The 54 drive-in was really the poor man’s outdoor theater compared to the Starlite. The old man loved it because it was cheap and the whole family could squeeze in the car and sit on a blanket if you wanted to get out of the car later. My first trip to the 54 I saw the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and was scared stiff. I literally wet my pants! The dinosauer eats Coney Island and crunches buses with people inside! Ray Harryhousen at his early best. The fact that the thing was on this giant screen and we were in about row five made it all the more alarming.
My fondest memories of the Starlite was Buck night. You pile as many people as you could into a car and you would all get in for a dollar. We even stuffed people in the trunk of the 48 Plymouth just for the hell of it. Of course, you spent much more than a buck on concessions (Let’s all go to the lobby…to get ourselves a treat!)
There was a playground under the main screen at one time. On hot nights, everyone sat on the hoods of the cars for the usual triple features.
Opening night photo of the Darb in Manteno Illinois from Historical Society archives.
Darb advertisement from 1944.
The 54 drive-in was really the poor man’s outdoor theater compared to the Starlite. The old man loved it because it was cheap and the whole family could squeeze in the car and sit on a blanket if you wanted to get out of the car later. My first trip to the 54 I saw the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and was scared stiff. I literally wet my pants! The dinosauer eats Coney Island and crunches buses with people inside! Ray Harryhousen at his early best. The fact that the thing was on this giant screen and we were in about row five made it all the more alarming.
My fondest memories of the Starlite was Buck night. You pile as many people as you could into a car and you would all get in for a dollar. We even stuffed people in the trunk of the 48 Plymouth just for the hell of it. Of course, you spent much more than a buck on concessions (Let’s all go to the lobby…to get ourselves a treat!) There was a playground under the main screen at one time. On hot nights, everyone sat on the hoods of the cars for the usual triple features.