Mahoning Drive-In
635 Seneca Road,
Lehighton,
PA
18235
635 Seneca Road,
Lehighton,
PA
18235
6 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Mahoning Drive-In (Official), Save the Mahoning Drive-In (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: A.M. Ellis Theaters Co,
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
610.683.7243
Nearby Theaters
The Mahoning Drive-In was built in 1948 and opened at the beginning of the 1949 season with Jack Carson in “April Showers”. It was operated by James Humphries. By 1950 it was operated by the A.M. Ellis Theaters Co. chain. Initially it had a capacity for 500 cars, later increased to 600 cars. In recent years it was owned by Mike and Deb Danchak, who also owned the nearby Angel Theatre in Coaldale. New owners took over the Mahoning Drive-In in 2014.
Open May-September at weekends, it features the area’s largest screen, measuring 120ft wide. It features FM listening devices as well as room for 1,000 cars. The Mahoning Drive-In is ‘all retro’, featuring 35mm film prints of Classic movies. It also now offers camping on the grounds for an extra $10 per car-load.
In July 2021, news was that the Mahoning Drive-In would be sold to the Greenskies Clean Energy LLC who planned to demolish the drive-in and build a solar farm on the site. A campaign was started to save the drive-in from demolition and Mahoning Township was to have a meeting on August 3, 2021 that might have denied this variance. However, on July 15, 2021 Greenskies backed out of their purchase of the drive-in site and the owner of the property said they were willing to sell the site to the operators of the drive-in. It was closed at the end of the 2023 season. The owner/operator/projectionist Jeff Mattox passed away in April 2024 and the future of the drive-in could be in doubt. Watch this space!
Contributed by
Dave Bonan
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
Go-Fund-Me page for their damaged marquee. Link to their Facebook page below that.
https://www.gofundme.com/save-the-mahoning-marquee
https://www.facebook.com/mahoningdriveintheater
Neon Michael has some very interesting facts and again excludes William C Shirar and Loretta K Shirar were also partners with Dr Humpries and Mr Becker. There was another business and partnership the Mahoning Valley Floral Conmpany located south of the Drive In.SAd thing everyone has passed away so the facts are messed up! Thank You and named Mahoning was a Native American word for a creek or a lick hence the name Mahoning.
Go-Fund-Me page for their wind damaged screen.
https://www.gofundme.com/save-the-mahoning-screen?fbclid=IwAR22WmlebYrqjYy3s_g4MBdY36Bwm3mabDPgXcioVd5Lq9acn3DTI38nuIQ
Video of the unveiling of the repaired marquee last May.
https://www.tnonline.com/mahoning-drive-theater-unveils-repaired-marquee?fbclid=IwAR0XtAomdRnGHBbqBMMVX5TgQ9zQl-bMYSTurxw-P2ollaUWSjnYxA3Tleo
June 21,2019 article about their 35mm film only policy.
https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-mahoning-drive-in-20190621-l3plorkyu5andhjp3fte5zxbgi-story.html?fbclid=IwAR0iX8UnDZApJZKl6Yu98zfN0bLSx_WfQWAE09m4uVW3i4VZD06pl8qukLg
Current article that says the solar company looking to buy the land has backed off.
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/carbon-county/mahoning-drive-in-theater-saved-in-one-day/523-f8e615ee-1b2f-49f2-a896-db6a17345a9a?fbclid=IwAR120tInN2tCHt70CvlBurlZPIKX0HhJ1n7PZ-DlGkxGC3VUeCnZKMzhcgM
This place is awesome. Took a 2 hour trek and it was worth every minute. You get the real feel of a real drive in (for those that remember them). The people who work there are film lovers and dedicated to the theater and are all very nice and welcoming. I’ve been there twice and each time has been a grand experience. The screen is huge and they play only 35MM film prints of classic movies. It’s an experience you must go see for yourself.
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.
Hopefully they find a projectionist soon and can get it back up and running. The longer it stays closed, the more unlikely it will not come back. The campground situation is a sticky one too.
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.