Virginia Drive-ins

posted by Michael Zoldessy on December 20, 2006 at 7:44 am

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — This piece delves into the history of drive-ins in Fredericksburg while also looking at the theater history as a whole.

It was April 23, 1951, when the first drive-in picture show debuted in Fredericksburg.

The feature attraction was director John Ford’s majestic big-budget Western “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” starring John Wayne, with Joanne Dru and John Agar. The Free Lance-Star advertised “Pitts Drive-in Theatre—a Carfull for a Dollar-Plus Tax—Shine or Shower—Route 1—Four Mile Fork.” There were two shows nightly at 7:15 and 9:15. The flick was billed as “Drama that’s Raw Violent Real.”

The last remnants of the Fredericksburg Drive-in, which closed in 1990, were bulldozed away this summer to make way for offices and retail use.

To read more, go to the Free-Lance Star