Two days, twenty three drive-in theaters, one speeding ticket, and one Air Force One. Ride along
as the Michigandriveins.com & Waterwinterwonderland.com Road Crew takes a February 2006 drive-in
road trip to Ohio. The primary target was the soon-to-be demolished Oakley Drive-In in Cincinnati.
We found the Oakley still standing, minus it's snack bar, destined to be yet another National
Amusements fatality. On the upside, we also found an amazing number of very nice open Ohio
ozoners that appeared to be thriving, and of course, some interesting graveyards.
Drive-In #1: Ramp jumping in a drive-in graveyard
The first stop as we headed to Ohio was the site of the Starlite Drive-In in Addison, Michigan.
Not much left here, what looked to possibly be the screen tower foundation at the back of the lot.
This drive-in is somewhat of a mystery, the field layout is still unknown. The ramps were no mystery, they
kept the Jeep hopping. The next stop promises to be much more interesting....
Boxoffice Remains?
Screen Remains?
Screen Remains?
Drive-In #2: Praise the Lord!
Next up was one more Michigan Drive-In before we crossed the state line. It's the Michigan Drive-In, otherwise known as the
Devils Lake Drive-In. This tiny ozoner, with its unique enclosed screen tower/home, shows religious films. There's no
snack bar to speak of, so bring your own chow. There is a stage (altar?) and a glassed in area next to the screen. A very
unique drive-in indeed. Peace be with you and on to Ohio....
Boxoffice
Screen & Projection
Screen & Projection
Welcome To My House!
Screen & Stage
Screen & Stage
Screen Tower
Projection Booth
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Projection Booth
Projection Booth
Drive-In #3: A Dark Star
The first Ohio target was the Star Drive-In,
just over the state line in Wauseon. Only the screen tower remains and it
looks to be in perfect condition. The Star closed in 1999 and is situated right in town,
light pollution had to have been an issue here. Why the snack bar was demo'd and the screen wasn't is a mystery.
The site is for sale, it would be great to see someone revive this old ozoner.
For Sale Sign
Screen & Entrance
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Drive-In #4: Northern Ohio Survivor
Next up was the classic Van-Del Drive-In, near Middlepoint, Ohio.
The 400-car Van-Del is so named becuse it is midway between Van Wert and Delphos, Ohio. A very nice enclosed screen tower and
a colorful marquee greeted us as we arrived, the drive-in was closed for the
winter of course, as were all of our targets. The Van-Del is a nice country drive-in, and is very well maintained.
The owner also owns an indoor down the road in Van Wert, and the demolished Ridgeway Drive-In, which is our next stop.
Marquee
Inside The Lot
Snack Bar
Screen
Inside Concession
Projection
Screen
Snack Bar
Inside Concession
Drive-In Field
Drive-In Field
Drive-In Field
Box Office
Entrance Gate
Marquee & Screen
Marquee & Screen
Detour #1: Vintage Neon Signage
We couldn't resist snapping a shot of this old drive-in restuarant with it's BK Root Beer neon sign, it was found in Van Wert
as we headed for the Ridgeway Drive-In site. We were to find even more cool vintage neon signage as the trip progressed.
Drive-In #5: Twister - 1, Drive-In - 0
Another lost classic ozoner, the Ridgeway Drive-In just
west of Van Wert.
Unfortunately it was destroyed by a F4 tornado in November, 2002.
Other than the ticket booth, the drive-in was totally wiped out. The adjacent 5-screen Van Wert Cinemas
indoor theater was also heavily damaged in the storm, but has since been rebuilt.
There's pre-twister photos of the Ridgeway at Cinematour.com,
and photos of the indoor at vwindependent.com.
Drive-In Field
Screen Mount
Box Office
Indoor Theater
Drive-In #6:
Heading south on 127 to Celina, we found the first of several
Chakeres Theatres ozoners, this one being the
single screen, 475-car Lake Drive-In. The vintage marquee
is one of my favs, very eye-catching. The entire drive-in looked to be very well taken care of, as are all Chakeres
drive-in's it seems. This one is high on our list for a return summertime visit.
Update 10/11/08: The Lake marquee is
history.
Marquee
Screen Tower
Box Office
Inside The Lot
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Screen Tower
Screen Tower
Marquee
Road Shot
.
Marquee & Screen
Nice Marquee!
.
Drive-In #7: Starlite Drive-In
We continued south on 127 and found the little 300-car
Starlite Drive-In near Maria Stein, Ohio.
The Starlite didn't
look like it was open anymore, theres' cars parked all over the place and it looked kinda run-down.
So, it was a quick photo stop, and we're off to find more interesting material.
Marquee
Screen
Snack Bar
Screen
Screen
Marquee
Detour #2: More Vintage Neon Signage
All of the drive-in's we planned to see were mapped out ahead of time, using
Drive-Ins.com,
Forgottenoh.com,
Terra Server,
and Curt Daltons Greater Dayton Drive-In Theatres book
for reference.
One unplanned stop found on Forgottenoh.com was
the Speedway Auto Theater.
A race track and a drive-in together maybe? We HAD to find this one.
A quick call home to one of our trusty junior crew members got us the exact location from Terra Server.
Even though there was little info, and no photos on Drive-Ins.com, we hoped to find some remnants.
So, off to Greenville we went. As we headed thru town, we spotted this very cool old motel sign.
Drive-In #8: Speedway Auto Graveyard
The Speedway Auto Theater was easy enough to find,
the smashed marquee on Eidson Rd. (NOT Hwy 49) stood out like a sore thumb. Many speaker poles remain as does the typically
vandalized snack bar. The screen was long gone of course, and the lot was so heavily overgrown, the snack bar was not visible
from the entrance. We were not able to find access to the old race track behind the theater, but from the Terra Server
image, there doesn't appear to be much left to see. You're seeing exclusive Speedway Auto photos, no other site
has!
Marquee
Speaker Pole
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Inside Snack Bar
Inside Snack Bar
Painted On Layout
Projectors
Projectors
Projectors
Projectors
Projectors
Projectors
Projectors
Projectors
Speaker Housing
Speaker Housings
Projector
Projector
Projector
Electrical Panel
Gary Gets The Essence
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
1946 Theatre Catalog
Terra Image
Topo Image
Drive-In #9: Melody Drive-In
Down Hwy 49 we went, headed for
another Chakeres Theatres drive-in. This was
the fantastic Melody 49 Twin, definately one of the
highlights of the trip. The Melody 49 opened in the 60's and has a huge sloped, paved field. Apparently the huge main
screen was recently replaced, and the second screen was salvaged from the nearby
Southland 75 Drive-In, according to
Curt Daltons Greater Dayton Drive-In Theatres book. The marquee appears to be the
original which has been
strangely modified. Update 10/11/08: The Melody marquee has been replaced with a generic sign.
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Marquee
Drive-In Field
Drive-In Field
Drive-In Field
Entrance Sign
Entrance Road
Screen Two
Box Offices
Drive-In Field
Drive-In Field
Box Offices
Box Offices
Drive-In Field
Drive-In Field
Screen One
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Screen One
Screen One Supports
From Screen One
From Screen One
From Screen One
Screen One
Screen One Supports
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
Drive-In Field
Screen One
Screen Two
Rear Proj Port
Screen One
Drive-In Field
Screen Two
Screen One
Drive-In #10: Dixie Drive-In
We were running out of daylight, so only a couple of more stops to go on Day One.
The Dixie Twin was visited on a previous road trip in
August 2002,
but the cool 900-car twin theater warranted a return visit for more photos.
Sadly, the incredible vintage marquee looks to be falling apart, hopefully they will properly repair it soon.
Lock the doors, we're off to the Sherwood Twin.
Front Screen
Box Offices
Front Screen
Drive-In Field
Front Screen
Drive-In Field
Snack Bar
Snack Bar
.
Rear Screen
Snack Bar
.
Drive-In #11: Deep In The 'Hood
The last stop of the day was a quick one at this Dayton ghetto graveyard, the
Sherwood Twin. These ruins were also visited
in 2002, and we didn't stick around long then either.
The front screen was moved to the Dixie in early '02, and the ticket box offices have been demo'd since our last visit.
We assumed this was the marquee, it looks drive-in-ish.
The front snack bar remains, but we didn't explore it. The draw for us was the barely visible rear screen, and
possibly a rear snack bar. Considering the odds of encountering a crackhead back there, common sense,
and the lack of a firearm, we didn't explore it either. Maybe next time! More Sherwood photos are
on Cinematour.com. No photos of the
rear screen could be found online, so here's another Michigandriveins.com exclusive!
Snack Bar & Field
Snack Bar
Fence Ruins
Exit Gate
Rear Screen
2000 Aerial
End of Day 1
We quickly skated out of the ghetto and headed south for Cincinnati. A quick after-dark stop at
Oakley Drive-In verified it
was still standing, we'd be back in the morning. On to
Ohio Drive-In Road Trip Day 2
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