East Side Drive-In
19440 Harper Avenue,
Harper Woods,
MI
48225
19440 Harper Avenue,
Harper Woods,
MI
48225
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I see no evidence of a light pole with two lights near the carpark of the Park Place of Harper Woods that would date back to the 1970s. By 1983, most of the property was redeveloped. By 1999, all traces of the drive in were gone.
About the only thing that may have existed when the drive in was operation that still remains is the telephone poles that run along the SW edge of the property.
In a fun article in the Feb. 5, 1949 issue of Boxoffice, titled “Drive-Ins as the Projectionist Sees Them,” Don Kennedy described an occasional problem at the East Side.
“Screen visibility has another enemy – the moonbeams. My advice is to never place a screen so that it faces toward the southeast. (If you are going to build in South America, I guess the position is just the opposite.) We found that out at the East Side Drive-In in Detroit, which faces in just about that position. When the moon is in its full period, conditions are worst. On a clear night it will hit the side of the screen structure as it rises, throwing deep shadows and then as it moves around to a more direct view of the screen, the light may become intense enough to cut down visibility and clarity of the picture on the screen.”
Site is now a hotel(Parkhurst Inn). There is a light pole with two lights on top in a small carpark behind Parkhurst Inn, that might be from the drive-in?
Grand Opening print ad added courtesy of Christeen Landino.
Here is a link:
http://www.michigandriveins.com/detail.asp?id=41