drive-in movie speakers weren’t exactly surround sound, but they got the job done
In the ’40s, drive-ins began sticking their own speakers right into your car so you could have your own sound system. By the ’70s, most had switched to their own FM radio channel.
