Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre
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| Location | Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°38′42.11″N 75°35′40.32″W / 40.6450306°N 75.5945333°W |
| Capacity | 300 cars |
| Opened | April 15, 1934 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre is a single-screen drive-in movie theater located off of Route 309 in Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the oldest operational drive-in theater in the world[1][2] The four acre theater generally operates during weekends in the colder months, while playing films seven days per week during the summer season.[3][4] Admission gives patrons access to both nightly movie showings.
History
[edit]Shankweiler's was opened by Wilson Shankweiler on April 15, 1934, making it the first drive-in theater to open in the state of Pennsylvania and the second drive-in theater to open in the entire United States.[1][5] While passing through Camden, New Jersey, Shankweiler had learned about the first-ever American drive-in theater, opened less than a year before by Richard Hollingshead.[6] He decided to bring the business to Pennsylvania with the goal or attracting visitors to his other businesses.[7] Originally located behind his restaurant and inn, the original drive-in was called Shankweiler's Auto Park and described as a "bedsheet hung between two poles."[8][9] Audio was broadcast to the audience through two large speakers.[7] According to future owner Paul Geissinger, the lot had previously been a landing strip behind the hotel for pilots to fly in to visit.[10]
In 1939, a new model RCA Victor projector was introduced.[11] In 1948, Shankweiler's installed speaker poles and car speakers.[1] Hurricane Diane in 1955 caused severe damage to the screen and projection booth at Shankweiler's, prompting the construction of a new snack bar/projection booth and installation of a new CinemaScope movie screen.[12]
The Shankeiler family continued to run the businesses, selling the restaurant in the mid-1950s. Shankweiler died in 1963 and the drive-in was sold in 1965 to Robert Malkames who had been leasing it for several years prior.[13][14][7] Under Malkames' ownership, the theater in 1982 adopted micro-vicinity AM radio broadcasting to deliver movie soundtracks to patrons, though the car speakers remained in place.[12][1]
Malkames sold Shankweiler's to Paul and Susan Geissinger in 1984.[14] Paul Geissinger had worked at Shankweiler's since 1971.[10] In 1986, Shankweiler's was an early adopter of delivering movie sound via FM broadcast stereo; although their website describes them as "the 1st Drive-in to feature audio in FM broadcast Stereo," the Dromana 3 Drive-In in Melbourne, Australia had introduced FM stereo two years earlier in 1984.[12][15] Later, Shankweiler's sound system was upgraded in 2002, and featured fully digital video projection and sound equipment in 2013.[12][14] The 2013 conversion to digital cost $120,000 and was necessary to continue showing new releases, which would no longer be distributed in 35 mm.[16]
In 2005 and again in 2010, Shankweiler's was used as a filming location for the movies Rounding First and Bereavement.[17][18] In 2015, the Geissingers listed Shankweiler's Drive-In for sale, and then re-listed it for sale in 2018, with an asking price of $1.2 million.[14]
In November 2022, the theater was sold to Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney, of The Moving Picture Cinema, a mobile movie theater based out of Allentown, Pennsylvania.[19][20] The theater resumed operations and is now open year-round.[21] In April, 2024 the drive-in celebrated its 90th anniversary.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Potter, Christy (2015-06-06). "Lehigh Valley's historic drive-ins and movie theaters". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ "Oldest drive-in cinema". Guinness World Records. 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ "Moviegoers Finding Nostalgia at Drive-ins". The Morning Call. 1992-08-23. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ "Events". Shankweiler's Drive-In. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ Segrave, Kerry (2006-04-21). Drive-in Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933. McFarland. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-7864-2630-0.
- ^ "The History of Drive-In Movie Theaters (and Where They Are Now)". New York Film Academy. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ a b c Cathers, John T. (1962-07-03). "Shankweiler's Drivein Theater is Marking 30th Anniversary". The Morning Call. p. 58. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ "Social Events". The Morning Call. 1936-08-09. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ a b Althouse, Michaela (2024-04-02). "America's oldest drive-in movie theater to celebrate its 90th anniversary". PhillyVoice. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ a b Varghese, Romy (2007-03-04). "A true Hollywood story". The Morning Call. p. 102. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ "Auto Park Theatre at Shankweiler Hotel to Open Tonight". The Morning Call. 1939-04-02. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ a b c d "Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre > History". www.shankweilers.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ "Shankweiler's the Memories Live On". The Morning Call. 1994-03-10. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ a b c d Wagaman, Andrew (2018-01-18). "Shankweiler's Drive-in, oldest drive-in theater in the country, is for sale". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ Cardilini, Les (1984-01-05). "Enjoy the drive-in with true stereo". The Age. p. 30. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ Kneller, Ryan (2013-04-28). "Drive-ins get digital makeover". The Morning Call. pp. A33. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ Longsdorf, Amy (2006-09-28). "Valley scenes are stars of coming-of-age drama "Rounding First'". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ Longsdorf, Amy (2011-02-26). "Lehigh Valley gives the creeps to horror film". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ WFMZ-TV (2022-11-05). "Shankweiler's Drive-In sold to new owners". WFMZ.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ "The Moving Picture Cinema". The Moving Picture Cinema. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ Itzcovitz, Rose (2022-11-11). "Opening night at Shankweiler's Drive-in makes a splash as folks watch movies under the stars, raindrops". WFMZ.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.