Drive-in movies weren’t on our list of 100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About, but maybe they should have been. (Or maybe they didn’t make the list because not enough of us really remember drive-in movies.) I remember watching a double-header of Planet of the Apes and The Princess Diaries at a drive-in back when I lived in Kansas City (before my kids were born), but I don’t think I’ve been to one since.
Today Google celebrates the opening of the first drive-in theater in 1933 in New Jersey with a doodle. It’s a YouTube video, which might be somewhat ironic if you believe that the advances of broadband internet and streaming video are contributing to the demise of movie theaters … but it’s still cute. Note the little Android hula girl on the dash, and the “intermission” cartoon (which I admittedly only recognize because it reminds me of Grease).
And then, while you’re reminiscing about outdoor theaters, why don’t you look up Dave Banks’ instructions for making your own outdoor movie theater? It’s not quite the same as a drive-in, but I guess you could sit in your car if you want.
