STARLIGHT DRIVE IN UPGRADE

More importantly, it was a huge crutch for Vegas when the lights dimmed. West Wind makes a point to keep a retro image, felt immediately with the tall arches that welcome cars near the front entrance. But the theater, around since the ‘60s, flies that flag well. West Wind has been carrying the flag as the entertainment-obsessed Vegas’ sole traditional drive-in for a while. The pit of this big Monetta Drive-In peach is a projector | Monetta Drive-In Now, more than ever, is the time to support them and keep them alive. And then, when this blows over, keep hitting them. These are our favorites from around the US. And while pop-ups are fun, there’s nothing quite like hitting a time-tested drive-in. For those of us who would prefer to witness the triumphant return of Bill & Ted on a big screen without risking transmission, they’re essential. And old-school drive-ins - the ones that remain, anyway - once again became legit destinations.Įven with indoor theaters open in many states, drive-ins persist. The Empire Strikes Back, Jurassic Park, and The Goonies were suddenly at the top of the (admittedly small) box office. Pop-up screens went up in parking lots, offering up an alternative to VOD and a chance to get the hell outside. This summer, the movie-loving public turned back to the drive-in. This piece of the American experience seemed destined to be lost - until COVID happened.

STARLIGHT DRIVE IN UPGRADE

And studios switched to digital, forcing drive-ins to make a costly upgrade or relegate themselves to being a relic of the past. Indoor multiplexes became audience magnets. For generations, they were ground zero for late-night double features, hickeys, and kids hiding in trunks to avoid paying admission. Drive-ins started popping up in every state, with around 4,000 in operation during the halcyon days of the '50s and '60s. 'It sound morbid but they're tombstones, and they tell tales of the city, and they show the history and made the city what it is today.When the first American drive-in theater opened in New Jersey in 1933, it completely transformed the moviegoing experience. 'It's important to keep landmark iconic places like this,' he said. Mr Bulum said he was thrilled to see the sign restored. 'It's the only original drive-in sign that is in the original place that those drive-in signs were.' 'We were approached by the Friends of the Starlight Group, and of course the Heritage Council actually nominated the sign in 2012, fortuitously, because shortly after they nominated, it actually fell over in a windstorm,' Planning Minister Mick Gentleman said.

The Government stepped in to ensure the sign, which is now the only drive-in sign still standing in Australia, was restored. 'So when something like this falls over I think it's a responsibility for us to fix it and pay respect to it and get it back to where it belongs.' 'A lot of people say that Canberra doesn't have a soul, and it's in these little - or big - monuments, things from a bygone era, that hold fragments of Canberra's soul,' Ms Hazilias said. It sounds morbid but they're tombstones, and they tell tales of the city, and they show the history and made the city what it is today. Together they launched an online petition to have the sign restored. With the sign gone, Canberran Irene Hazilias, along with friends Laurie McDonald and Jay Bergman, created Friends of the Starlight, to push for the sign's return.

'Video killed the drive-in.' Online push to restore Starlight sign 'Being an independent drive-in theatre, we always got dibs on the new popular movies last,' Mr Bulum said. It operated until 1993, when business dried up, but the theatre's iconic sign remained standing for another 19 years, until a storm tore it down in 2012. 'You'd get people getting inventive with their seating, bringing couches, turning utes backwards with their mattresses, picnics, all sorts of crazy stuff.' 'It was a family run business so I was serving popcorn, doing the tickets at the front from the age of 12, which was exciting for me. 'My family purchased it in '86, and we ran it until the end,' he said. The sign brings back fond memories for Nik Bulum, whose family took over the Starlight Theatre in when he was 12. While those days are now long gone, a small piece of the era's history has been restored, with the Starlight's iconic sign re-erected. For thousands of people growing up in the capital, the Starlight drive-in was a fixture of Canberra life.Īlso known as the Starlight Theatre, it opened at Watson on the Federal Highway in 1957 as Canberra's first drive-in, during the medium's halcyon days.

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