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Diamond anniversary of the drive-in theater

June 2, 2008

TO-DO THIS WEEKEND: Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the drive-in theater with a visit to a drive-in. Take a chair and sit under the stars, buy some popcorn at the snack bar, stay for both features, and try to figure out why you stopped (or never started) going. Don’t complain that no drive-ins are nearby, they can still be found in 47 states.

ABOVE: At the drive-in, 4th of July, 2007 . Photo © by Brian Butko

It was June 6, 1933, when Richard Hollingshead Jr opened the first drive-in theater, lighting the night sky in Camden, New Jersey. By the late 1950s, thousands of “ozoners” sat at the suburban fringe of most every town, but then they began closing. Blame TV, VCRs, smaller cars, fewer family movies, less need for a private getaway, Daylight Savings Time, rising insurance on the playgrounds, aging equipment, retiring owners, skyrocketing land values – or all of them – but only 397 theaters remain (with 650 screens). About half of those are members of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association, a group that celebrates the industry and its accomplishments. In fact, Hollingshead’s son, Richard III, was guest of honor this past winter at UDITOA annual convention. Here are some drive-ins still operating on or very close to the Lincoln Highway, pulled from the UDITOA list site plus my own recollection – please send additions:

CA
Sacramento: SACRAMENTO 6 DRIVE-IN

CO
Fort Collins: HOLIDAY TWIN DRIVE-IN – www.holidaytwindrive-in.com
Fort Morgan: VALLEY DRIVE-IN

IN
Plymouth: TRI-WAY DRIVE-IN – www.triwaydrivein.com
Valparaiso: 49’er DRIVE-IN – www.49erdrivein.com

NV
Sparks: EL RANCHO DRIVE-IN – www.westwinddriveins.com

OH
Kenton: HI-ROAD DRIVE-IN – www.metheatres.com
between Van Wert and Delphos: Van-Del Drive-In

Mansfield: SPRINGMILL DRIVE-IN – www.springmilldrive-in.com

PA
Latrobe: HI-WAY DRIVE-IN

UT
Riverdale: MOTOR VU DRIVE-IN (4 screens)
Tooele: MOTOR VU DRIVE-IN

WV
Chester: HILLTOP DRIVE-IN

This list will now be available as one of the easy-reference pages listed to the right. Check there for updates.

Tags:75th anniversary, drive-in movies, drive-in theater, ozoners, popcorn
Posted in food, highways, history, Road trip, roadside, travel | 3 Comments »

Twisters hit hard around Kearney, Nebraska

May 30, 2008

As many as six tornadoes touched down near Kearney, Nebraska, Thursday evening, including some in the city limits, according to the Kearney Hub. The city will host the LHA’s Centennial Conference, July 1-5, 2013.

The tornadoes first touched down near the Lincoln Highway communities of Elm Creek (with hail as large as baseballs) and Overton before moving east to Kearney, uprooting trees, tearing away roofs, and derailing 90 train cars on the Union Pacific Railroad. The Buffalo County Fairgrounds’ large Exposition Center, home to rodeos and large farm shows, collapsed, and damage was reported at the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. This photo is a screen capture from the Hub’s photo section – click it to browse photos, video, and stories on the storm from the Hub:

Last night, 12,000 customers were without power in Kearney (pop 30,000). The storm continued eastward along the LH/US 30 to Shelton, doing similar damage. A tornado was also spotted 3 miles west of Grand Island. The number of US tornadoes so far in 2008 – 1,191 – is nearly double what it was for the same period last year.

The governor declared a state of emergency Thursday night, and Interstate 80 was closed from Aurora to York due to downed power lines. The National Weather Service issued several advisories for Nebraska and Kansas into Friday morning, including flood warnings for areas already struggling from heavy rains earlier in the week. A weather alert in the Kearney Hub included this advice for anyone ever caught in such a storm:

DO NOT USE HIGHWAY OVERPASSES FOR SHELTER. OVERPASSES DO NOT PROVIDE PROTECTION FROM TORNADIC WINDS. VEHICLES STOPPED UNDER BRIDGES BLOCK TRAFFIC AND PREVENT PEOPLE FROM GETTING OUT OF THE STORM’S PATH AND TO SHELTER. IF YOU CANNOT DRIVE AWAY FROM THE TORNADO, GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE AND LIE FLAT IN A DITCH.

Tags:highway, Kearney Nebraska, storm damage, tornado
Posted in highways, travel | 1 Comment »

Ace Drive-In remains a roadside gem

May 28, 2008

The Ace Drive-In along the Lincoln Highway in Joliet, Illinois, is a welcome site in warm weather—classic food at a place little changed from a half century ago. It is one of the many brief profiles in my next book, Lincoln Highway Companion, but here with a great story about the place are impressions by John Weiss, who visits regularly with his wife Lenore:

We promote historic highways because they are a link to the past, a time not so long ago where mom, pop and apple pie culture was in abundance. Radios would sing out, “See the USA in your Chevrolet, America is asking you to call!”

Nothing makes your mind drift back to those glory years than one word: CARHOP. How cool it was to pull into the drive-in, flash your lights, and a pretty young girl would come to your car. Watching her come back balancing a full tray of frosted root beer, burgers, and fries was remarkable. “Please raise your window” she would say, then proceed to hook that mysterious tray onto your car door window.

Compare that with pulling up and talking to a machine. Then drive to a window to pay and pick up your order. Then you hear the mundane line, “Have a nice day.” That is not cool!

Not many original drive-ins with real car hops still exist. But there is one in Joliet, Illinois. If you are looking for nostalgia and a slice of Americana, then you have to visit the ACE DRIVE-IN. The Ace has been here since 1949. This fantastic icon is located on historic Lincoln Highway (Route 30) in Joliet. For you Route 66ers, Ace is only a short distance west of Ottawa Street, Route 66.

Homemade frosty root beer by the glass or by the gallon is available. All those great food treats that you would expect along with their famous car hops makes this a blast from the past. Family minivans and regular cars make up the majority of the customers, but all heads turn when the inevitable classic car pulls in with a Fonzie wannabe at the wheel. Even picnic tables under the trees are available with car hop service.

In spring, summer, and fall, this is the place to find good food, good prices, and those remarkable vanishing symbols of nostalgia, carhops.

That’s John researching this story in his 1966 Mustang!

Ace Drive-In
1207 Plainfield Rd/Lincoln Hwy/US 30
Joliet, Illinois
(815) 726-7741

Photos © by John and Lenore Weiss.

Tags:car culture of the past, carhops, drive-in restaurant, Joliet Illinois, vintage Mustang
Posted in food, history, Road trip, roadside, travel | 2 Comments »

Vintage motels hang on near York, Pennsylvania

May 27, 2008

My drive last week along the Lincoln Highway in central Pennsylvania took me past many mid-century motels. Here are three east of York along Market Street/PA 462: Barnhart’s, the Modernaire, and the Flamingo.

I’ll briefly profile a few motels like these in every LH state in my forthcoming book, Lincoln Highway Companion.

Tags:motels, old signs, Road trip, roadside stops, tourist, York PA
Posted in highways, history, lodging, Road trip, roadside, travel | 2 Comments »

Highway 30 Barn Tour and Picnic, June 7-8

May 26, 2008

Twenty five barns will be featured on the Iowa Barn Foundation’s Highway 30 Barn Tour and Picnic, Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, 2008. This tour stretches from river-to-river across Iowa along US 30, the Lincoln Highway. Barns on this free, self-guided tour will be open both days 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. The tour is dedicated to educating people about the importance of barn history and preservation.

Above is one wing of the Iowa State University Horse Barn, Ames (from the Iowa Barn Foundation web site).

The Highway 30 picnic and barn dance, featuring the Barn Owls, will be held Saturday evening in the Community Center at the Story County Fairgrounds in Nevada, Iowa, from 5:30 to 9 pm. To reach the fairgrounds, turn off old Highway 30 at First Avenue in Nevada, and travel south to I Avenue. Cost of the picnic and dance is $10 per person, children $5. Learn more about the Iowa tour and all the barns at the Iowa Barn Foundation.

Tags:barn tour, Iowa, ISU, Lincoln Highway
Posted in highways, history, Road trip, roadside, travel | Leave a Comment »

Another Lincoln Highway diner in PA reopens

May 22, 2008

Lancaster Online reported last week on the reopening of a popular Lincoln Highway eatery. The Prospect Diner is along the Lincoln Highway (Columbia Ave/Rt 462) between Mountville and Columbia in the east-central part of the state. It had previously been known as Benji’s, the 3-D, and Keri’s, its name as it sat closed for the past year. New owners Michael and April Conroy have completely renovated the kitchen and and revivied seating area with lots of red vinyl along the counter, stools, and booths. The 1955 Kullman-brand diner, with a classic overhanging “outer space style” eave, features homestyle food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon–Sat; 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun.

Here it is on my trip last week – CLICK for a larger view.

Tags:Columbia PA, Diner, Lincoln Highway, Prospect Diner
Posted in food, highways, Road trip, roadside, travel | 2 Comments »

Rock Cafe on Route 66 destroyed by fire

May 22, 2008

It’s not often we report on Route 66 here at Lincoln Highway News, but an icon of that two-lane road has been destroyed in a fire. The Rock Cafe of Stroud, Oklahoma, was not only a popular stop along Route 66 since the 1930s, but had gained fame a couple years ago when owner Dawn Welch served inspiration for Sally the Porsche in the Disney/Pixar film Cars.

As you can see in my photo above, they celebrated the connection with little cutouts of the car characters. Read all about the fire, and plans to rebuild, on Ron Warnick’s Route 66 News. To see this image larger, CLICK on my photo below to go to my Flickr post – to see it even bigger, once there you can click “ALL SIZES” above the image.

Tags:Oklahoma, restaurant, roadside, Route 66, Stroud OK
Posted in food, highways, history, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »

Popular chicken BBQ along the Lincoln Highway

May 20, 2008

John Renock of Galion, Ohio, sent some photos about his favorite Lincoln Highway chicken barbecue stand. During the summer, it’s along the westbound lanes of US 30 west of Ligonier, Pennsylvania, very close to Idewild Park. The stand is in the lot of a closed dairy drive-in across from the Driftwood Inn (known for it’s 1950s signs).

John says it’s been a weekend adventure for a number of years to go on a Sunday drive from Ohio to travel back to his nearby hometown and to get barbecued chicken. In the photo above, that’s Mike Hocker (Executive Director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway) in the green shorts/white shirt standing in line.

The gentleman who owned the soft ice cream stand found out he could earn as much doing chicken every Sunday Memorial Day through mid-October as working a weekly schedule selling ice cream etc. So he closed the ice cream store and uses the cooler, etc. to support the barbecue built on the western edge of the parking lot. I believe he is helped by a brother and brother-in-law. Didn’t take serious notes when I interviewed him the first time. He is sort of gruff. Stands at the end of the barbecue pit and takes your order.

As the chicken halves are pulled off the grill, they are placed in large, covered roasting pans near the serving area. They steep in the steamy juices for an hour or so before they are pulled from the roaster, dropped onto precut sheets of aluminum foil, methodically wrapped and deftly dropped into a paper sack. Pop is kept cool in ice water in a 50’s vintage pop cooler. Cole slaw is available, too.

Be ready to speak up when it is your turn as the guy has a line of people to serve and gets a little grumpy if you hem and haw. Just put us in mind of the “Soup Nazi” on Seinfeld. They start the charcoal pit around 6 a.m. on Sunday and serve until all is sold. We estimated about 750 to 1,000 half chickens on a given day. (He wouldn’t say). Then you can find a spot on a nearby shade tree picnic table maintained on the proper tyand enjoy your prize. Melt in your mouth chicken! When we first went there in ’97 it was about $3 a half. Last time it was $4.25.

Tags:BBQ chicken, Idlewild park, Ligonier PA, roadside food stand, roadtrip
Posted in food, highways, Road trip, travel | 12 Comments »

Update on 2008 Lincoln Highway Buy Way sale

May 19, 2008

The Lincoln Highway Buy Way — Aug 7, 8 & 9, 2008 — is a yard sale that stretches hundreds of miles along the famous coast-to-coast road. Homeowners, businesses, and civic groups set up antiques, yard decorations, and lots of other things to buy for mile after mile. The event has grown to include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia: click here for details about some of the larger organized events in each of ths states. Here’s more info from the Ohio release:

The Lincoln Highway Historic Byway created this event four years ago (in 2005) on the outside chance that it would ‘go’ and we’ve been busy managing it ever since,” said Sara Lou Brown, Wyandot County’s Visitor Bureau director and president of the state-designated byway group. The first year saw over 250 yard sales across the Ohio portion of the Lincoln Highway, America’s first coast-to-coast paved road.

As the original road was improved from 1913 to 1928, it took several parallel alignments in a few areas, which may confuse “non-history-savvy” shoppers, but thanks to many organizations wanting to bring traffic to their door, a new traveler’s guide and map will be printed showing not only the road map of the highway, but also a listing of many yard sales and community events along the way. This free guide will be available in mid July.

Mike Hocker, executive director of the byway noted that “we think we are going to have over 700 yard sales in Ohio, parts of Indiana, and even Illinois this year…but the best news is that yard salers, of which we have virtually no control, seem to be organizing into larger and (cooler) venues for the hot August fun. This makes for safer traffic and parking, provides for restrooms and other creature comforts, and makes for longer browsing of more “stuff.” Communities are also adding festival-type activities such as concerts, car shows and rallies, food and kids’ activities…all to make the event more enjoyable for those travelling.

Yard Sale participants may also upload their yard sale information onto the byway website, (www.historicbyway.com) which shoppers can then print out and take with them to follow as they shop.

For more information and official yard sale supplies or details about listing in the travelers guide, call (419) 468-6773.

Click the image below for a print-ready flyer from Ohio:

Tags:Buy Way yard sale, Buy-Way, highway event, Illinois, Indiana, longest yard sale, Ohio, yard sale
Posted in highways, Road trip, roadside, travel | 2 Comments »

Lincoln Highway slides onto US 30 in Greensburg

May 13, 2008

Heavy rain over the weekend likely caused a portion of the original Lincoln Highway west of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to fall onto US 30, closing both eastbound lanes of the 4-lane. A water line also broke but it was not clear what happened first. Here is a view of the LH before the landslide, which occurred to the left:

More that 30 truckloads of debris fell down onto US 30, and though that road is again open, the LH (aka old Route 30 and Tollgate Hill Road) will remain closed for a few weeks. Read the full report in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by cliking the image below: