The drive-in is now called the Hummel Drive-In (Facebook page title) or Hummel’s Drive-In (sign on the concession stand, posted as its Facebookavatar) or Hummels Drive In (title of its web site home page). As of July 2017, it’s only using one screen.
The Air Line Auto (exec: Arthur Kemp, cap. 300) showed up in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog. The next year, the Catalog listed Kemp as exec of the Winchester Auto Theatre (cap. 400) and Louis Werzel in charge of the Air Line Dr. Wonder what that was about? I don’t have any other mentions of the Winchester, so I’d guess Catalog confusion or ownership transition.
In the 1952 edition, the exec was Mike Make, the capacity 400. By the 1955-56 edition, it was the Airline Auto.
The 1959-88 IMPAs had Make at the Airline Auto (or just Airline), cap. 500.
It’s Hummel Drive-in. Thanks for asking. As far as we are aware of, it’s the only Hummel Drive-in that is remotely close to this name or spelling, so hopefully the spelling with a “s” or no “s”, won’t confuse people to much! Thanks for reaching out to us and please spread the word.
The Theatre Catalogs assigned the drive-in to Delphos. George Christopher, Christoper Bros. were listed as the owner of the Starlite (capacity 350) in the 1948-49 edition. The 1949-50 edition had changed it to Staup Auto Theatre, capacity 300. By the 1952 edition, it was the Van Del, capacity 500.
Capacity numbers in the IMPAs jumped around from 350 to 536. The Van Del was listed in Delphos through 1984, then moved to Van Wert.
My Theatre Catalogs through 1955 list only the Sidney Drive-In for Sidney. The 1959 IMPA lists both the Sidney and the Auto Vue. By the 1963 edition, there was just the Auto Vue.
Now combine that with this from its Kickstarter: “Built in 1956 by the Nagelspach brothers, the Auto Vue was purchased by its present owner, the Rees family, in 1987.”
The Sidney was built in 1950, but it’s long gone. The Auto Vue was built in 1956, until I hear different.
And I’m a little confused about the exact name these days. The Facebook page is titled Sidney Auto-vue, but its posts (including one from yesterday) call it Auto Vue. The title at the top of its home page is Auto Vue. The owner’s 2014 Kickstarter repeatedly calls it the Auto Vue. So the way I see it, the Facebook page title is the outlier and the correct name should be Auto Vue. Phew!
After a while, I found an East Niagara Post article from May (!) 2015 that reported that Transit owner Rick Cohen made it over 250 miles to Ridgeland SC before a sprained ankle make him quit. Meanwhile, the Auto-vue took out a loan for the digital projector it needed, but with $8000 raised from the fundraising walk to lower its cost. “I give them a lot of credit for having the courage to move forward,” Cohen said.
In February 2015, after a drive-in association meeting in Florida, the owner of the Transit in Lockport NY started walking from Kissimmee toward New Jersey, birthplace of drive-in theaters, to raise money and awareness for the Auto-vue. Several outlets picked up the story, and radio station WKSU wrote, “The Auto-Vue is owned by Teresa Covington’s parents, and she runs the theater. … Covington’s parents turn 81 this year, and she has been working alongside them since they bought the drive-in in 1986. She got in touch with Cohen for brainstorming ideas.”
The 1969 IMPA already showed a capacity of 430, so I’m guessing that either the parking expansion came before the new screen, or they both happened a little earlier than estimated.
The 1000 Car, single screen Drive-In opens on August 21st, 1964 by owner-operators John and Mary Magocs.
A contest was held at the Drive-In shortly after it opens to decide on a name… the winner received a brand new sewing machine. The winning name was The Capri. That name was submitted by… Mary Magocs (and yes, she kept the sewing machine :–)
Admission in 1964 was $1.00 and a cheeseburger was 45¢. The snack bar at the time was leased to Auto City Candy Company of Detroit. Operating a Drive-In for the Magocs was a family affair. John and Mary, John Jr. and Tom, spent many a night making sure the show went off each night.
In 1977, the operation of the Capri Drive-In was leased to William Clarke of Coldwater while the Magocs resided in Florida. In 1980, Tom and John Jr. resumed operation of the theatre. Tom and John Jr. were 5 and 9 years old when John and Mary opened the theatre. After 16 years of learning the ropes, the boys took over. One of their first decisions was to install AM radio transmission of the movie sound. This was cutting edge technology at the time in the Drive-In industry. All but 5 rows of speakers were removed.
In 1982, Susan Magocs (Tom’s beautiful wife) assumed operation of the Snack Bar. Between 1964 and 1981 the snack bar had been run separately. For those of you who remember back 20 years, this was a major UPGRADE for the concession stand. The Capri Drive-In’s concession now consistently rates as one of the best Drive-In concessions in operation.
In 1986, the Capri became a twin. Screen Two was added on the back side of theatre. Screen One’s car capacity was decreased to 550 cars, with Screen Two parking 300 more. It was at this time that 5 remaining rows of speakers were also removed. In 1996, sadly, the original “showman”, John Magocs Sr. passed away in his Naples, Florida home.
Concession 1997 through 2000 saw The Capri Drive-In continually increase their technology and film exhibition capabilities. FM radio transmission of the sound, following by FM Stereo brought indoor theater sound quality to the Outdoor show. The Addition of a Red Dye Cye Analog filter (which was replacing Silver Nitrate on new films) allowed the Capri able to show current first run films.
Great article on builder / owners Rod and Donna Saunders in the June 25, 2017 Toledo Blade.
Lots of details and a few photos of the Saunders family. My favorite is the description of how remote the Field of Dreams is. “Part of the fun is trying to find the site in the first place. Tucked away on quiet, two-lane Township Road 6, … (which) feels more like a wide, one-lane road. … (W)hen corn’s about ready to be harvested — it’s easy to drive by the site without knowing it.”
WLUC, Upper Michigan’s News Leader, ran a story about the Manistique in September 2016. The report is now on YouTube.
David Vaughn told WLUC, “I was the second owner of the drive-in theater. It was built in 1953. Then I bought it in 1972 and ran it to 1995.” The report agrees that it had closed in 2001.
Hey, this drive-in wasn’t “closed in 2014” and should be marked as open now. (Seasonal, of course.) It’s showing the latest Spider-Man installment tonight. Check its Facebook page.
The reference books (yes, I know they’re not perfect) suggest a short initial run followed by a revival, possibly by a child of Pat.
Pat’s Auto Vue wasn’t in the 1952 Theater Catalog, but was there in the 1955-56 edition. It was in the 1963 IMPA (Pat H. Metzger), but there was nothing for Smelterville in 1969-76.
The “Valley Ctr. Flick D/I” (G. Metzger) was listed in Smelterville in the IPMA lists from at least 1982 to the last one in 1988.
That’s got to be “the old Smelterville drive-in” that the Smelterville Lions Club operates one night a year (for two years now) as part of Frontier Days. The photo in the Shosone News-Press matches Google’s aerial photo down to the small tree in front of the right side of the screen.
According to the News-Press article, “The Lions drew an enormous crowd from all around the region last year when they held a showing of ‘The Goonies.’ A line of cars reportedly stretched all the way from the old drive-in to the Interstate-90 on-ramps.”
The 2017 one-nighter will be Sept. 9, when they’ll show Stand By Me.
At WaterWinterWonderland, there’s a 2003 comment by “Cinema Treasures” (hmm), saying, “The second 38 x 76 screen was assembled in 1986 using parts from a dismanted (sic) drive in screen tower, which originally measured 60 x 120, fabricated by Selby Industries. The original wood screen tower was destroyed in a 1997 arson fire and was replaced that year with the remaining parts from the aforementioned screen tower. As a result of the fire, a planned third screen will not be built.”
Robert, that’s an old caption. I count fewer than 330 active US drive-ins as of July 2017.
Nice ad video, steelbeard1! As great as that sign looks, it’s ever better with the arrow in motion.
TenPoundHammer, the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog already listed two Flint drive-ins. The Corunna West Side had an address of M-21, and the Dort East Side was on Dort Highway. Each had a capacity of 775 and was run by W. M. Rice.
Those two were joined by the U. S. 23 in the 1952 Catalog. For Exec, it listed (deep breath): L. Stallard, L. Warrington, Wallace O. James, Mgr., and William Clark. Capacity 1200. (The Corunna’s capacity grew to 900, the Dort’s to 1010.)
R. O. Fredley was the US 23’s Exec in the 1955-56 Catalog. Its capacity was down to 1130, while the Dort had mushroomed to 1406.
There were four Flint drive-ins listed in the 1959 IMPA – Eastside (Dort?), Westside (Corunna?), Northland, and US 23. With a few name changes that foursome continued through the 1976 edition.
By the 1982 IMPA, those four were joined by the Miracle Red & Blue. All five survived through the last IMPA drive-in list in 1988.
After more than a decade of inactivity, the drive-in (now referred to as the Manistique) was open twice in 2016 for charity events. The Escanaba Daily Press reports they’re at it again.
“The Schoolcraft Tourism and Commerce will be showing Jurassic Park and Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet on Saturday, July 15, at the Manistique Drive-Inn theater.” Free admission, and concession sales benefit St. Francis de Sales School in Manistique.
The 1982 IMPA shows the Traverse still there in Traverse City, run by H.J. Ringold, capacity 500. It was gone by the 1984 IMPA, replaced by the twin-screen Sundowner.
Aha! An ancient video (WMV format, probably shot in 1996) on the Hi Way history page interviews Stanley Fetting, who bought it in 1968 or ‘69. Fetting says Clements was a lumber dealer in Deckerville. That would be why he claimed that town as the Hi Way’s location.
Similarly, the video mentions Sandusky as the Hi Way’s town. Perhaps its home address changed when Fetting took over. Both owners also owned the Sanilac indoor theater in Sandusky.
Fetting notes there are 180 posts for 360 cars. That’s would be a pretty solid capacity number, although the Hi Way also had FM sound.
Also, the screen blew down in April 1996. (Aftermath and rebuilding photos in the WMV video.) It reopened that July 12, showing Twister.
Gotta wonder what went into some of these old references. The Theatre Catalogs placed the Hi Way in Deckerville (7 miles north) rather than the much larger Sandusky (5.5 miles west) or Carsonville (2.5 miles east). It was owned by C. H. Clements; Benjamin’s superb video calls him “Torchy”.
The 1959-63 IMPAs also chose Deckerville. By the 1969 IMPA, they had moved the Hi Way to Sandusky, where it stayed for the remainder of the IMPA lists.
In both publications, capacity was always listed as 400. Just sayin'.
Wikipedia and some sources claim that the Cherry Bowl opened as the Honor, but I think I’ve proved the opposite. I’ve uploaded the grand opening story (buried on page 5) and the much larger grand opening ad from the July 3, 1953, Traverse City Record-Eagle. As you can see, it was the Cherry Bowl from its birthday on the Fourth of July.
If it was ever just the Honor Drive-In, it wasn’t for long. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog already showed it as the “Cherrybowl”, run by L. O. Griffith.
From Wikipedia: The Cherry Bowl opened on April 3rd, 1953. Longtime owner Jean Griffin ran the business after her husband’s death in 1959, and was known for working in high heels. Laura and Harry Clark purchased the property from Jean in 1996. Harry Clark died in 2012, and Laura continues to operate the theatre and diner.
The Cherry Bowl offers mini-golf and double feature films rated PG-13 or below. Harry Clark installed sculptures next to the theater’s vintage speakers and 14-foot neon hot dog. One sculpture is a pink and blue Volkswagen with a clown head on it, another is a pink cow with cherries for spots, and there is classic Chevy positioned to look like it is coming through a fence.
The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists A. W. Ochs, Muskegon Drive-In Theater Co., capacity 400. The next edition dropped the company. In the 1952 edition, Ochs is joined by General Th. Serv. Then Ochs was out by the 1955 edition, replaced by Allen Shaw, Lombardo Bros.
The IMPAs also list a capacity of 400 through at least 1976. The Auto was still listed in the 1982 IMPA (owner: Loeks, capacity: 700) but was gone by the 1984 edition.
The drive-in is now called the Hummel Drive-In (Facebook page title)
or Hummel’s Drive-In (sign on the concession stand, posted as its Facebookavatar) or Hummels Drive In (title of its web site home page). As of July 2017, it’s only using one screen.The Air Line Auto (exec: Arthur Kemp, cap. 300) showed up in the 1948-49 Theatre Catalog. The next year, the Catalog listed Kemp as exec of the Winchester Auto Theatre (cap. 400) and Louis Werzel in charge of the Air Line Dr. Wonder what that was about? I don’t have any other mentions of the Winchester, so I’d guess Catalog confusion or ownership transition.
In the 1952 edition, the exec was Mike Make, the capacity 400. By the 1955-56 edition, it was the Airline Auto.
The 1959-88 IMPAs had Make at the Airline Auto (or just Airline), cap. 500.
From the horse’s mouth on Facebook:
It’s Hummel Drive-in. Thanks for asking. As far as we are aware of, it’s the only Hummel Drive-in that is remotely close to this name or spelling, so hopefully the spelling with a “s” or no “s”, won’t confuse people to much! Thanks for reaching out to us and please spread the word.
The Theatre Catalogs assigned the drive-in to Delphos. George Christopher, Christoper Bros. were listed as the owner of the Starlite (capacity 350) in the 1948-49 edition. The 1949-50 edition had changed it to Staup Auto Theatre, capacity 300. By the 1952 edition, it was the Van Del, capacity 500.
Capacity numbers in the IMPAs jumped around from 350 to 536. The Van Del was listed in Delphos through 1984, then moved to Van Wert.
My Theatre Catalogs through 1955 list only the Sidney Drive-In for Sidney. The 1959 IMPA lists both the Sidney and the Auto Vue. By the 1963 edition, there was just the Auto Vue.
Now combine that with this from its Kickstarter: “Built in 1956 by the Nagelspach brothers, the Auto Vue was purchased by its present owner, the Rees family, in 1987.”
The Sidney was built in 1950, but it’s long gone. The Auto Vue was built in 1956, until I hear different.
And I’m a little confused about the exact name these days. The Facebook page is titled Sidney Auto-vue, but its posts (including one from yesterday) call it Auto Vue. The title at the top of its home page is Auto Vue. The owner’s 2014 Kickstarter repeatedly calls it the Auto Vue. So the way I see it, the Facebook page title is the outlier and the correct name should be Auto Vue. Phew!
After a while, I found an East Niagara Post article from May (!) 2015 that reported that Transit owner Rick Cohen made it over 250 miles to Ridgeland SC before a sprained ankle make him quit. Meanwhile, the Auto-vue took out a loan for the digital projector it needed, but with $8000 raised from the fundraising walk to lower its cost. “I give them a lot of credit for having the courage to move forward,” Cohen said.
In February 2015, after a drive-in association meeting in Florida, the owner of the Transit in Lockport NY started walking from Kissimmee toward New Jersey, birthplace of drive-in theaters, to raise money and awareness for the Auto-vue. Several outlets picked up the story, and radio station WKSU wrote, “The Auto-Vue is owned by Teresa Covington’s parents, and she runs the theater. … Covington’s parents turn 81 this year, and she has been working alongside them since they bought the drive-in in 1986. She got in touch with Cohen for brainstorming ideas.”
The 1969 IMPA already showed a capacity of 430, so I’m guessing that either the parking expansion came before the new screen, or they both happened a little earlier than estimated.
Operation / ownership highlights from The Capri Story page on its web site:
The 1000 Car, single screen Drive-In opens on August 21st, 1964 by owner-operators John and Mary Magocs.
A contest was held at the Drive-In shortly after it opens to decide on a name… the winner received a brand new sewing machine. The winning name was The Capri. That name was submitted by… Mary Magocs (and yes, she kept the sewing machine :–)
Admission in 1964 was $1.00 and a cheeseburger was 45¢. The snack bar at the time was leased to Auto City Candy Company of Detroit. Operating a Drive-In for the Magocs was a family affair. John and Mary, John Jr. and Tom, spent many a night making sure the show went off each night.
In 1977, the operation of the Capri Drive-In was leased to William Clarke of Coldwater while the Magocs resided in Florida. In 1980, Tom and John Jr. resumed operation of the theatre. Tom and John Jr. were 5 and 9 years old when John and Mary opened the theatre. After 16 years of learning the ropes, the boys took over. One of their first decisions was to install AM radio transmission of the movie sound. This was cutting edge technology at the time in the Drive-In industry. All but 5 rows of speakers were removed.
In 1982, Susan Magocs (Tom’s beautiful wife) assumed operation of the Snack Bar. Between 1964 and 1981 the snack bar had been run separately. For those of you who remember back 20 years, this was a major UPGRADE for the concession stand. The Capri Drive-In’s concession now consistently rates as one of the best Drive-In concessions in operation.
In 1986, the Capri became a twin. Screen Two was added on the back side of theatre. Screen One’s car capacity was decreased to 550 cars, with Screen Two parking 300 more. It was at this time that 5 remaining rows of speakers were also removed. In 1996, sadly, the original “showman”, John Magocs Sr. passed away in his Naples, Florida home.
Concession 1997 through 2000 saw The Capri Drive-In continually increase their technology and film exhibition capabilities. FM radio transmission of the sound, following by FM Stereo brought indoor theater sound quality to the Outdoor show. The Addition of a Red Dye Cye Analog filter (which was replacing Silver Nitrate on new films) allowed the Capri able to show current first run films.
Great article on builder / owners Rod and Donna Saunders in the June 25, 2017 Toledo Blade.
Lots of details and a few photos of the Saunders family. My favorite is the description of how remote the Field of Dreams is. “Part of the fun is trying to find the site in the first place. Tucked away on quiet, two-lane Township Road 6, … (which) feels more like a wide, one-lane road. … (W)hen corn’s about ready to be harvested — it’s easy to drive by the site without knowing it.”
WLUC, Upper Michigan’s News Leader, ran a story about the Manistique in September 2016. The report is now on YouTube.
David Vaughn told WLUC, “I was the second owner of the drive-in theater. It was built in 1953. Then I bought it in 1972 and ran it to 1995.” The report agrees that it had closed in 2001.
Hey, this drive-in wasn’t “closed in 2014” and should be marked as open now. (Seasonal, of course.) It’s showing the latest Spider-Man installment tonight. Check its Facebook page.
The reference books (yes, I know they’re not perfect) suggest a short initial run followed by a revival, possibly by a child of Pat.
Pat’s Auto Vue wasn’t in the 1952 Theater Catalog, but was there in the 1955-56 edition. It was in the 1963 IMPA (Pat H. Metzger), but there was nothing for Smelterville in 1969-76.
The “Valley Ctr. Flick D/I” (G. Metzger) was listed in Smelterville in the IPMA lists from at least 1982 to the last one in 1988.
That’s got to be “the old Smelterville drive-in” that the Smelterville Lions Club operates one night a year (for two years now) as part of Frontier Days. The photo in the Shosone News-Press matches Google’s aerial photo down to the small tree in front of the right side of the screen.
According to the News-Press article, “The Lions drew an enormous crowd from all around the region last year when they held a showing of ‘The Goonies.’ A line of cars reportedly stretched all the way from the old drive-in to the Interstate-90 on-ramps.”
The 2017 one-nighter will be Sept. 9, when they’ll show Stand By Me.
At WaterWinterWonderland, there’s a 2003 comment by “Cinema Treasures” (hmm), saying, “The second 38 x 76 screen was assembled in 1986 using parts from a dismanted (sic) drive in screen tower, which originally measured 60 x 120, fabricated by Selby Industries. The original wood screen tower was destroyed in a 1997 arson fire and was replaced that year with the remaining parts from the aforementioned screen tower. As a result of the fire, a planned third screen will not be built.”
Robert, that’s an old caption. I count fewer than 330 active US drive-ins as of July 2017.
Nice ad video, steelbeard1! As great as that sign looks, it’s ever better with the arrow in motion.
TenPoundHammer, the 1949-50 Theatre Catalog already listed two Flint drive-ins. The Corunna West Side had an address of M-21, and the Dort East Side was on Dort Highway. Each had a capacity of 775 and was run by W. M. Rice.
Those two were joined by the U. S. 23 in the 1952 Catalog. For Exec, it listed (deep breath): L. Stallard, L. Warrington, Wallace O. James, Mgr., and William Clark. Capacity 1200. (The Corunna’s capacity grew to 900, the Dort’s to 1010.)
R. O. Fredley was the US 23’s Exec in the 1955-56 Catalog. Its capacity was down to 1130, while the Dort had mushroomed to 1406.
There were four Flint drive-ins listed in the 1959 IMPA – Eastside (Dort?), Westside (Corunna?), Northland, and US 23. With a few name changes that foursome continued through the 1976 edition.
By the 1982 IMPA, those four were joined by the Miracle Red & Blue. All five survived through the last IMPA drive-in list in 1988.
After more than a decade of inactivity, the drive-in (now referred to as the Manistique) was open twice in 2016 for charity events. The Escanaba Daily Press reports they’re at it again.
“The Schoolcraft Tourism and Commerce will be showing Jurassic Park and Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet on Saturday, July 15, at the Manistique Drive-Inn theater.” Free admission, and concession sales benefit St. Francis de Sales School in Manistique.
I drove past it earlier this week, and the speaker poles are still there.
The 1959-1976 IMPAs showed capacity 350.
The 1982 IMPA shows the Traverse still there in Traverse City, run by H.J. Ringold, capacity 500. It was gone by the 1984 IMPA, replaced by the twin-screen Sundowner.
Aha! An ancient video (WMV format, probably shot in 1996) on the Hi Way history page interviews Stanley Fetting, who bought it in 1968 or ‘69. Fetting says Clements was a lumber dealer in Deckerville. That would be why he claimed that town as the Hi Way’s location.
Similarly, the video mentions Sandusky as the Hi Way’s town. Perhaps its home address changed when Fetting took over. Both owners also owned the Sanilac indoor theater in Sandusky.
Fetting notes there are 180 posts for 360 cars. That’s would be a pretty solid capacity number, although the Hi Way also had FM sound.
Also, the screen blew down in April 1996. (Aftermath and rebuilding photos in the WMV video.) It reopened that July 12, showing Twister.
Gotta wonder what went into some of these old references. The Theatre Catalogs placed the Hi Way in Deckerville (7 miles north) rather than the much larger Sandusky (5.5 miles west) or Carsonville (2.5 miles east). It was owned by C. H. Clements; Benjamin’s superb video calls him “Torchy”.
The 1959-63 IMPAs also chose Deckerville. By the 1969 IMPA, they had moved the Hi Way to Sandusky, where it stayed for the remainder of the IMPA lists.
In both publications, capacity was always listed as 400. Just sayin'.
Wikipedia and some sources claim that the Cherry Bowl opened as the Honor, but I think I’ve proved the opposite. I’ve uploaded the grand opening story (buried on page 5) and the much larger grand opening ad from the July 3, 1953, Traverse City Record-Eagle. As you can see, it was the Cherry Bowl from its birthday on the Fourth of July.
If it was ever just the Honor Drive-In, it wasn’t for long. The 1955-56 Theatre Catalog already showed it as the “Cherrybowl”, run by L. O. Griffith.
From Wikipedia: The Cherry Bowl opened on April 3rd, 1953. Longtime owner Jean Griffin ran the business after her husband’s death in 1959, and was known for working in high heels. Laura and Harry Clark purchased the property from Jean in 1996. Harry Clark died in 2012, and Laura continues to operate the theatre and diner.
The Cherry Bowl offers mini-golf and double feature films rated PG-13 or below. Harry Clark installed sculptures next to the theater’s vintage speakers and 14-foot neon hot dog. One sculpture is a pink and blue Volkswagen with a clown head on it, another is a pink cow with cherries for spots, and there is classic Chevy positioned to look like it is coming through a fence.
There’s a superb 2016 tour of the Getty hosted by Loeks president J.D. Loeks on YouTube.
Looks like one A.W. Ochs started the Auto.
The 1948-49 Theatre Catalog lists A. W. Ochs, Muskegon Drive-In Theater Co., capacity 400. The next edition dropped the company. In the 1952 edition, Ochs is joined by General Th. Serv. Then Ochs was out by the 1955 edition, replaced by Allen Shaw, Lombardo Bros.
The IMPAs also list a capacity of 400 through at least 1976. The Auto was still listed in the 1982 IMPA (owner: Loeks, capacity: 700) but was gone by the 1984 edition.