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Shore Drive-In (Closed, MD)

Our Visit (November 2014):

We love to take day-trips and have surprise date days. One of these took us to Assateague Island State Park and Ocean City, Maryland. As always, I saw an opportunity to visit an abandoned drive-in! In this case it was Ocean City’s Shore Drive-In Theatre, a couple miles off the island.

There was a bit of traffic, but we knew the general area of the marquee. After we parked an got out on foot to explore, I couldn’t help but think about the tourists visiting Ocean City. Hundreds – maybe more – passed the marquee covered in tangled weeds and plants without a second glance.

Red, green, and white stripes were still visible along the 2 sides of the marquee, but the rest was mere rusted metal. Where words once announced the featured films, only bars remained. Looking underneath, you can see the wires and connections that once held bright white lights to illuminate the marquee.

Beyond the marquee there was so much more to be seen! Even after almost 40 years, nature, the elements, and vandals could not completely destroy visible remnants of the drive-in.

Various building pieces remained – a wooden structure that lay crumbled on its side, the ticket booth, speaker poles with torn bases, and the screen. The screen is always my favorite piece of a drive-in that has been left behind. Their resilience amazes me.

The screen held a large lattice of wooden pieces as the backing. Larger slats of wood lay across the lattice horizontally where the movies once shone. Vines and trees intertwined with the lattice. My favorite piece of the screen was the ladder in the back, against one of the wooden poles, leading to the screen.

Everything was very overgrown, but it was manageable to navigate. As always – be careful, be considerate, and do not leave any physical imprint.

History:

The Shore Drive-In Theatre opened in 1954 and lasted for 22 years, closing in 1976. The Salisbury Times has advertisements starting in 1954 through ’76. In March of 1956, the Baltimore Sun reported that the court ruled the drive-in must be closed on Sundays.

Besides this bit of information, I could not find the owners/operators of the theatre, why it closed, or the types of movies it ran. Several people online reported that there was a flea market on the property after it closed. The property is currently for sale as a commercial property, listed for $800,000.

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Shore Drive-In: 11906 Ocean Gateway, Ocean City, MD 21842

Boulevard Drive-In (Allentown, PA) – Closed

Our Visit (2014):

On one of our day road trips we wound up in Allentown area. Per usual, I decided to check up on any possible drive-in remains and found the former Boulevard Drive-In! It was easy to find – driving along Union Boulevard you could see the screen set back, facing the boulevard. After another drive-by we found a spot to pull over.

It was apparent that construction was under way, but at the time we didn’t know the purpose. There were various tractors, construction fencing, and wooden markers for the paving that was underway. A beautiful new building was set in the back-center of the lot, and some paving was started around the building, and circling towards the drive-in screen.

That’s right – the drive-in screen! It was still standing tall, even with some minor damage. As we left I was just hoping that the new construction would keep the screen in the design.

History:

The Boulevard Drive-In opened on October 19, 1949. Owned and operated by Milgram Theaters, the Boulevard paved the way for all drive-ins!

In 1950 David Milgram brought a suit against the 8 major film companies because they would not grant access for first-run films to drive-ins. Two of the companies, RKO and Fox, offered second-run films (28 days after the indoor cinemas had the films), but Milgram was not satisfied. In a Philadelphia court, Milgram won the suit. The film companies appealed twice, including to the US Supreme Court in May 1952, but they refused to hear the appeal.

In 1950, the drive-in worked with Station WAAB to include live shows as entertainment at the drive-in. In May of that year, the Sleepy Hollow Ranch Gang had two scheduled performances. According to Wikipedia, the drive-in also had a children’s play area in front of the screen with various playground equipment.

The drive-in had many prosperous years, but closed in the 1980s. I was unable to find an exact date, but one user posted on cinematreasures.org that they remember attending in 1984. For photos from 1988 – including the marquee, screen, ticket booths, and projection booth visit http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/13063.html.

The drive-in has since been converted to a classic car showcase. Known as the Allentown Classic Motor Car showcase, it is owned by Nicola Bulgari. This jeweler wanted to have a place to show and drive his classic cars. Visit Here for details from the architect.

Boulevard Drive-In

556 Union Boulevard

Allentown, PA

Shore Drive-In (Closed, NJ)

Our Visit: January 2014

On a day off in January 2014, Dan and I took a road trip north to try and find a few drive-ins. Our luck was high, because we were able to visit 2 former drive-in sites. The Shore Drive-In and Fly-In Drive-In were 4.4 miles apart on Rt. 34 in Wall Township.

The downfall of our visit was that it had snowed prior to our visit, making it difficult to capture pictures of what remained for the Shore Drive-In. The site is not easily accessible, especially in the snow.

There are many speaker poles remaining, outlining the parking spaces and lanes for driving.

In addition to the speaker poles, there were two building remains. It is hard to ascertain the buildings’ purposes from my memory (2 years ago!) and the snow. I believe the red bricks were from the projection booth. The other I am not so sure…

History:

On May 12, 1948, the Shore Drive-In of Farmingdale*, NJ opened with the support and praise of various local businesses and residents. The Asbury Park Press newspaper (May 11, 1948) is littered with advertisements congratulating the Eastern Drive In Theatre Corporation on the opening of the Shore Drive-In. Supporters included Bell Supply Co, Drive-In Refreshments, Thomas Nicol Co, Jersey State Electric, Franklin Engineering, Monmouth Lumber Co, Anchor Post Fence Co, and many more.

Most notable was the support and recognition from the Park-In Theatre Company. The Park-In Theatre Company was Hollinghead’s company, the original creator of the Drive-In Theater. The Shore Drive-In was covered and license under the Hollingshead Patent for drive-ins.

Some interesting features for this drive-in included complementary bottle warming for mothers with young babies, in addition to the usual amenities offered by drive-ins.

Research of Eastern Drive In Theatre Corporation and James J. Thompson (owner) led to very little, except that they owned and operated several other NJ drive-ins including the Union DI (where the original moved after 3 years), Morris Plains DI and Totowa DI. However, the corporation and drive-in search did connect to Wilfred P. Smith.

Wilfred P. Smith was the general manager for Eastern Drive-In Corporation through 1950, having a hand in all of the beginning drive-ins in New Jersey, including the Shore Drive-In. He obviously took pride in the presentation and reputation of the drive-in, for he is quoted saying they were “striving for another NJ State Garden Club award such as was presented to our Union Drive-In Theater last year for landscaping, beauty, safety and civic achievement for a business enterprise along a main highway” (Asbury Park Press, 1948).

Smith left Eastern Drive-In Corporation to open his own drive-in in Ledgewood, and subsequently the Newton Drive-In. Although I was unable to find a lot of history on the Shore Drive-In, I was excited to be introduced to Wilfred P. Smith and his pioneering efforts. Hopefully he enjoyed the retired life, and his memory will live on in the drive-in world.

Shore Drive-In, 5001 New Jersey 33, Wall Township, NJ 07727

The Shore Drive-In closed sometime after 1979. The screen was demolished in 2001.

Some more great photos: http://drive-ins.com/gallery/njtshor/shore-drive-in-theater-farmingdale-nj

*Depending on where you get your information, the Shore Drive-In may be listed as Collingwood Park, Wall Township, or Farmingdale. It was near Asbury Park, but not in that town.

White Horse Down

The iconic white horse, which stood atop a tall tower has fallen down. The only remainder of the White Horse Pike Drive in has found its demise after a brief storm hit New Jersey last night.
For the past several days and I have been checking its direction to see if the horse spun/turned. There had been a comment on the blog asking about its movement. So tonight, on our way home, I asked Dan to tell me its direction. His response: it’s not there.

Please excuse the bad quality of pictures, I did not anticipate needing to take photos tonight. His rear legs are not attached anymore… that is the piece on the left side. He is currently next to the tower, in the Petsmart parking lot. So very sad….

7/26/14 UPDATE: The horse was taken down by crane. There was an article in the Courier Post today and a video on Facebook. Reason still unknown, but speculation lies in the possibility of harm with the rear legs falling.

His leg is on the left side

Inside

The tower

The First Drive-In Theatre (EVER!) – June 6, 1933

The date: June 6, 1933.

The place: Pennsauken Township, NJ.

The person: Richard Milton Hollingshead, Jr.

The company: Park-In Theaters, Inc.

The event: The first drive-in theater – Automobile Movie Theatre – opened!

For me, June 6 is a special date because it is the original date of the drive-in!

Hollingshead actually applied for the patent for his drive-in on August 6, 1932, and was granted his patent on May 16, 1933. Before all this, Hollingshead was looking into creating something, not just heading up a business.

After several ideas, Hollingshead began testing out projecting a movie onto a screen and watching from a car. He did this in his backyard, putting the projector on the hood of his car, facing a sheet nailed to a tree. He even tried out bad weather options by putting on a sprinkler! Of course there were challenges, such as seeing past the car in front of you. However, with his own design of ramps and distance, to stagger the view, he was able to figure it all out.

Many accounts will say the drive-in was located in Camden, NJ; however, it was just over the border of Camden and in Pennsauken Township. The Automobile Move Theatre was close to Philadelphia and served many communities. One of the draw-ins was that you could watch a movie, even if you were obese! An ad from a newspaper showed a large woman trying to get to her seat in a theater, with a caption saying she would have no trouble at the drive-in.

Hollingshead’s drive-in did not last … either 1935 or 1936 (unsure of exact year) Hollingshead sold his theater and it “moved” to Union, NJ. Besides not getting a lot of profits, Hollingshead fought over his patent and other drive-ins that were opening. He was not receiving royalties from other drive-ins that were using his design. A few different court cases were brought up. Eventually, the US Supreme Court denied the petition. Hollingshead did receive some royalties, but the exact amount is unknown.

Our Visit (1/12/13):
Unfortunately, there aren’t any remains of the original drive-in. Here are some photos of the current location, but nothing special to show! For old photos of the first drive-in, check out the following links:

Also, if you are seriously interested in the history of the drive-ins, check out the book “Drive-In Theaters; a history from their inception in 1933” by Kerry Seagrave. It is loaded with facts and research covering any and all drive-in topic (that was my source for most of the information on this post!). “The American Drive-In Movie Theatre” by Don and Susan Sanders is a shorter text covering similar information if you want something less intense.

Circus Drive-In (Hammonton, NJ) – Closed

My Visit – 12/30/12:

Although my first experience with drive-ins occurred on a date to the Delsea Drive-In, my intent interest, and eventual creation of this blog, began after passing by the abandoned Circus Drive-In in Mullica Township, NJ. To think that there were living footprints of drive-ins throughout the country, mere miles from my own home, was incredible.

The Circus Drive-In is visible from Rt. 30 (the White Horse Pike), if you look closely. The site has been overrun by trees and in the spring and winter; it can be difficult to spot the screen while speeding by. The screen is so close to the road! I have even taken to driving the White Horse Pike instead of the expressway to go to Atlantic City… all to pass this lone screen, standing still while time passes it by.

When we visited, it was very easy to navigate the grounds. Although many trees cover the property, the lines from the parking and driving have left easy trails. We found some cement blocks, most likely from speaker poles at one point in time. There is also some cement base – gray and red – from one of the buildings, presumingly the projection booth.

Although this drive-in site is not very different from others I have visited, and even has less visible remains than some, it was the beginning of my …well, obsession.

History/Information:

For the first time in my research I have had contact with an owner of a drive-in, even if that person was not in charge at that time! According to Bruce Frank, CEO of Frank Family Entertainment Group and President of Frank Theatres, the Circus Drive-In opened in 1954. His grandfather and father opened this drive-in in honor of Bruce’s sister being born. Some personal accounts online say the theater opened in 1953.

Some accounts talk about a giant circus clown marquee – unfortunately, I have not been able to locate a photograph of the marquee. Mr. Bruce Frank has said that he does not have any photos but will pass them along if he comes across any.

The Circus DI closed by 1979. 35 years later the drive-in still leaves its mark.

Circus Drive-In 3320 S. Whitehorse Pike Hammonton, NJ 08037

For some historical photos, visit: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/njtcirc/circus-drive-in-hammonton-nj. The public has uploaded photos from visits in present-day, as well as posters and tickets! Very neat to see.

Other photographs from my visit – I had a lot of fun that day and snapped all sorts of angles.

There are quite a few to browse, I hope you enjoy!