This Drive In should not be marked closed. The opening of the 2024 season was delayed by the death of Jeff Mattox but the drive did resume operations by May of 2024.
The Commonwealth Court case which was referenced in my post of April 25, 2024 is still awaiting a decision; however even an adverse ruling will not cause operations of the Drive In to cease.
The future of this cult 35MM retro Drive In is currently in doubt due to the April 13, 2024 death of business owner and projectionist Jeff Mattox who was its heart and soul. Mattox died suddenly of complications following surgery.
Further adding to the concerns is the ongoing court fight with Mahoning Township over the whether the Drive In is considered to be a campground since it hosts many overnight campers and tents every weekend as part of shows. In June 2022 the Drive In was cited by the Mahoning Township Zoning officer for running a campground since the Drive In area is not zoned for campgrounds in Mahoning Township. The Drive In took an appeal of the township’s citation to the Mahoning Township Zoning Hearing Board which in a 2 to 1 decision found for the Drive In partly on the basis that the Mahoning Zoning Ordinance does not contain a definition of what constitutes a campground. The township then appealed the Zoning Board decision to the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas which reversed and sent the case back to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Drive In then appealed that Common Pleas decision to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and it is on the Commonwealth Court docket scheduled for May 7, 2024.
The Colonial Park 4 Cinemas opened in 1986 as a result of a trade off with Sameric Corporation with Sameric giving up its lease on the free standing former Trans-Lux Theatre out in the rear parking lot of the Colonial Park Mall in exchange for the 4 auditoriums jammed into one corner inside the mall. The former Trans Lux was then torn down for what was then a newly constructed Boscov’s store which still exists today.
Sameric - which never believed in maintenance - sold out to United Artists which continued Sameric’s former non-maintence policies. The four auditoriums - which were drab to begin with- were not helped by years of neglect.
When UA gave up the lease in the early 2000s it was taken over as second run by Fun Time Cinemas run by Bruce Fitzsimmons widow.
That the Belvidere area was in the path of severe storms, high winds and possible tornadoes was forecasted days in advance. The concert could have and should have been postponed. And its not just the concert promoters who bear responsibility. Where were the municipal officials?
The personal injury lawyers will have a field day with this one.
HenryBL: There was a double feature making the rounds of the Drive Ins in 1962 of “Jack The Giant Killer” with Kerwin Matthews as the first feature and Connery’s “Dr. No” as the second feature. I was about 12 years old at the time when it played near me and it was my introduction to James Bond. I then immediately went and purchased all the Bond books which were available at that time.
The Halifax Drive In was opened in 1950 and closed at the end of the 1992 season with “Honeymoon In Vegas” and “Single White Female”. Demolished in 1993 for a Giant Food Store.
Operated by 1960 by Marv Troutman under his Martro Theatres banner (later Cinema Centres) which included the Colonade Theatre in Millersburg.
By 2001 this theatre had taken down down the much nicer Lowes 20 North Versailles (which like this theatre was built in 1999 and opened about the same). Too many screens for one area. And the real sad part was that the Lowes 20 was built on the site of the former 5 screen Pittsburgh Drive In.
The following history is courtesy of the Kutztown Historical Society and Dr. Brendan D. Strasser:
The Strand Theatre had its beginnings in 1908 as the Kintescope Arcade in what is now the Kutztown Tavern building at 272 W. Main Street. In 1912 a dedicated theatre building called Herman’s Playhouse was constructed around the corner from the former main street operation at 32 Whiteoak Street - which is the theatre’s present location and where it was operated ever since its construction.
During the 110 years there have only been 3 owners of the Strand Theatre Building in Kutztown:
Paul A. Herman (1908-1946)
Lawrence W. Fenstermacher (1946-1969)
Paul J. Angstadt (1969-2022)
Paul A. Herman leased the theatre building to Furman B. Willis from about 1927 to 1932. It was Willis who renamed the theatre “The Strand” starting in 1927. At that time Willis was also operating what was called the “Park Theatre” in the former Kutztown Auditorium at 134 E. Main Street.
In 1932 Theodore Nyquist and his Superior Amusement Co took over the Strand for a number of years. At some time Lawrence Fenstermacher began operating The Strand and later purchased the building.
Paul J. Angstadt died suddenly on June 20, 2022. The theatre is currently closed (hopefully only temporarily) pending the settlement of Paul J. Angstadt’s estate.
Every US fire and panic code that I have ever seen requires movie theatre seating be afixed (bolted or screwed in) to the floor so that overturned seats don’t become an obstacle in the event of an emergency requiring quick exit in the dark.
Good News. The Roxy did receive funds from the federal Covid grant program thus assuring its continued survival at least for awhile. A portion of those funds were just used to redo the surface of its stage flooring - just in time for the local Nutcracker ballet performance last weekend.
I do not believe that Schine ever operated either the Strand or the Palace theatres.
There was a product split evident among the chains in downtown Syracuse in the 50’s and 60’s. Schine (the Paramount and the Eckel) had most of the Universal, most of the Disney, and nearly all of the 20th Fox and about ½ of the UA. RKO (Keiths) had all of the Paramount and all Warner Brothers exclusively. Lowes (the State now Landmark and the Strand) had all of the MGM and ½ of the UA. The product from Columbia got divided up between all three (Schine, RKO and Lowes) but primarily played Schine and Lowes.
According to published reports the Harrisburg Mall has received a demolition permit to take down the 14 screen theatre along with two former anchor stores.
There was only ever one drive-in in Bath Pennsylvania. It was located along Route 512 on the right side about ¼ mile north. The remanants of both the boxoffice and screen tower are still visible there. I do not know the name but believe it may have been identified as http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/23079 but that listing is not the correct location.
The prior organ and its chambers were removed to make room for the installation of the Allen organ from the State in Eastson. That Allen organ has been installed and is now in use at the Roxy.
New Owner has granted the Haars family a 10 year lease so the Drive In is safe for now. https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/04/businessmans-emotional-purchase-will-allow-haars-drive-in-to-keep-making-memories-for-area-residents.html
The Midtown Cinema is now temporarily closed due to significant flooding from Hurricane Debbie. It is estimated that cleanup will take weeks.
No word if the theatre had flood insurance.
This Drive In should not be marked closed. The opening of the 2024 season was delayed by the death of Jeff Mattox but the drive did resume operations by May of 2024.
The Commonwealth Court case which was referenced in my post of April 25, 2024 is still awaiting a decision; however even an adverse ruling will not cause operations of the Drive In to cease.
According to the local news it appears that this Drive In will not reopen. The Troutman family has sold the property.
The future of this cult 35MM retro Drive In is currently in doubt due to the April 13, 2024 death of business owner and projectionist Jeff Mattox who was its heart and soul. Mattox died suddenly of complications following surgery.
Further adding to the concerns is the ongoing court fight with Mahoning Township over the whether the Drive In is considered to be a campground since it hosts many overnight campers and tents every weekend as part of shows. In June 2022 the Drive In was cited by the Mahoning Township Zoning officer for running a campground since the Drive In area is not zoned for campgrounds in Mahoning Township. The Drive In took an appeal of the township’s citation to the Mahoning Township Zoning Hearing Board which in a 2 to 1 decision found for the Drive In partly on the basis that the Mahoning Zoning Ordinance does not contain a definition of what constitutes a campground. The township then appealed the Zoning Board decision to the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas which reversed and sent the case back to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Drive In then appealed that Common Pleas decision to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and it is on the Commonwealth Court docket scheduled for May 7, 2024.
BTW …. the correct address for the Colonial Park Mall is 4600 Jonestown Road at the corner of Colonial Road.
The Colonial Park 4 Cinemas opened in 1986 as a result of a trade off with Sameric Corporation with Sameric giving up its lease on the free standing former Trans-Lux Theatre out in the rear parking lot of the Colonial Park Mall in exchange for the 4 auditoriums jammed into one corner inside the mall. The former Trans Lux was then torn down for what was then a newly constructed Boscov’s store which still exists today.
Sameric - which never believed in maintenance - sold out to United Artists which continued Sameric’s former non-maintence policies. The four auditoriums - which were drab to begin with- were not helped by years of neglect.
When UA gave up the lease in the early 2000s it was taken over as second run by Fun Time Cinemas run by Bruce Fitzsimmons widow.
Fun Time Cinemas is throwing in the towel. They are closing as of September 14, 2023.
The Strand Theatre was sold on 02/21/2023 to the Northeastern Berks Main Street Foundation.
In April of 2023 the Foundation received a grant of 450,000 towards renovations/reimburse the purchase price.
No word as to what is going to happen.
That the Belvidere area was in the path of severe storms, high winds and possible tornadoes was forecasted days in advance. The concert could have and should have been postponed. And its not just the concert promoters who bear responsibility. Where were the municipal officials?
The personal injury lawyers will have a field day with this one.
HenryBL: There was a double feature making the rounds of the Drive Ins in 1962 of “Jack The Giant Killer” with Kerwin Matthews as the first feature and Connery’s “Dr. No” as the second feature. I was about 12 years old at the time when it played near me and it was my introduction to James Bond. I then immediately went and purchased all the Bond books which were available at that time.
The Halifax Drive In was opened in 1950 and closed at the end of the 1992 season with “Honeymoon In Vegas” and “Single White Female”. Demolished in 1993 for a Giant Food Store.
Operated by 1960 by Marv Troutman under his Martro Theatres banner (later Cinema Centres) which included the Colonade Theatre in Millersburg.
$18.75 for a ticket plus the now obligatory “booking fees”.
By 2001 this theatre had taken down down the much nicer Lowes 20 North Versailles (which like this theatre was built in 1999 and opened about the same). Too many screens for one area. And the real sad part was that the Lowes 20 was built on the site of the former 5 screen Pittsburgh Drive In.
The following history is courtesy of the Kutztown Historical Society and Dr. Brendan D. Strasser:
The Strand Theatre had its beginnings in 1908 as the Kintescope Arcade in what is now the Kutztown Tavern building at 272 W. Main Street. In 1912 a dedicated theatre building called Herman’s Playhouse was constructed around the corner from the former main street operation at 32 Whiteoak Street - which is the theatre’s present location and where it was operated ever since its construction.
During the 110 years there have only been 3 owners of the Strand Theatre Building in Kutztown:
Paul A. Herman (1908-1946) Lawrence W. Fenstermacher (1946-1969) Paul J. Angstadt (1969-2022)
Paul A. Herman leased the theatre building to Furman B. Willis from about 1927 to 1932. It was Willis who renamed the theatre “The Strand” starting in 1927. At that time Willis was also operating what was called the “Park Theatre” in the former Kutztown Auditorium at 134 E. Main Street.
In 1932 Theodore Nyquist and his Superior Amusement Co took over the Strand for a number of years. At some time Lawrence Fenstermacher began operating The Strand and later purchased the building.
Paul J. Angstadt died suddenly on June 20, 2022. The theatre is currently closed (hopefully only temporarily) pending the settlement of Paul J. Angstadt’s estate.
The Dirty Dozen was first released on June 15, 1967.
It used to be that movies were cheap entertainment for the masses.
Now every new theatre only wants to offer a ‘premium experience’
Tickets for the VIP at Regal Dania Pointe are $26.74 for Adults and $24.60 for Children …. PLUS … additional charges for booking fees.
Every US fire and panic code that I have ever seen requires movie theatre seating be afixed (bolted or screwed in) to the floor so that overturned seats don’t become an obstacle in the event of an emergency requiring quick exit in the dark.
Good News. The Roxy did receive funds from the federal Covid grant program thus assuring its continued survival at least for awhile. A portion of those funds were just used to redo the surface of its stage flooring - just in time for the local Nutcracker ballet performance last weekend.
I do not believe that Schine ever operated either the Strand or the Palace theatres.
There was a product split evident among the chains in downtown Syracuse in the 50’s and 60’s. Schine (the Paramount and the Eckel) had most of the Universal, most of the Disney, and nearly all of the 20th Fox and about ½ of the UA. RKO (Keiths) had all of the Paramount and all Warner Brothers exclusively. Lowes (the State now Landmark and the Strand) had all of the MGM and ½ of the UA. The product from Columbia got divided up between all three (Schine, RKO and Lowes) but primarily played Schine and Lowes.
According to published reports the Harrisburg Mall has received a demolition permit to take down the 14 screen theatre along with two former anchor stores.
You can’t make this stuff up.
https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2021/11/firefighters-rescue-naked-man-stuck-in-ny-theater-bathroom-wall-for-days.html
BTW … there is a picture of the new marquee in this article
There was only ever one drive-in in Bath Pennsylvania. It was located along Route 512 on the right side about ¼ mile north. The remanants of both the boxoffice and screen tower are still visible there. I do not know the name but believe it may have been identified as http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/23079 but that listing is not the correct location.
I believe the owner of the Roxy is applying for the federal Covid grant program for performance venues, museums and independent theatres.
The prior organ and its chambers were removed to make room for the installation of the Allen organ from the State in Eastson. That Allen organ has been installed and is now in use at the Roxy.
New Owner has granted the Haars family a 10 year lease so the Drive In is safe for now. https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/04/businessmans-emotional-purchase-will-allow-haars-drive-in-to-keep-making-memories-for-area-residents.html