Family Drive-In
5890 Valley Pike,
Stephens City,
VA
22655
5890 Valley Pike,
Stephens City,
VA
22655
3 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Family Drive-In, Stephens City (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Dalke's Valley Theaters
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
540.665.6982
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Aug 16, 2011 — Drive-ins are family affair
The Family Drive-In was a screen theater that opened in 1956. It has a capacity for 490 cars. A second screen was added in 1989.
In 2010, it was leased from the Dalke family by the Colonial Entertainment Group, LLC., who also own the Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre in Henderson, NC.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Hoempage:
http://user.shentel.net/ccrkcr/drivein.html
Photos:
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/1/family.jpg
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/1/family2.jpg
In 1970 this drive-in was part of Dalke’s Valley Theaters, a Woodstock, VA operation.
Some more photos:
http://driveins.4t.com/va-stephenscity-family.htm
I think it’s still in the Dalke family, although they have sold or closed all their other theatres, including ones in Woodstock, Strasburg, New Market and other area towns.
Nice photo Chuck.
I had such a great time visiting the Family Drive-in! My best friend moved to VA a few years ago and we went on one of my visits.
You can see some photos on my blog post – they still use the car speakers!! :)
http://driveinadventures.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/family-drive-in-stephens-city-va/
The Family Drive-In has made the conversion to digital projection and sound.
A lot of news outlets got confused about the Family’s ownership structure. I guess the Wikipedia entry wasn’t around yet.
From The Washington Post, July 26, 2013: “William Dalke Jr. built the Family Drive-in Theatre outside Winchester in 1956 in the midst of an American drive-in building boom. … in time (son Tim) Dalke took over the Family Drive-In. ‘I twinned the screen in 1989 because we could double the product we were offering the public,’ he says. … (Dalke) says that Jim Kopp will be his first option if he ever wants to sell the park”.
From WTOP, August 2012: “owner Jim Kopp … took over the theater three years ago.”
From the Drive-In Theater Adventures blog, August 2013: “In March 2009, Tim Dalke leased the theatre to Jim Kopp (the lease runs for another 7 years).”
The Voice of America produced a video about the Family Drive-In in July 2013. It’s available at the Internet Archive, and it’s in the public domain.
The Family is still active, though it’s trying to raise money to refurbish its screen. Its new web site is at https://www.thefamilydi.com/ .