| xcel |
Hi All:
___I don’t know how many of you have ever been to a Drive in Movie Theater nor would care to go again but the experience brings back plenty of fond memories for me. I have been enjoying the Drive In Theater in my locale for what seems like forever. Some of my first memories from around the time I was maybe three or four all the way until my latest adventure just 2 short weeks ago have been of this magical place. The reason I say magical is because it always reminds me of Buttered Popcorn, Soda, and Candy as well as sitting in front of the car wrapped in blankets near mom and dad … all the while enjoying the show.
___Here is the “Keno Drive In” in all of its nostalgic glory …
___And who can forget the concession stand!
___Fortunately for me, it was and still is just a few miles down the road. Just across the Illinois - Wisconsin border and the first main road west of Lake Michigan lye’s what many in my area have come to know as the Keno Drive In.
___Now that you know its whereabouts, how about some history … It is Wisconsin's largest solo screen Drive-in, with a capacity of up to 800 cars. The Keno is also Wisconsin’s oldest continuously operated Drive-in. Its screen was first lit back in 1949, at a time when there were only 4 Drive-ins in all of Wisconsin. Presently, the Keno screens first run double features, seasonally, April thru October w/ audio provided by FM radio broadcast. Not only do they run first run films, admission is just $5.00 for ages 12 & up and $2.00 for the youngsters. Talk about a bargain!
___One item missing that I could not locate on the net was what the Keno made available to the pre-teens back in the 50’s and 60’s. It was simply a great place to play before the movie started! The Keno used to have a real gas engine train w/ 4 or 5 cars attached that the owner used to drive around the theater on true steel train tracks. This was the highlight of the evening for a young boy between the ages of 5 and 10. Although the train, its engine and cars, and the tracks have long been removed, riding that train was the reason to get excited days before the event and it gives me great memories just thinking about Drive In Movie night at the Keno! After the train ride, my sister and I would play on the playground at the front of the theater directly under the big screen. Well, at least right up until the first movie started and than again after the first was finished up to when the second began. Oh what fun it was! Below is a pic of the area the train and playground used to reside. Although it is just an empty space now, try to imagine a true miniature train with 20 + kids riding in the small 2 to 4 person cars around the big screen and another hundred or so children playing on the slide, the swings, and that round metal disc with the rails that we used to spin faster and faster until we could barely walk once it stopped …
___Having tried to portray what the Drive in was like for me way back when, it will never surpass the quality sound and visuals you will see at your local movie house nor what most see on their large screen HDTV’s from an every day DVD player. What you will miss however is a family night under the stars and enjoying what is fast approaching a lost entertainment venue to the annals of time.
___I would like to thank Andy Hil? For his pic’s of the Keno Drive In and the Drive In Movie Theater of Wisconsin web site for the general history …
___So what does this have to do with the MDX? Take a look at the pic below. Although it wasn’t a Saturday night when we visited, it may as well have been. The first movie of the evening was 2 Fast 2 Furious. The second and main feature was of all things, “The Hulk”! Sorry the pic was of such poor quality but when taking the pic without a flash to see the screen, the X disappeared. With the flash, the screen is gone but the X remains …
___Good Luck and enjoy your night at the “Drive In” ;)
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| evoge |
We had a few drive-ins around my hometown in West Chester, PA and I remember going from my earliest years up to the summer after my high school graduation in 1981. Now they're yet one more cool-yet-extinct thing I'll have to describe to my son when he's older.
If you have one, support your local drive-in! |
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| kamalsyal |
Believe it or not, I've never been to a drive-in movie theater since I was not born in the US and arrived here within the last decade....:(
But I have been trying to find a drive-in here in New Jersey, and someone told me recently that there are no drive-ins left in NJ anymore. Anyone know one in the vicinity that I could visit ?
Speaking of the title of this thread...Sat night is "socializing" night for us, and we visit friends and occasionally go for a nice dinner in our X ! And of course I park at the farthest corner to avoid the dings.....and of course the extra walk helps particularly after dinner :) |
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| toXornottoX |
I remember when I was a child we used to go to the Whitestone Drive-In, in the Bronx. :D
Great memories of watching movies under the stars in the good old days. Instead of listening to the movie from your FM radio there was a pole with a speaker that you can hang from your window. After a while the owners let it slip away and failed to repair the speakers, etc... I'm not sure when but in the early to mid 80's they changed it into Whitestone Multiplex with lots of theatres. Easier way to make money! but we lost a good old American tradition.
:( |
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| jswift2000 |
quote:
Originally posted by toXornottoX
I remember when I was a child we used to go to the Whitestone Drive-In, in the Bronx. :D
Great memories of watching movies under the stars in the good old days. Instead of listening to the movie from your FM radio there was a pole with a speaker that you can hang from your window. After a while the owners let it slip away and failed to repair the speakers, etc... I'm not sure when but in the early to mid 80's they changed it into Whitestone Multiplex with lots of theatres. Easier way to make money! but we lost a good old American tradition.
:(
I remember driving by that drive-in - my aunt used to live near shea stadium and my grandmother used to live in flushing so I would go by there quite often. |
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| Blackura |
Last time I was at a drive-in, I was in my uncle's new Karmann Ghia convertible. That tells you it was a long, long time ago.
We still have a drive in theater near here in Hyde Park, right across from Franklin D. Roosevelt's home. I've driven past many times (slowly when there was a good flick!) but never went in. Maybe someday.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. |
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| greatscot |
quote:
Originally posted by kamalsyal
Believe it or not, I've never been to a drive-in movie theater since I was not born in the US ....:(
Not native either, but I made the effort to experience all the Americana I could. Still remember taking my then-fiance-now-wife (also a native Scot) to the Drive-in in her 65 Mustang.
Last Drive-in around here was razed to make room for a new Costco (now we have three in a 15 mile radius, go figure) and a new Home Depot (already have plenty of those too.)
excel, did you draw any looks from other movie goers when you were taking those pics? :2: |
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| trixie |
The drive-ins were great. As a kid, it was the only place that we saw movies. As a teen, they fulfilled a different, but equally important roll. By the early eighties, although still OK for the teens, crime became a problem and few drive-ins were suited for families. Not to mention, encroaching city lights made for increasingly bad views. In my California neck of the woods, they finally gave way to condos, Home Depots, etc... Now the old drive-in is all but extinct.
I lived in Louisville, KY in the mid 90s. Back then, Louisville still boasted three drive-ins. My favorite was located a few miles north of the city in Indiana. Well maintained and away from the city lights, the drive-in was a great place to take the family on a Saturday night. They even had a playground underneath the screen. Does anyone know if the Indiana drive-in is still in operation? It's kind of fun to reminisce of the old drive-in days. |
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