Blogging A to Z: “H”-istory is awesome!

Photo by Diane Weidenbenner, 2015, Indiana.

Who remembers drive-in movies? I took this photo in Indiana on one of my country drives, and it brought back fun childhood memories of times spent at our favorite drive-in movie theater in Denver, Colorado.
The movie theater that we frequented was the Cinderella Twin Drive-In movie theater, which opened in 1973 near the Cinderella City mall (aerial view below). It had two screens, ran first-run, double feature movies, and could support 800 cars total (which translated into thousands of viewers). It was about 10 minutes from our house and when the weather was good, it was the place to be!

It operated March through October and was one of the last drive-ins to close in the Denver area, in 2007. It had FM radio audio speakers or window clip-on speakers. I remember always begging my parents to turn up the sound and it reverberated around the car, especially during action scenes. It was an entire evening event!

Cinderella Twin Drive-In, Denver, Colorado. Photo by Drive-In54. CC license.

You think we have large screens today? There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the flatbed of a pick-up truck or inside a Ford station wagon – talk about a big screen! It was also cost-effective for families and high school students because it was usually one price for a carload.

I remember arriving early and usually idling in our car for about an hour in line before getting into the theater. There was a time or two for a popular movie where we were turned away just several cars back from the entrance – it was very discouraging because of the excitement prior to arriving (making snacks to take, arranging who would sit where, ensuring everyone had blankets and pillows, deciding on which of the movies we wanted to see.)

We also had fun visiting the concession stand (with restrooms) in the middle area. We could also see what was showing on the “other side” (without sound, of course). Meeting up with boys that we liked was also fun, during intermission, if we didn’t all go together.

I would love to go to a drive-in movie today. I think a little bit of our history was lost when these closed down. I know today it’s easy to download a movie onto my laptop or iPad. But, there is nothing the excitement and fun of going to a double-feature movie at the Cinderella Twin Drive-In.