P a ge 41 t o pside V olume 120 , I s s u e 2
Drive-In Movie Theaters
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Drive-In Movie Theaters
It ' s the 90th birthday of the drive-in theater — a classic form of American entertainment born in Pennsauken , NJ , and District Fifth Northern is home to 30 nostalgic and cultural iconic drive-in movie theaters still in operation . On June 6 , 1933 , the first drive-in movie theatre was opened by Richard Hollingshead Jr . in Pennsauken , New Jersey . The admission cost was 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person . The success of Hollingshead ’ s drive-in caused more and more drive-ins to appear in every state in the country and spread internationally as well . Drive-ins gained immense popularity during the 1950s and ‘ 60s with the Baby Boomer generation . There were over 4,000 drive-ins throughout the U . S .
New Jersey ' s only drive-in movie theatre , located in Vineland , is the Delsea Drive-In that was built in 1949 , closed in 1987 , and reopened in 2004 .
During the 1950 ' s , Delaware had as many as 9 drive-ins in operation in this tiny state . That may not sound like a lot , but considering Delaware only has three counties , that was 3 drive-ins per county ! However , they have all gone dark now . The last of Delaware ' s drive-in theaters was closed in 2008 .
Pennsylvania has 29 remaining Drive-in Movie Theaters making it the state with the second most operating driveins ( second only to New York which has 30 drive-in theaters ). Pennsylvania was an early riser among the drive-in movie theater states . It was host to America ' s second drive-in , Shankweiler ' s Drive-in ( opened in April of 1934 ) which is still open today which gives Pennsylvania the added distinction of being home to the oldest operating drive-in in the United States .