This weekend Time magazine looked at the return of the Drive-in movie theater. A classic viewing option that's currently only available at 400 places in the U.S., and was invented by Camden, NJ resident Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. (his first theater was in Pennsauken).
While New York City doesn't have a traditional Drive-in theater, there is one option around. Last year DRV-IN opened, and this year it's moving into a permanent location (allegedly on East 4th Street). While their 1965 convertible four-door Ford Falcon makes it feel like the Old Days, the new larger space still only accommodates 15 people (6 in the car) and charges a hefty $75 ticket price for the private screenings. The new digs will include a concession stand, however, and the company is now offering a 200-person Drive-In theater called Cars Under the Stars. BizBash reported that "the company will locate a lot in a particular neighborhood and coordinate cars, screen setup, and film procurement." The price tag, again, is a little big -- "the series costs $125 per head for an event for 200 people" (kiss those future wedding plans goodbye); the company, who estimate roughly 40 cars per event, is currently seeking sponsors (paging Zipcar!).
In other urban Drive-In news, one hopeful is lobbying for ex-New Yorker John Young to bring his traveling Guerilla Drive-In to town. Young says that "movies are shown in glorious 16MM film, projected by a clattery old Eiki classroom projector, transported in my 1977 BMW sidecar rig (that's purely for panache.) Ideally, the movies are shown in appropriate locations -- Repo Man in a junkyard, Caddyshack at... well, you get the idea. In order to get notifications with the title and location, you'll need to be on the members' list."
