This melding of the automobile and the movie was so popular that by 1958 there were more than 5,000 drive-ins in the United States.

Richard M. Hollingshead , of Camden, the father of the drive-in, had begun experimenting showing movies with a 16mm projector in his driveway. He could view it while sitting in his car provided no other car blocked his way. So he devised an inclined ramp where the front end of the car was tilted upward, allowing clear vision over the car in front. He patented the ramp and opened the world's first drive-in, a 400-car theater with eight rows and a 30- by 40-foot screen.

Five years later in 1938 , a Detroit News article chronicled the opening of the first drive-in theater in Detroit on Harper. It was the first structure of its kind in the Midwest.

"The ushers have so large a section to patrol that they use bicycles," The News reported.

The theater had 11 ramps with room for 500 cars. (The ramps) "slope to the rear so the nose of each car is slightly tilted, looking up at the screen that measures 50 by 60 feet," the story continued. "There are 35 feet of road space for cars to enter and leave. Traffic is all one way. Synchronization of sound and light is obtained by a device that gives perfect co-ordination from the first to the last ramp.

"This kind of entertainment has an appeal for many people who otherwise cannot go to the movies...Invalids, for instance, are driven into the theater and remain comfortably relaxed for the entire show."

(The Harper manager told of the experience of one invalid, bedridden for 17 years, who was able to enjoy his first motion picture in the outdoor theater).

"There are families with children too small to be taken along to an indoor movie, as their crying may disturb the other patrons. Here they may cry as loud as they wish as the other patrons will not be disturbed. It doesn't matter whether it is rainy or dry, as the patron remains seated in his own automobile during the performance with the windows of his car open or closed, as he pleases....patrons like the idea of dressing informally, lounging in their cars, smoking and taking refreshments while watching a picture."

The first feature at the Harper was "The Big Broadcast of 1938" with W. C. Fields and Shirley Ross.

A second outdoor theater, the West Side Drive-In, opened in April of 1940 on Eight Mile and Schaefer, showing "Allegheny Uprising" with Claire Trevor and John Wayne. Both theaters offered late shows in 1943 for the war workers.

The drive-ins practically invented the concent of an entertainment complex. The Gratiot Drive-in, which opened in April, 1948 was billed as the world's largest drive-in, featuring free pony rides, merry-go-round and other playground amusements for the kids, a large restaurant that even warmed baby bottles on schedule for patrons, and a living curtain waterfall illuminated by colored lights to simulate Niagara Falls.

Some drive-ins had miniature railroads, swimming pools (there was a "dive-in" in Georgia), picnic areas, miniature golf, horseshoes, and other attractions. A drive-in in Winter Haven, Fla., on the banks of a lake provided boats so patrons could fish while watching the film. In Japan where space is at a premium, portable drive-ins would be set up at night in empty parking lots.

But in the beginning there were problems that had to be solved.

The Harper found that the loudspeaker system disturbed residents as far as a mile away. One resident heard the noise and "I got up and went to look for it. It was after midnight and I went driving up and down the street looking for the owner of that radio. Then I knew it came over the fields from that theater."

The owners were charged with maintaining a nuisance. The next year, a new sound system called "solo sound reproduction," was installed, providing a speaker for each car, eliminating the high amplification of the loud speaker. The Harper was the first in the country to use this system.

One New York theater complained that movie -goers often unintentionally drove away with the speakers still attached to the cars. Absent minded drive-in patrons who drove away with the in--car speakers still hanging on their windows received a healthy jolt to remind them of their mistake. The cable attached to the speakers could withstand a 300- or 400 pound tug before letting the speaker go.

In 1949, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department received reports of immorality and drinking by teen-agers at drive-in theaters. Managers were warned they would be closed if deputies discovered "teen-age immorality" on the premises.

Parents complained that children living near drive- ins could see objectionable movies from their bedroom windows. This wasn't a problem for a jail warden in St. Louis, who had a perfect view of a local drive-in screen from his bedroom window -- the theater owners graciously installed a speaker in his room. Prisoners who also had a clear view of the screen got no such service.

The popularity of drive-ins soared into the 1950s. A Saturday Evening Post article reported that movie attendance was down everywhere, except in the drive-ins. Traditional theater owners despise the drive-ins, but car owners loved them. "You can eat your dinner, get your car washed and see a movie all at once," the Post article said. Called "passion pits'" by some, 

But the times, they are a changing, and brought about home entertainment systems, DVD's, and video games. People didn't venture out as much and  the popularity of drive-ins had begun to fade. By 1980, the number of outdoor theaters had dropped to 900. Presently some insightful Americans are bringing back those great experiences we had in youth by refurbishing old drive-in's or outright building new ones.  Patronizing your local drive-ins supports an all-American tradition which should never be allowed to fade away!

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