Sometime in the 1950's drive-ins became all the rage. There were drive-in restaurants and drive-in movies. Of course, we still have some drive-ins, and have added drive-throughs as well. We can now pick up fast food, prescriptions, and any number of things at a window.
The drive-in restaurants were very much like our current Sonics. You pulled your car up to a post with a telephone and menu on it, called in your order, and waited. The waitress would bring your order out on a tray that clamped to your open window. Some waitresses wore roller skates. We had many choices for this type of service, but the ones I remember were A & W Rootbeer stands, Tiners and Shadas were sandwich places, and there were some that specialized in ice cream.
The drive-in movies were a different phenomenon. You drove your car up to a post that had a speaker attached that you hung on the inside of your open window. There was a concession stand near the center of the parking spaces. You had to go there for your popcorn, candy or drink. If I remember right the drive-in movies operated year round. You could rent a portable heater when it was cold. There were all kinds of new ways to see a movie at a drive-in. We, like many other families, dressed the children in their pajamas so they could sleep if they got tired before the movie ended. Young couples were known to do some things they shouldn't while parked at the drive-in. It was possible to cheat too. If you could get a friend to cooperate, you could see a movie free. The friend would turn the sound up pretty loud so you could hear it outside the parking area. It usually didn't work for long because someone would complain or the management got onto it. However with a full "house" there were enough speakers going that you could hear anyway.
Both types of drive-ins required that the driver's window be down. That meant that winged creatures were apt to invade your space in search of your edibles. It was possible at the movie to roll the window mostly up, but most airborn insects found their way in. Back then air conditioning was not common in cars. It was an added accessory attached usually to a rear window. We weren't used to being cool in the summer, so having the window down was the normal cooling method.
I suspect the advent of air conditioning meant the demise of the drive-ins. They eventually morphed into the drive up window, and in the case of the drive-in movies, simply disappeared.
2 comments:
Great post. :)
You are wrong on one point. There is a very successful drive-in theater in Georgetown, IN that survives in much the same way you describe. The only real difference is that you have the option of tuning into the sound on your car radio. We recently went on carload night. $15/car. We saw a double feature too. Nice, fun bargain.
I remember, as a young child, seeing Bambi when it came out at the drive-in. I remember being in my pj's, and I remember curling up on the back floor of the car because I was so frightened by the fire scene.
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