Remember When: Westmoreland Countys Drive -In Theaters Pennsylvanias - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Remember When: Westmoreland County’s Drive-In Theaters

Pennsylvania’s Place in Drive-In History

 April 15, 1934: Shankweiler’s Auto Park in Orefield, Pennsylvania

• pened as the second drive-in

theater in the United States.  Shankweiler’s is now the oldest

• perating drive-in theater in both

Pennsylvania and in the country.  2019 marks Shankweiler’s 86th consecutive season. It’s now equipped with digital projection technology.

Greater Pittsburgh boasted more than 40 drive-in theaters by the late 1950s. The Pittsburgh Press, May 9, 1958

Pittsburgh: “Drive-In Capital of the World”

Westmoreland County Drive-In Theatres

 Blue Dell Drive-in – North Huntington  Bel-Aire Drive-In – North Huntington  Evergreen Drive-In – Mount Pleasant  Family Drive-In – New Kensington  Gateway Drive-In – New Kensington  Hi-Way Drive-In – Latrobe  Maple Drive-In – North Huntington  Odin Drive-In – Greensburg  Rustic Drive-In – Norvelt  Rose Drive-In – Harrison City  Super 30 Drive-In – Irwin  Super 71 Drive-In – Belle Vernon

Blue Dell Drive-In North Huntington

• Part of a Route 30/LH

complex that included the Blue Dell Diner and Blue Dell Swimming Pool

• One of 7 drive-ins Warren

family owned in PA & NY

• Single screen, held 500

cars, opened June 10,1949

• Sold to AT/Cinemette chain

in final years, closed September 1, 1985

• Located at Vangura site

Postcard courtesy of Brian Butko. Ad from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 1949.

Bel-Aire Drive-In North Huntington

• Opened July 2, 1957

behind the Blue Dell Swimming Pool

• Another Warren family

drive-in

• Single screen with a

“balcony” where cars sat

• n an inclined level
• Very short-lived: closed

November 23, 1958

Aerial image from Penn State University (PSU) Penn Pilot. Ad from Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 10, 1957.

Super 30 Drive-In Irwin

• Andrew Battiston/Grance

Theaters opened this drive- in at the former Clonessy Farm along Route 30 on September 19, 1947

• Claimed to be “largest and

finest outdoor movie theater in the world”

• Later acquired by the

Warren family and closed around 1970

• Now shopping center near

PA Turnpike interchange

Image from www.cinematreasures.org. Ad from the Latrobe Bulletin, September 18, 1947.

Rose Drive-In Harrison City

• Opened May 15, 1952 off
• f current Route 130
• Layout like indoor theater:

cars faced down at screen with center aisle

• “Pittsburgh’s largest” with

an 800-car capacity

• Another Warren family-
• wned drive-in
• Short-lived: last season likely

1955 or 1956

Ads from The News-Dispatch, May 15, 1952 and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 7, 1954.

Source: PSU Penn Pilot

Maple Drive-In North Huntingdon

• Opened on May 25, 1949,
• perated by Associated

Theaters

• Located on Route 30/LH

west of Norwin Town Square; two miles from Blue Dell/Bel-Aire

• A four-lane entrance led to

a 900-car lot; open-air patio with free dancing

• Cinemette closed theater
• n October 19, 1986

Aerial image from PSU Penn Pilot. Ad from The Pittsburgh Press, May 24, 1949.

Hi-Way Drive-In Latrobe

• Opened August 4, 1948
• Owner John Ridilla’s

company, Dill Construction, built it on a 10-acre farm along Route 30 east of Latrobe airport crossroads

• Paved lot held 730 cars plus

Sunday flea market

• Drive-in closed in after CVS

purchased the land then demolished in 2011

Historical image courtesy of the Latrobe Area Historical Society. Ad from the Latrobe Bulletin, August 4, 1948.

Odin Drive-In Greensburg

• Opened May 11, 1950

along Route 30 near downtown Greensburg

• Owners: Bruno Ferrari,

John Ridilla & John Slate.

• Capacity: 400 cars
• Closed in 1964; current

site of Gabriel Brothers

Aerial image from PSU Penn Pilot Ads from the Latrobe Bulletin, May 15, 1950

Rustic Drive-In Norvelt

• Opened May 29, 1953 under
• wner Bernard Buchheit
• Located near Westmoreland

County Fairgrounds

• Accommodated 350 cars,
• ne screen located at the

bottom of a valley

• Rustic theme: open-air

concession stand, log fence around driveway

• Final season was 1985

Image from www.cinematreasures.org, courtesy of Geraldine Dzambo Mizikar. Ads from Latrobe Bulletin, July 2, 1953 and August 28, 1964.

Family Drive-In New Kensington

• Opened May 20, 1948

along Route 56/Leechburg Road

• Designed by architect

Robert F. Beatty

• 750-car capacity
• Also affiliated with

Associated Theaters; closed in 1971

Aerial Image from PSU Penn Pilot. Ad from The Pittsburgh Press, May 22, 1948. Image from www.cinematreasures.org.

Gateway Drive-In New Kensington

• Opened June 16, 1950 at

intersection of Logans Ferry Road and Greensburg Road

• Built by A. Fred Serrao,

whose son, D. Vogel

• perated Maryland’s

Bengie’s Drive-in (built by his stepfather)

• Had two screens
• Closed in 1994

Aerial Image from PSU Penn Pilot. Ad from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 15, 1956.

Super 71 Drive-In Belle Vernon

• Opened June 22, 1948 on

Route 201 off of I-70

• Eventually had two

screens, with capacities of 600 and 700 cars

• Closed after 1995 season

and absorbed into the Rostraver Square business district

Aerial Image from PSU Penn Pilot. Ad from The Daily Republican, June 22, 1948.

Evergreen Drive-In, Mount Pleasant

 This was Westmoreland County’s first drive-in theater and now its

• nly survivor.

 Opened as the Ruthorn Drive-In on June 19, 1947 – combination of

• wners’ names: Donald J. Ruth and R.M. Thorn.

 Renamed the Evergreen Drive-In effective April, 1949. Single screen accommodated 300 cars.  Joe and Debbie Warren purchased the Evergreen in 1999 and added two more screens for the 2002 season.  The Evergreen shows first-run movies on all three screens using digital projection technology.

Ad from The Daily Courier, June 2, 1950.

Aerial mage source: Evergreen Drive-In. Ads from the Connellsville Daily Courier, June 19, 1947 and April 14, 1949.

Pennsylvania Drive-In Theaters TODAY

 The drive-in theater industry reached a high in 1958, with 4,063 operating across the country. Pennsylvania’s peak was in 1956, with 332 drive-ins.  2009: Pennsylvania had 34 operating drive-in theaters, out of a total 382 across the U.S.  Nearly a quarter of the state’s drive-ins have closed over the past

• decade. Pennsylvania now has 26
• perating drive-in theaters, out of total

317 across the U.S.

Stats courtesy of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association