On June 6th, 1933, Richard Hollingshead opened and patented the first drive-in movie theatres in the United States. The idea of charging per person and per automobile 25 cents to view a movie was inspired by Hollingshead’s mother who was physically too large in size to fit into a conventional movie theatre seats comfortably. The idea of watching a movie under the stars while sitting in the comfort of one’s automobile was instantly popularized throughout the car loving country. By 1958, drive in theatres peaked at 4,063 all over America as technology advanced and in-car speakers were created. Although drive-ins have declined in popularity over time due to the increasing cost of land, and its disadvantage in restricted playing time, it connected and attracted families during a difficult time for America as it prepares to enter World War II. The drive-in also acted as a post World War mechanism for most American nuclear family. The family could spend time together for bonding without too much effort towards interaction. Another character of the drive-in that attracted an overwhelming amount of Americans was its ability to secure anonymity which gave people a sense of security. The baby boom effect after the war also increased the demand of drive-in theaters. Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Richard Hollingshead
On June 6th, 1933, Richard Hollingshead opened and patented the first drive-in movie theatres in the United States. The idea of charging per person and per automobile 25 cents to view a movie was inspired by Hollingshead’s mother who was physically too large in size to fit into a conventional movie theatre seats comfortably. The idea of watching a movie under the stars while sitting in the comfort of one’s automobile was instantly popularized throughout the car loving country. By 1958, drive in theatres peaked at 4,063 all over America as technology advanced and in-car speakers were created. Although drive-ins have declined in popularity over time due to the increasing cost of land, and its disadvantage in restricted playing time, it connected and attracted families during a difficult time for America as it prepares to enter World War II. The drive-in also acted as a post World War mechanism for most American nuclear family. The family could spend time together for bonding without too much effort towards interaction. Another character of the drive-in that attracted an overwhelming amount of Americans was its ability to secure anonymity which gave people a sense of security. The baby boom effect after the war also increased the demand of drive-in theaters. 
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This was a great post on drive-in theaters! It really helped me understand the different kinds of entertainment and distractions that people had besides sports and art during the World War II. I liked the background that you gave on the beginning of drive-in theaters, and it is an important part of American culture that happened to be popular during the World War II.
ReplyDeleteWow, great post. What I find interesting is that Richard Hollingshead was actually able to patent the drive-in concept. I also found the fact that people liked the security of drive-in theaters very indicative of the general obsession with security of that time.
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