The first drive-in theatre was invented by Richard M. Hollingshead who was from New Jersey, USA. He mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car and used it to project onto a screen he had nailed between trees. He placed a radio behind the screen for sound, then started to test 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. One main problem did arise in his test. That was if cars were parked behind each other, the cars at the rear would not be able to see the whole picture, due to the car in front. This did not stop Richard, he lined up cars in his driveway spacing them at various distances and placing blocks under their front wheels he was able to find the correct spacing and the correct angles to build ramps for the cars front tires to park on. Thus the first drive-in theatre was born.

Richard registered his invention at the US Patent Office on August 6, 1932. On May 16, 1933 he received a patent number of 1,909,537 - the first drive-in theatre patent ever. Later in May of 1950 the patent was declared invalid by the Delaware District Court.



Drive-In Theatre: Camden, New Jersey. June 6, 1933
Shankweiler's Auto Park: Orefield, Pennsylvania. April 15, 1934
Drive-In Short Reel Theatre: Galveston, Texas. July 5, 1934
Pico: Los Angeles, California. September 9, 1934
Weymouth Drive-In Theatre: Weymouth, Massachusetts. May 6 1936
Starlight Auto Theatre: Akron, Ohio. Summer, 1937
Lynn Open Air Theatre: Lynn, Massachusetts. July, 1937
Providence: Providence, Rhode Island. July 21, 1937
Miami Drive-In: Miami, Florida. February 25, 1938
Detroit Drive-In: Detroit, Michigan. June 2, 1938
Cleveland: Cleveland, Ohio. June, 1938
Shrewsbury Drive-In: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. June, 1938
San-Val: Burbandk, California. June 10, 1938
Merrimack Auto Theatre: Methuen, Massachusetts. Summer, 1938
Valley Stream: Long Island, New York. August 10, 1938
Corpus Christi: Corpus Christi, Texas. March, 1939
Saco Drive-In: Portland, Maine. July 15, 1939
Atlantic Drive-In: Jacksonville, Florida. December 6, 1939



By January of 1942 drive-in theatres had begun to spread across the U.S. There were 95 drive-in`s spread across 27 states. Ohio led the way with 11 drive-in`s. However, the building of new drive-in`s slowed down during World War II during which time only six theatres were built.

Many problems faced the drive-in`s during the war - rubber for tyres was in short supply and petol rationing was in effect. Many theatres closed down for 2 years, but in 1946 the number of theatres goes up from 102 to 155. By 1948 there are 820 drive-in`s across the U.S.

With the concept of the drive-in theatre being strange to most people, new theatres would host an "Open House" during the day to let people know what to expect. They would show the future customers how to park, how the sound systems worked, and what food was available in the concession stands. Some Drive-In`s reported as many as 400 cars would show up for the open house.

As soon as the war ended the Baby Boom began. By the end of the 1940's the drive-in`s were full of children looking for something to do, so to accomodate many theatres built a Playground in the open area near the screen. People began to arrive early so their children could play in the playground and, afterwards, enjoy some food from the concession stand.

The drive-in boom was under way. Going from less than 1,000 in 1948 to nearly 5,000 by 1958, w hilstover 5,000 indoor theaters closed reducing their number from 17,000 to 12,000. The drive-in became popular in many countries across the world.

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, which was heated and air-conditioned, a playground, a cafeteria, a restaurant and a shuttle train that took customers from their cars to the various areas of the 28 acre site.





Troy Drive-In: Detroit, Michigan. 3,000 cars
Panther Drive-In: Lufkin, Texas. 3,000 cars
All-Weather Drive-In: Copiague, New York 2,500 cars
110 Drive-In Melville, New York. 2,500 cars
Newark Drive-In: Newark, New Jersey 2,400 cars
Belair Drive-In, Cicero, Illinois. 2,300 cars
Timonium Drive-In: Timonium, Maryland 2,479 cars
Los Altos Drive-In: Long Beach, California 2,150 cars

As the size and number of drive-in`s increase, many went from just providing a playground to miniature trains, pony rides, boat rides, talent shows, miniature golf and animal shows.



Harmony Drive-In: Harmony Pennsylvania. 50 cars
Highway Drive-In: Bamberg, South Carolina. 50 cars
Ponce DeLeon Drive-In: Ponce DeLeon, Florida. 60 cars
Twilite Drive-In: Nakina, North Carolina. 60 cars
Norwood: Norwood, Colorado. 64 cars

Many theatres would open the gates as much as 3 hours before the movie would start. This allowed customers to bring the kids early. Many theatres began to serve a wide variety of food such as fried chicken, BBQ sandwiches, hamburgers and pizza. Some drive-in's even offered a waitress service. In fact food was such a good money-maker that intermission trailers were invented to increase sales between films.





There are still drive-in`s being built, but many have closed down. In the 70's, many theatres even pulled out their playground equipment since few families attended. During the 80's low attendances almost killed the drive-in. The main culprits: Cable TV and VCR's.

Even to this day there are close to 1,000 dead drive-in`s growing weeds across the USA.





In the 90's, the number of theatres closing slows down. Many drive-in`s add extra screens, go twin, some go triple, a few go quad, one in Florida goes 13 screens!

The crowds and the families return, just like the crowds of the 50's. It seems that a new generation has discovered the drive-in. Some drive-in`s re-opened in the late 90's. There has been 4 new theatres built in the past 5 years. The USA is still loosing some theatres, but the numbers are stable. Drive-in`s have now started to spring up overseas -one was opened in Russia in 1999, along with some reopening's in Spain.