Hi Nick, I don’t remember much about the demolition of the screen. I did most of my work in the concession stand. I would think the loudspeakers were used before the underground speakers. I can see why they would change to the underground because of the delay of the sound in the back of the drive-in.
In the photo of the wooden screen I did not see the speakers on the corners. But they were about one half visable and they had some kind of tar covering the exposed part. In my later life I became a photographer of sorts. I took pictures on most jobs I worked on. I wish I had started back then. I don’t know what happened to the screen. I’m sure it was scraped.
And yes the block screen was built over the wooden screen. I remember a screen at a drive-in here in Lakeland that was made of plywood, you could see the 4 by 8 sheets that were a little warped after years of use. I think it was the Lakeland Drive-in on south fla Ave. It could have been the Silver Moon.One other thing about getting old, you forget a lot also. Don
Remembering the Hilsboro Drive-in. I was born in Tampa in 1940, moved to south of Lakeland in 1947. Around 1969 I worked for a company that remodeled the Hilsboro drive-in. I did enjoy working there. I remember the big concrete block screen. The reason I am posting is I have a big loudspeaker, it was sticking out of an old wooden screen that the block screen was built over. There were two speakers, one on the top corner of the screen. They were built into the screen with about ½ half sticking out. I had both speakers, but being young and dumb I broke the magnet in one of them. It went to the scrap pile. The one I have weighs 50 pounds, it is about 41 in tall and about 20 in across the output. It is the biggest loudspeaker I have ever seen. And it still works! I saw your post after I moved the speaker from one place to another, as I have for the last 40 something years. I googled the drive-in. I found a lots of old tickets and other some other stuff. All of that stuff has been long gone, sorry to say. We dug all the window speakers out of the ground and put the post and big concete anchors in holes dug in back of the drive-in. I remember that well because I drove the dump truck to take them there. The concrete peices were to big to come out of the tailgate of the 5 yard dump truck. I guess you can guess what happened next. It was like the old comedy movie when the truck stood straight up. I had to climb down and walk back to tell the boss. He thought it was funny. I know this will hurt some people, myself inclued, we took the speakers to the scrap yard on Hy 60, I don’t remember the name of the place, I think they are stil there. They sold for what we thought was a good deal. I think it was eleven dollars or a little more. I remember spending 2 days on my knees chipping the old tile off the concesion stand. I even enjoyed painting the block wall at the entrance with Olive Green paint. I remember when we finished the job the owner came down and we had hot dogs with Sauerkraut. I don’t remember his name.
It is kind of funny how when you get my age you remember all sorts of stuff. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Don.
Hi Nick, I don’t remember much about the demolition of the screen. I did most of my work in the concession stand. I would think the loudspeakers were used before the underground speakers. I can see why they would change to the underground because of the delay of the sound in the back of the drive-in. In the photo of the wooden screen I did not see the speakers on the corners. But they were about one half visable and they had some kind of tar covering the exposed part. In my later life I became a photographer of sorts. I took pictures on most jobs I worked on. I wish I had started back then. I don’t know what happened to the screen. I’m sure it was scraped. And yes the block screen was built over the wooden screen. I remember a screen at a drive-in here in Lakeland that was made of plywood, you could see the 4 by 8 sheets that were a little warped after years of use. I think it was the Lakeland Drive-in on south fla Ave. It could have been the Silver Moon.One other thing about getting old, you forget a lot also. Don
Remembering the Hilsboro Drive-in. I was born in Tampa in 1940, moved to south of Lakeland in 1947. Around 1969 I worked for a company that remodeled the Hilsboro drive-in. I did enjoy working there. I remember the big concrete block screen. The reason I am posting is I have a big loudspeaker, it was sticking out of an old wooden screen that the block screen was built over. There were two speakers, one on the top corner of the screen. They were built into the screen with about ½ half sticking out. I had both speakers, but being young and dumb I broke the magnet in one of them. It went to the scrap pile. The one I have weighs 50 pounds, it is about 41 in tall and about 20 in across the output. It is the biggest loudspeaker I have ever seen. And it still works! I saw your post after I moved the speaker from one place to another, as I have for the last 40 something years. I googled the drive-in. I found a lots of old tickets and other some other stuff. All of that stuff has been long gone, sorry to say. We dug all the window speakers out of the ground and put the post and big concete anchors in holes dug in back of the drive-in. I remember that well because I drove the dump truck to take them there. The concrete peices were to big to come out of the tailgate of the 5 yard dump truck. I guess you can guess what happened next. It was like the old comedy movie when the truck stood straight up. I had to climb down and walk back to tell the boss. He thought it was funny. I know this will hurt some people, myself inclued, we took the speakers to the scrap yard on Hy 60, I don’t remember the name of the place, I think they are stil there. They sold for what we thought was a good deal. I think it was eleven dollars or a little more. I remember spending 2 days on my knees chipping the old tile off the concesion stand. I even enjoyed painting the block wall at the entrance with Olive Green paint. I remember when we finished the job the owner came down and we had hot dogs with Sauerkraut. I don’t remember his name.