I'm extremely disappointed and saddened that I didn't make it out to explore more theaters this summer. I ended up with a fractured foot, sprained ankle, a college diploma and a big ol' spoiled summer.
I have added photos of the Cottage View Drive-In of Cottage Grove, MN. Please check them out. I hope everyone made it out this summer to make up for my absence ;].
OOPS--I deleted my past entry. It had a link to my flickr photos which feature some more recent theater photos I haven't had time or space to put up here yet. Also, check out some of the other photos I have taken. They complement the subject matter/intent of this site. Thanks!
5.31.04
3.26.04
Recently I found some amazing photos of the Hollywood Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. I could not believe them. Check them out here.
I called the Vali-Hi Drive-In today to see when they would be opening [it was in the 70's here in St. Paul today] and the message says that "drive-in season is just around the corner" and that they are accepting applications this Saturday----from everyone except me I assume. Why won't they hire me?!
Also, I was just in Wisconsin for a few days and played some pool and drank some $1 beer in an old theater in Neenah, WI. It used to be the Doty Theater and has over a long period of time been transformed into several different bars and venues--currently open for business under the name Liquid Blues. Over the pool tables and the old hot dog stand you can see the old theater detailings in the ceiling and the walls. I was able to see an old photo of it as a theater from someone who lives next door to it. I will post that soon.
11.04.03
This Halloween I saw Joe Bob Briggs introduce some flicks at the St. Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis. I was very excited, however Mr. Briggs seemed less than impressed with the event. I used to love watching his show Monstervision on TNT and often had to call up a friend during Night of the Living Dead to distract myself from what I felt the reality of zombies emerging from the cemetery just blocks away from my house. Coincidentally, the first movie he introduced in the evening was Night of the Living Dead, however I just missed his intro, but later heard him speak on such fine works as Sin of Adam and Eve and Legend of Bigfoot.
8.14.03
7.03.03
Once again, this year the drive-in was looking for help and once again I am out of work. I applied and almost grabbed an application so I could scan it for my site. Unfortunately they haven't called, but I do have a job interview tomorrow at a more traditional place.
I have added many of the drive-in locations and photos. The Silver Moon is almost all the way up and the Dale, Hilltop, Long, 65-Hi and Vali-Hi are all ready for viewing. I've also added a guestbook on the first page and ask the question what the nearest theater to you is. Fill it out!
6.26.03
6.23.2003
5.5.2003
4.20.2003
3.24.03
3.20.03
3.13.03
1.20.03
1.17.03
7.27.02
6.14.02
5.23.02
5.23.02
5.2.02
3.27.05
It's Easter. It's almost drive-in season again. I added some photos of the Douglas Drive-In Theater marquee stationed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. I also added the Fox Theatre of Rawlins, Wyo to the list.
12.07.04
I finally got some photos of the first theaters I shot up on the site. The State Theater of Benton Harbor, MI and the Douglas Drive-In of Kalamazoo, MI. Coming soon will be information on the Cedar Theatre's marquee restoration project that I have been diligently working on this past semester. The Cedar is currently home to the Cedar Cultural Center Theatre of Minneapolis.
6.22.04
So, I finally got to the drive-in this summer! I had attempted to go to the Vali-Hi earlier, but it was sold out! The line wrapped around the entrance and down the street with no chance of getting in. I decided on the Starlite of Litchfield last week as my next stop. Yes, I stopped at the Ball of Twine again along the way--it's very hard to resist, but I still have never had the chance after three visits to enter their mini musuem and gift shop. I had a digital camera and took a few photos of the drive-in...check them out.
I've added photos of the Palace Theater of Spooner, WI. I drove through on a very eventful trip to Ironwood, MI that I took right after I finished up this last semester. Enjoy!
It's been a while since the last update, but I have recently added the photos of the Strand Theater in Sturgis, Michigan. In other news, I finally saw a film at the Grandview Theater in my neighborhood here in St. Paul and might finally tonight make it to the Highland. The interior of the Grandview Theater was very nice, however it was quite moist inside. There was a small lounge area done in red and maroon that was quite comfortable and another screen added above the the main floor of the theater. I'll hopefully have interior photos soon.
I've added a page for the Hollywood Theater in N.E. Minneapolis [finally!], but still am not happy with the photos. The streetlamps and the yellowish color of the building do not complement each other on film--perhaps black and white next time. The overpriced lab I took them to [now that I do not work in one anymore!] did not do any color adjustments for the lighting and long exposure--bah!
9.9.03
I just moved to St. Paul, began my photography class and have spent a day out and about finding out what they've got to offer over here on the opposite side of the Mississippi. Recently, in the darkroom I was able to print three photos: two of the Grandview Theater on Grand Ave. and one of the Highland on, you guessed it, Highland. I also was able to sneak into the Ritz on the night of their 2003 benefit with my camera. I have not developed those yet, but I picked up a flyer for the event that I will have scanned in soon. The interior was incredibly creepy, and sadly, incredibly deteriorated. Everyone was having a great time, however. The lobby was bustling and the rows of moldy, ripped chairs were lit by a single spotlight. The screen and stage were missing and the walls had been stripped.
More to come!
I'm back and have added new Sauk Center Main Street Theater daylight photos, my photo booth exclusive from the Vali-Hi, as well as finally documenting my trips to the Starlite Drive-In of Litchfield, MN.
I can't believe it's already July! I have only been to the Vali-Hi and Starlite Drive-In so far! Last week at the Vali-Hi the photo booth was back! I will have those excellent photos up soon. Our friends went after us [me n' Will] and they received "haunted photos".
Currently nearly all of the indoor theater pages are available for viewing in the new format. The next step is adding all of the [new] drive-in photos. This has been a long process but very much worth it. I've had some time off from working and have devoted everything I've got to this site--heh. Special thanks to William Agrella who helped me throughout the design and code writing process. Also, thanks to Ian Ehrnstrom for his encouragement and competition--just kidding about that last part, Ian. Hope you enjoy!
Major design changes on the way to increase ease of navigation---plus the new stuff just looks neat! Many new photos from my roadtrip to Florida as well as those near the Twin Cities that I have not had a chance to add until recently. I have a list of others to photograph but I must prepare what I have already! Look back soon for all of this terrific stuff!
I have finally concluded the photo tour of the Vali-Hi Drive-In! I also received an email containing a photo of the Cottage View Drive-In and a reminder to visit, which I will be doing this following weekend to see X-Men 2 for the second time. More updates arriving soon, AS WELL AS A ROAD TRIP THAT IS SURE TO BRING HOME MANY STORIES AND PHOTOS OF SOUTHERN/MIDWEST THEATERS!
I have updated the Jem Theater page to include newspaper clippings they sent me last fall and to let everyone know that it is/was up for sale. I suppose I should have said something earlier--I'll make sure to look into it's current status.
I also finally captured the Vali-Hi Drive-In on film! I haven't quite added the photo pages but their is a nice start available for reading and viewing! I have a little bit of homework I should be doing instead so I will get back to adding photos asap.
Get out to the Drive-In! Look at Ian's newly updated and organized site!-- I'm jealous!
I have been very active this week [my spring break], venturing out with my camera and enjoying the weather. My interests and energies are being revitalized as the spring is approaching. Every day at work I have had a new roll of film to develop.
After getting out of work on Saturday [Ritz Camera!], just as the sun was ready to set I loaded some Fuji 200 spd. film in my camera and ran three blocks to the Ritz Theater to finally take a batch of better quality photographs. The lighting was perfect and worked well to mask what I think are not quite the right colors for the exterior of the theater [turquoise, pink and purple--with orange interior!]. I'm very excited to add them and to possibly provide an update on the renovation successes of the Red Shoes Ballet group.
I know I continue to mention the next addition to the site and then adding something completely different, but I'm feeling very random right now.
Tonight after returning from a trip to Iowa City [home of the Englert Theater, in need of just over $300,000 for total restoration fees] I finished up my Hilltop Drive-In link in anticipation for the spring and summer months. Progress was also made in the creation of my Douglas Drive-In Theater of Kalamazoo page--meaning, I have all of the pictures scanned in.
Also, I have finally made postcards of my prints that are featured on this site and am going to be shooting the local Twin Cities theaters that I have missed to include them in the set. I have already talked to the gentlemen at the historic Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, MN and they will most likely be picking some up for sale once spring gets here. I have a lot of work to do and once the weather warms up and school winds down I have no excuse.
My goodness, HTML is exhausting. Today I added the Majestic Theater from Kalamazoo, MI. This site might begin to stray away from my original plan to connect histories with my photographs as I want to cover more ground than I have physically been able to with my camera. I have information and photos that do not necessarily pertain to my old format but it is important to add them I feel. Look for The State Theater of Benton Harbor coming soon [actual photos of mine to accompany].
2.26.03
While at work at the one hour photo lab at Ritz Camera I developed a really great photograph of the Lorain Theater of Armour, South Dakota. I talked to the customers [Fogarty's] who dropped it off to the lab and they gave me permission to make a copy for myself. I didn't get much more info out of them [they were preoccupied with flipping through their wedding photos, as most customers] but upon searching the web for information I came across a very great complementary project to what I hope to accomplish called The Great Plains Little Theater Project hosted by North Dakota State University. It has a very similar goal in recognizing the significance of these theaters in the lives on the community and documenting their histories. There is even a photo of the Main Street Theater during the day.
Ian's site is temporarily under construction at a new address but he has informed me that he has covered a lot of ground in Michigan recently since he moved back. His site is now located here.
Today I have begun redesigning the pages on the site. I have altered some backgrounds and as I learn more and have more time I'll worry about the rest. The Main Street was today's accomplishment!
I have decided to add the photos of the Polk-County Drive-In Church [formerly the Haven Dale Drive-In] from Auburndale, Florida. I'm pretty dissatisfied with the image quality due to the film type and camera I was using. The film was also dropped in water so I have converted the to black and white to disguise the discoloration.
Also coming soon are photos of the marquee standing in the empty lot of the Dale Drive-In of Auburndale, FL [it's here!]. I hear that Walmart purchased the property but ran into the same asbestos problem that many others have in destroying the screens. Now the land is not being used at all.
I have also added the photo that my mom took for me of the Cass Theater in Cass City, Michigan [in the thumb area of the state near Bad Axe].
P.S. Geocities is inaduequate for operating this page! It has deleted the previous update I tried to transfer to the past updates page. So, view the Ritz Theater of N.E. Minneapolis here. I think that was the only one listed....oh and Ian's site is here.
I am on my way to designing a quality site with the help from web master W. Agrella. Just wait and see.
I have added pages for the Long Drive-In of Long Prairie, MN as well as one for the Main Street Theater that I found on the way back from the Long. Another page I forget to put up last time is for the Town Theater in Waukon, IA that I found on my journey last summer.
Not much else to tell you. Ian has added some really great theaters from the West coast recently that should be seen. Basically I am just recreating the site and holding out for summer.
I have added the rest of the 65-Hi photos. I happened to drive by last week and the sign is now gone. I'm sure the houses are being born on the ground of the drive-in by this point. Two weeks ago travelling through Litchfield, MN [after visiting Paul Bunyan Land in Brainerd,MN] I found the Starlite Drive-In. The owner boasts about having five screens but I don't know, it's a little shady. They are just small boards nailed to some poles. The bathroom was falling apart- overall it was great. It has been revived by one man who is also looking into purchasing another fine theater I found in Litchfield called The Hollywood. [Should have had my camera.]
I have some of the photos of the 65-Hi's demolition. The rest should be up by next week. I went this past Tuesday on a drive that led me to McGregor, IA where along the way I found 4 old theaters [3 transformed]: The Jem in harmony, MN (recently remodeled), The Town in Waukon, IA (now called Main Feature, featuring pizza and beer while you watch), The Strand in McGregor, IA (now a ceramics shop owned by a woman named Linda who taught me an extensive amount of the theater and town's history) and The Star in Marquette, IA (now a hardware shop owned by a very great woman named Mary Jo). Also en route to Iowa I came across quite a few great old laundromats and some great examples of 'fine art' (taxidermy!): two dead, stuffed zebras that were matched by a real one was that was found unexpectedly on a farm somewhere in southern Minnesota.
The trip was full of excitement for me every mile of the way. I might post some pictures from it because it all satisfies the same interests I have in drive-in's and "main street" theaters. All of these places are similar in the way they are overlooked, unnoticed or taken for granted by the common traveller and small town inhabitant. The trip amounted to 27 hours and I have 7 rolls of film documenting it and the pieces of America that are threatening to disappear. Click on the highlighted names for photos.
THE 65-HI WAS DESTROYED TODAY AN HOUR BEFORE I ARRIVED! Pictures coming soon!
Tuesday night I found the Valley-Hi Drive-In, eleven miles east from my apartment in the big city. The sign alone was worth seeing. The concession building had many theater artifacts preserved in glass cases, an arcade, a B&W photo booth (!), and one Janitor (yes, I spilled the popcorn minutes after it was purchased--but I was told they did have a janitor and I did not have to clean it up myself). They provide a triple feature but I left after the second. I saw the brightest shooting star that evening just above the left corner of the screen during The Panic Room.
I also stumbled upon the 65-Hi which is still standing in good condition. It is going to be gone soon. It was too dark to take photos so I will be going back possibly today to capture it. Looks like a new housing development will be erected. Concession and Ticket booths were accessible, but I found nothing inside except for the projector.
Oh, and someone tagged the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis two nights ago. I hope they can wash it off, or whatever you do to get some shitty graffiti work off of the front of your building...pff.
My newest obsession is the Drive-In Movie Theater. I have spent the past three days exploring the countryside, internet and library researching this chunk of American history. Among the rubble at the Hilltop Drive-In, I found the old theater log book dating back to 1975. The theater premiered first runs such as Switchblade Sisters and triple bills of horror featuring Night of the Living Dead. I brought it home and I will avenge the theater's death this summer, travelling miles and miles to document the AMERICAN DRIVE-IN! I take pride in this fraction of American culture that yet another Wal-Mart hopes to destroy and build itself upon.
